Native Son: Pages 97-156

At the beginning of Richard Wright's ,"Native Son", the main character, Bigger, believes that the color of his skin is a curse but as he accepts Mr. Dalton's job offer as his chauffeur he realizes that it may not be a curse as he originally thought. Bigger has this switch as he enters his new living quarters and discovers that he will have more opportunity than he ever dreamed of. "He lit a cigarette and stretched himself full length upon the bed. Ohhh.... This was not going to be bad at all." (Pg. 59) Now that Bigger can support himself he sees his race in a different light. One that is not filled with heists or suffering. Not only does Bigger see this new light but he also realizes that having opportunity makes him more prone to having things that match with what job he has. "A dollar watch was not good enough for a job like this; he would buy a gold one" (Pg. 59) Even with this switch Bigger still knows what he has to do and accepting the job was half the battle. Now he has to work to help his family.

Faulkner Response

William Faulkner expresses how we write in the world of today through his Nobel Peace Price Acceptance Speech. He enunciates how the people do not express the hardships that human kind have had to go through but more talk about how the tree flows through the wind instead. He frowns upon this change and tells us about our ignorance. Most importantly, he asks us to revert to our past writings. He believes that there is still hope and that he will not stand for such nonsense to happen at all.

In "That Evening Sun" we see the types of human injustice that Faulkner is trying to tell the people to go back to. Our main character in the story, Nancy, is an African American woman and although she is of a different race many see her as a positive influence and a friend which was not common for anyone to think of at all. However, others thought of her as just another black woman. This is the type of injustice that Faulkner is trying to bring others back to. Not a tree but an actual human life. A life that is going through injustices.

A Clean Well Lighted Place

1. I think that for the short story that Hemingway wrote, the adaptation is exactly how i personally thought the scene would take place. A very clean and illuminated place where a person can feel comfortable in the surroundings.

2. From how I took specific scenes in the short story, this adaptation is almost exactly how I think Hemingway intentions were. In the clip scenes of no belief in anything and suicide are expressed which go back to Hemingway and how he thought throughout his life.

3. I think one thing that threw the whole scene away was the way they talked which by looking at the short story I know this wasn't a place for that kind of accent in my opinion. The dialog was 100% exact but the scene could have had more meaning especially once I read the story.

4. Personally I think that there could have been a bit more revision in creating the film. It seemed as if they didn't necessarily rush but didn't put enough thought into the film at the same time which ended up hindering my overall rating of the film.

5. If I made the video I think I would most definitely change the accents and give more meaning during scenes especially when the bar needing to be polished and further explaining how that even goes back to Hemingway's thoughts. I am not saying it was horrible but it was not a masterpiece at the same time and maybe with these minor changes the whole picture would end up being a film worth watching.

Chapter 9 Pgs 143-End

Chapter 9

In this chapter Nick tries to have everything prepared for Gatsby's funeral. He tries to call everyone he knows but is unsuccessful in inviting anyone to the funeral. We also meet Gatsby's father who talks proudly about his son and how for Gatsby to be as successful as he was he had no choice but to forget about his past and create a new life. Not the kind of thing I would like to hear from my father but obviously Henry Gatz did not know everything about his son. After all that has happened Nick decides it would be best to leave and go back home after the funeral. After an argument with Jordan he knows it is best to leave what he has here. In the end Gatsby was a man that Nick respected even if he was a lie. He had everything and nothing at the same time. His dream was to finally have Daisy but since that was his only dream when he failed, his life failed.

Tom Buchanan

"What if I did tell him? He had it coming for him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did with Daisy's"

Tom doesn't necessarily have any good qualities. He's cocky and only cares about himself. We can prove this because he had a mistress throughout the whole novel and never cared about her or even his own wife. He only wanted someone he could use just like a tool. Once they didn't live up to his standard they were thrown away and another was bought.

Tom is as ignorant as he was in the beginning of the chapter. He does not have a clue of what really happened that day when Myrtle Wilson was killed. He even tries to make Nick feel bad about him losing his mistress which fails miserably. Tom could be describes as a wheel. His cycle never ends and nothing changes about him and his actions.

"He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."

I like this quote because shows just how close Gatsby was to having Daisy and how he built himself up to a man of power but that wasn't enough to achieve his goal. It reminds us that you shouldn't think the past can occur once again in the present. Love and life aren't things you can just expect to rush back in to another's emotions. I myself have learned this "rule" and that is why I can relate to Gatsby and what he was aiming for.

