So far including Chapter I and II, there are a few different perspectives that can be viewed; semiotic, Marxist, "Queer", and feminist. Specifically in Chapter II there are many sexual innuendos presented to indirectly create images describing sex without being upfront about the situation. In the beginning of chapter II, Nick describes the land between Eggs and New York as a valley of dark ashes...which sounds very unpleasant but seems to describe Tom's mistress Mrs. Wilson. I didn't exactly pick up on these innuendoes until discussed in class and then every instance after seemed to somehow become sexual. Anyways, he described the mistress has a visually pleasing female figure to men; "She carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some woman can." On page 28 the images come to mind in the description, 'we drove over to Fifth Avenue, so warm and soft, almost spiritual, on the summer Sunday afternoon that I wouldn't have been surprised to see a great flock of white sheep turn the corner," I don't mean to be sexually humorous but this may be the description of these two getting it on. I came to this conclusion On page 29 the paragraph beginning with Nick saying that he has only been drunk once in his life, seems to describe a small party or get together in the apartment room where the visitors drank and suggesting that these visitors may have had sexual confrontations with each other, which I concluded from this statement of Mr. McKee; "If Chester could only get you in that pose I think he could make something of it." At the end of Chapter II, after an eventual night of throwing back shots of whiskey and the smell of a group of sexually aroused people, Nick discovers himself next to a bed where McKee is described as “sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands.” He also describes delicately wiping white cream off McKee's face, which is something that manly men wouldn't do to another man. And while “great portfolio” is not a euphemism, the sudden descriptions of McKee's appearance has launched assumptions about Nick’s sexual leanings.
As the Great Gatsby opens, the narrator, Nick Carraway is revealed. His credibility as a well-trusted narrator is established when he describes his background of hailing from a middle class family, educated at the Ivy league school, Yale and fought in WW1. His background forms a reliable view as he is described to come from a wealthy family with moral values of perseverance, hard work, and good judgement. This presents himself as a reliable narrator. It’s important that Nick’s family (which is not rich, but financially comfortable) taught him these beliefs, as it paints him as a correct and respectable man, and thus encourages us to view him as a trustworthy and honest narrator. Therefore, we can expect anything Nick says to be reasonable, including his criticism of people which is described in the statement; "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world have not had the advantages that you've had." Trusting the narrator is critical in this story because it is told by a objective third person point of view where is he recalling past adventurous tales of Gatsby, making it easier for the audience to believe his experiences. In the beginning he stresses the fact that he has good judgement, "a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person.." stating that strange mind is usually shunned, so when it finds a person that doesn’t judge, it’s likely to latch on to that person. Nick is essentially saying that because he’s nonjudgmental, he attracts a lot of attention from annoying eccentrics, for example, at a party. In a contradicting stance, he judges Tom by saying he has "arrogant eyes." This evidence perhaps shows that he is contradicting within the identity of himself.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2015
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