Chapter 3: Carraway starts of chapter 3 with a description of Gatsby and what he has to offer which leaves nick in complete awe of such wealth. "On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight" (39) Since I'm aware of how the book will end, at this particular part in the novel, I became aware that the people of Egg used Gatsby for material things such as his lavish parties, enormous swimming pool, music, delicious food, and liquor. The conversation on page 45 caught my attention, "As a matter of fact you needn't bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They're real." One can infer that the owl-eyed man is symbolizing that he can see beyond the realm of others and look beyond. Lastly, on page 58 one can infer the people of Egg present themselves in a careless and reckless matter due to their wealth, "You're a rotten driver" "It takes two to make an accident" This implies there have no responsibility for their actions. Spoiler alert! This act of carelessness could possibly be foreshadowing ones "death" chapter 4: Fitzgerald starts of the chapter with the conversation of two women "He's a bootlegger" (61) which implies the ugly truth about humans and how we make assumptions about those we do not know personally. (To be continued)
In the book How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster includes chapter 16 It's All About Sex, in other words sex scenes are often suggested rather than what truly meets the eye. One can assume that chapter 2 has many "suggested" sex scenes or contains sexual content. For example "The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let the barges through.." (24) The foul river and valley of ashes could in fact be concluded to a women's vagina (after all it starts with a va) As I stated during the open forum a drawbridge opens and closes to let ships through, but could this in fact be a metaphor for a women opening and closing her legs to men (ships)? Fitzgerald continues to suggest such content, "One of the three shops it contained was for rent and another was an all-night restaurant, approached by a trail of ashed; the third was a garage repairs. George B. WIlson. Cars bought and sold." (24-25) Could this infact be an underlying statement for prostitution with three women? One being "rented" another an "all-night restaurant" and the last being simply "garbage" In the following sentence Fitzgerald also includes "The interior was unprosperous and bare" (25) is one of the "naked" prostitutes (all-night restaurant) being described as a thriving young women? I also noticed the sentence "wiping his hands on a piece of waste" (25) Prostitutes aren't usually ranked as high class women, often talked down upon as they sell their soul for money. This could imply the fact Tom is wiping away the filth of his one night stand. Sex isn't always implied when it comes to novels and when they are it's not always what the reader may think. Authors use these sort of tactics to keep their readers guessing and promptly on their toes begging the question.
After the Great War, during the early 1920's wealth came like a fast flowing river. Nick Carraway, an up-and-coming bond salesman who rented a house in West Egg, an area outside of New York, to increase his chances of furthering his success. He says that everyone he knew was entering this line of work, and hopes to find a taste of excitement; he claims moving back to NY offered him a chance to discover himself. The novel begins with background of the protagonist Nick Carraway and how he ended up in West Egg. The novel begins with a flashback, Carraway recounts a bit of advice his father taught him "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had," This proposes the idea that Nick grew up in a middle class family, able to obtain certain privileges. Carraway worked for his success and felt that it was key in becoming a successful man. Upon Caraways’ move to West Egg, he is invited to his cousin's home, Daisy, Daisy and her husband Tom, are two wealthy individuals, wealth came naturally to them. Upon his arrival he begins to view the way they live. Carraway catches up with Daisy and her husband and one of Daisy's friends over dinner; this provides background of their whereabouts of their relationship. Daisy and Tom's marriage is in fact much more complicated than it appears on the surface. Which can be implied to the people of the city and how they wanted to appeared happy on the outside, but rather were struggling and fearful on the inside due to the war. As we move closer to the end of chapter one, the mysterious figure known as Gatsby is spotted. Carraway doesn't know much about this mysterious character Gatsby. Carraway finds Gatsby on the dock gazing at the water. There appears to be a green light at the end on the dock, could this be what Gatsby was looking at? Carraway could not tell exactly what he was admiring. Soon after, Gatsby had vanished! Thus raising a multitude questions; why is Gatsby by the water so late? What is he looking at? Why did he run of so quickly? Is he hiding a deep secret? If so, what is it?
Stephen H. Webb’s essay on How Soccer Is Ruining America: A Jeremiad is jam-packed with various rhetorical strategies. Webb's greatest influential rhetorical strategy is his satirical interpretation of the other side of the argument he is constructing. Webb uses a twisted, deceitful role-reversal. Through this position against his arguments his tone is sought out to be much more sarcastic, dry humor. His sarcastic comments and sharp remarks give him an unpleasant appearance. Webb comes off as an obnoxious character, which usually is damaging to one's character. Generally, through his fulfilling of role he displays his most prominent rhetorical strategies are his appeal to an extremely narrow audience, his sarcastic and patronizing remarks, and his often complete absence of supporting details or rational reasoning. Through Webb’s role-reversal his sarcastic remarks insult a wide-range audience. Webb appears to be very arrogant to any reader outside his designated audience. Webb ends his soccer “bashing” essay with the reveal that all three of his children were on traveling soccer teams. The last paragraph is where it becomes most apparent to the reader that he was not being serious throughout the essay, “Last year all three of my kids were on three different soccer teams at the same time” (269). With this quote one can assume, Webb’s essay can be categorized as a satire.