Chapter 8 Pgs: 147-162

Chapter 8

In this chapter the finally know more about Gatsby's past or better said about the past of James Gatz. We learn how he meet Daisy but most importantly we see a different side of all the glamour that Gatsby has. Chapters before we saw Gatsby's mansion filled with people from room to room. This time the house is described using the words musty, dust, ghostly, dark, and pavilions. Not the words you would use for a house as amazing as Gatsby's but more for an abandoned house left to rot. Not only do we get this description of his house and past but we say goodbye to Gatsby as well. All these chapters we have been wondering what will happen and now we see that Gatsby had been holding on to thought of having Daisy and now that he can't have her anyway there's no point in Gatsby living since he himself is a dream.

George Wilson

"About three o'clock the quality of Wilson's incoherent muttering changed- he grew quieter and started Gallic about the yellow car."

Wilson is a man who respects everyone even if he is on the bottom of the food chain. When Myrtle dies tragically the side the Wilson has been trying to hold back now comes forth. He will avenge his wife even as he knows the she has been unfaithful to him.

Wilson is an example of those or are less fortunate then the people of the Eggs but still helps those who need it. Chapters before we observed how when he had a customer his eyes would light up but now the only thing he wishes to do is kill the man who ran over his wife. Unfortunately he does not know the truth and finishes off Gatsby, the man who we've gone through chapter after chapter and discovered new emotions and opinions for someone who has been lying to who he is all along.

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house the the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete."

When I read this quote it gave me this image of mass murder. Of no one getting out alive and that once everything was complete only then would there be peace. This is what I was thinking as is the novel describes Wilson finishing his own life after completing his task.

Chapter 7

In this chapter much of what was obvious was now becoming realized. Tom's suspicions of Gatsby and Daisy is now in the open and he won't let that slide. He plans to confront him and when he eventually does confront him it is extremely clear that Tom is the victor in the end. When Gatsby leaves with Daisy back to the Eggs an unfortunate event had occurred. Myrtle Wilson was run over but killed by someone unexpected. Myrtle was killed by the one and only Daisy Buchanan. By the end of the chapter we discover that Gatsby will take the blame for the event that had unfolded.

Jordan Baker

"Those big movies around Fiftieth Street are cool. I love New York on summer afternoons when everyones away. There's something very sensuous about it- overripe as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands."

Jordan Baker is a woman who doesn't need a man to support her. As a professional golf player she has all the money she needs to be who she wants to be. When it comes to her personality she can be very forward and isn't afraid to insult someone and another persons feelings are unimportant.

" 'Was Daisy driving?' 'Yes', he said after a moment, 'but of course I'll say I was.' "

This quote really shows the real side of Gatsby. Not the sugar covered Gatsby that had been shown since chapter one. He is going to take the blame for a crime that he did not commit. This shows how Gatsby has changed since the last four to five chapters and how his love for Daisy is not infatuation but true. Even if he is still living in the past.

Chapter 6 (Pgs: 97-112)

Chapter 6

In this chapter we finally get to know some useful information about Gatsby, or as we now know James Gatz. We also get to know who Dan Cody was and what he did for Gatsby. When Gatsby was young he was given a position on Cody's yacht so that when Cody was completely drunk there would be someone there to make sure he did not do something completely insane. After a brief explanation of Gatsby's past we find out that Tom is starting to have suspicions about Daisy and Gatsby so when Tom happens to join in Gatsby's weekly party he observes Daisy at all times. By the end of the chapter Daisy leaves and does not have the best time and Gatsby asks Nick for an explanation but does not realize that he is way too caught up in the past.

Dan Cody

"Dan Cody's yacht dropped anchor in the shallows along the shore."

From what we know about Dan Cody he was the one who made Gatsby part of the man who he is today. The only problem that we find with Cody is that he is an extreme drunk which is that main reason he gives Gatsby a job in the first place. In other words Gatsby is his babysitter.

Cody is a man we do not know much but we also know plenty about him. We know that he was the man who gave Gatsby an opportunity at a life with riches and not having to worry about the problems of the low and middle class. We also know that he has a very big problem when it comes to drinking which is why he needed someone like Gatsby in the first place. By the time Cody passed he had left a very big amount of money but was not able to receive it because of technicalities.

"For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing"

This quote really stuck out to me because it showed just what Gatsby thought of the world. To Gatsby the world was something he could bend to his whim and anything was possible as long as he thought of it in his head. The really disappointing part of it all is that he thinks that he can have Daisy think back five years from now and feel the same way. He lives in a dream and doesn't want to wake up from it but believes that that is his reality.

Chapter 6 (Pgs: 97-112)

Chapter 6

In this chapter we finally get to know some useful information about Gatsby, or as we now know James Gatz. We also get to know who Dan Cody was and what he did for Gatsby. When Gatsby was young he was given a position on Cody's yacht so that when Cody was completely drunk there would be someone there to make sure he did not do something completely insane. After a brief explanation of Gatsby's past we find out that Tom is starting to have suspicions about Daisy and Gatsby so when Tom happens to join in Gatsby's weekly party he observes Daisy at all times. By the end of the chapter Daisy leaves and does not have the best time and Gatsby asks Nick for an explanation but does not realize that he is way too caught up in the past.

Dan Cody

"Dan Cody's yacht dropped anchor in the shallows along the shore."

From what we know about Dan Cody he was the one who made Gatsby part of the man who he is today. The only problem that we find with Cody is that he is an extreme drunk which is that main reason he gives Gatsby a job in the first place. In other words Gatsby is his babysitter.

Cody is a man we do not know much but we also know plenty about him. We know that he was the man who gave Gatsby an opportunity at a life with riches and not having to worry about the problems of the low and middle class.

Great Gatsby: Chapter 5 (Pages 81-96)

Chapter 5

In this chapter there was a bit of confusion. As Nick arrives at West Egg he has a sudden release of fear as he notices a fire blazing where his house is located. Fortunately for him, it was Gatsby's property instead and as he walks towards Nick and begins a conversation he shows no sense of sadness or frustration because of it. He acts as if he had just lost a single dime but has many more. Also during this chapter the long awaited meet between Daisy and Gatsby occurs and at first what Gatsby considers "A terrible mistake" turns out to be one of the best days in Gatsby's life by the end of the chapter.

Daisy Buchanan

"Daisy’s face was smeared with tears, and when I came in she jumped up and began wiping at it with her handkerchief before a mirror."

One of Daisy's best qualities that we have seen is how she is different from her husband. Tom is a man who brags about is status to everyone and we see this in Chapter one. Daisy on the other hand is a woman who doesn't necessarily mind being wealthy but does not show it off to everyone around her. We also see a sense of compassion especially with Gatsby. Years of separation had made her forget how much she misses Gatsby.

I believe that Daisy's role in the chapter has to do with Gatsby. Daisy is Gatsby's weak spot and is the only reason that Gatsby is situated in West Egg in the first place. The one thing I question is, can Daisy be able to influence Gatsby. After all, Gatsby went as far as plotting day after day on how to have Daisy within his reach how would he say no and risk losing her forever. We don't know exactly that much about Daisy even though she has been mentioned plenty in the novel. Anything could happen and most likely will happen between Gatsby and Daisy.

" 'My house look well, doesn't it?', he demanded."

What makes this quote stand out from any other is that it goes back to chapter one when we meet Tom Buchanan. It just comes out as more proof that Gatsby may not be as great as we thought he was. That in reality, he is just like Tom. A selfish man who only cares about what happens to him and not anyone else. We can make this assumption because we know that the only thing he has been worrying about is leading Daisy back to him since chapter one.

Great Gatsby: Chapter 4 (Pages 61-80)

Chapter 4

In this chapter Nick and Gatsby go to New York to dine. As they are on their way not only does Gatsby tell Nick more about himself but Gatsby is caught speeding by an officer which I found interesting. When Gatsby was stopped all he had to do was show the officer a type of note and he was off the hook. The officer himself apologized for stopping him something that does not happen often today. Later on, we find out that possibly the true intention of why Gatsby was so interested in Nick all along. He is in love with Daisy Buchanan and wants to see her again as soon as possible. With the help of Nick that could be a reality.

Meyer Wolfshiem

"A small, flat-nosed Jew raised his large head and regarded me with two fine growths of hair which luxuriated in either nostril. After a moment I discovered his tiny eyes in the half-darkness."

Wolfshiem doesn't seem like a man who has many great qualities. Like many of the powerful people we have met it seems that Wolfshiem is a sefish, greedy man who only cares about himself. One character in particular is the infamous Tom Buchanan.

I find Wolfshiem a very intriguing character. Though we have only met him briefly in this chapter we can tell much though binary opposition. We can tell that even though he is a friend of Gatsby it does not mean he has the exact same attitude. To Nick he seems like the other wealthy men. At this point it does not seem like he has that much of a role in the novel but we do find out that he is like many men also a gambler who fixed the World Series. We also see many baseball "terms" or hints such as highball that show that everyone knows he fixed it but the police can not do anything about it.

"Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl beside me, tightening my arms. Her wan, scornful mouth smiled, and so I drew her up again closer, this time to my face."

This quote to me had an important meaning. In this quote Nick decribes how he has no one to love like Gatsby or Tom but as we soon find out he does. It shows how there is always hope of new things. Not only in love but in life. This scene expresses how opportunity is always around the corner. Its all about searching for the right corner for long lasting opportunity.

Great Gatsby: Chapter 3 (Pages 39-59)

Chapter 3

In this chapter after 39 pages of anticipation we finally meet the famous Jay Gatsby. Nick, not knowing that he is talking to Gatsby tries to show off on how he was personally invited to the same man who invited him. Nick thinks of Gatsby as a generous man who enjoys his wealth with everyone, even with people who do not know Gatsby at all. Even the people at the party tell rumors about who Gatsby is at his parties. These parties that Gatsby have every week are what make him very well known.

Jay Gatsby

"He smiled understandingly- much more understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five time in life."

Gatsby is a generous man who does not need to be the center of attention in order to have a good time. When he holds parties he is on the side alone watching the rest have the time of their life. Even when he has a conversation with Nick he invited him to ride in his hydroplane with him. He barely knows Nick and still Gatsby has his arms open to his next door neighbor.

Gatsby is still a man where there is a need for more analysis. He is not a character like Tom Buchanan where you can already tell how much of jerk he is not only to Nick but to his own wife. But by using binary opposition we can see how Gatsby is the complete opposite of what Nick would think of a man with the wealth that Gatsby has. Every week he holds a party and half of the people that are there don't even know a single thing about the man of the hour. At that time period I do not think that many people would let complete strangers into such a lavish party.

"It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood of you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, hoped to convey"

This quote stood out because it showed just how Gatsby thought of people. Gatsby, as said before, is not like the rest of the wealthy that Nick portrays as selfish and controlling. To Gatsby everyone has a feature that emits the positivity in their personality.

Great Gatsby: Chapter 2 (Pages 23-38)

Chapter 2

In chapter 2 we meet new characters the most important one being Myrtle, Tom's mistress. Ironically, Myrtle is also married to a man by the name of George B. Wilson who is a friend of Tom. The whole chapter really explains what happens when Tom goes to see Myrtle. All of the characters are having a good time in the apartment and they start mentioning people of West and East Egg such as Gatsby and Daisy. They say that Gatsby gained his wealth because he is related to Kaiser Wilhelm. Then they get to Daisy and as Myrtle starts repeating her name and making fun of her Tom breaks her nose.

George B. Wilson

"He was a blonde spiritless man and faintly handsome. When he saw us a gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes."

George is a man who loves his wife, Myrtle very much and we see this when she asks him to bring in the chairs. He agrees without hesitation and is back as fast as possible. This shows that George would do anything for his wife.

George B. Wilson is the husband of Myrtle Wilson who is the mistress of Tom Buchanan. George owns a car shop but as we find out when entering the garage he is not having the success one would think George would have. Especially when they say "the dust covered wreck of a Ford."

"When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes."

This quote really expresses the hardships that many people had to go through at that time. Not everyone was like Gatsby or the Buchanan's and not everyone was able to afford the things that they needed. It is these small details that can really show a reader how it was at a certain time period.

Great Gatsby: Chapter 1 (Pages 1-22)

Chapter 1

In this chapter the first character we meet, Nick Carraway, who is the narrator of the novel. The chapter starts out with a lesson from his father about not criticizing anyone because they do not have the opportunities that he would have. Most likely, in my opinion, the single most important quote I have seen in the novel as of now. We find later on that Nick had decided to go into the bond business and situates himself in a house right next to the famous Gatsby himself who at the start of the novel praises him. "Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away."

Tom Buchanan

"Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven- a notional figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax."

In the first chapter, Tom Buchanan seems like a very negative man. Countless times they describe as a very cold character. "Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward."

"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 quote really hit me because it felt like something my own father would tell me. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to have certain things such as a phone or mp3 products. We do not stop and consider that there are those that are freezing in the cold with an empty stomach. If they had half of the things we have today they would consider it a gift from God. To us, it's just another thing we had to have.