1984

The book starts off talking of a man who is walking up the stairs to an apartment where there is another man who is listening to a telescreen and when he notices another person is around he turns it down even though Winston can still hear the words clearly. Then as he is walking down the steps he sees a poster that states: Big Brother is Watching You. This saying has much significance to the story as it goes on.

When Winston is back at his place he is trying to decifer whether or not to write in his journal. Finally he just starts jotting down the first thing that is in his head. When he pauses he is reminded of a story which is the reason he wants to write in his diary. The story takes place earlier that day when her was at work and a meeting or something was taking place and everyone was gathered around in a room with a telescreen and when it came on an enemy to this Big Brother named Goldstein came on and he talked of what he thought was wrong with Big Brother and everyone pretty much freaked out. They screamed and threw things at him, hitting the telescreen, and they shouted their hate towards him even though to him it meant nothing because he was not there to hear it. When Winston stood up he made eye contact with O'Brien and realized that there was someone else who thought the way he did...that Big Brother is not what it seems, it might just be much worse. But the one thing that bugged me is that this Goldstein is saying what he feels is right and using his freedom of speech and preaching to the world but even those who possibly agree with him do not have the guts to speak out themselves, instead they follow what the others are doing and yell about how wrong he is.

Winston goes off in a day dream and when he awakes from it he realizes he has written "Down with Big Brother" which is something that could get him killed but yet he keeps going writing things, bad things, about Big Brother. When there is a knock at the door Winston fears someone has seen what he has written down and he is scared, but he leaves it open anyway and I think it is a gesture toward what he believes in he wants people to know. He's scared but in a way he isn't . He wants to revolt but isn't sure how to. Mrs. Parsons is the one at the door and she needs help with her sink.

The story continues with Winstons day dreaming and I think that this has much importance because it goes into detail about what he believes in and what his thoughts and experiences are which all have much importance for what will happen in the rest of the story.

The Great Gatsby

Chapter nine starts off with Nick talking as he remembered that day and how he remembered Gatsby the last time he saw him. The way he looked as his lifeless body lay in the pool and the red blood coming out from under his body like lava. Just everything about that day is something Nick will never forget and he will never forget the last thing he said to his friend or the last thing that ran through his friends mind, the thought of Daisy no longer loving him and not choosing him, but choosing Tom over him. The thought that that is the last thing Gatsby remembered is really depressing. Nick is trying to reach others to tell them of Gatsby’s death and he cannot reach anyone, and when he does reach other people he finds out that they really were not friends of Gatsby, just acquaintances. The thought that he would be the only one to attend Gatsby’s funeral is bad enough, but when Gatsby’s dad arrives makes it even worse. His dad coming to the funeral is not the bad thing I mean the fact that Mr. Gatz has to see that his son, whom he thought is a great guy and who made a good life for himself, has no friends not even good enough ones who will attend his funeral. That is really sad. It is not something that a father should have to see or think. So Nick tries to get people to come to Gatsby’s funeral but even when he goes to New York to get Wolfshiem, he still won’t come. Apparently he has other things to do than get tangled up in something like that. Pa-lease! Nick spends his time reflecting on that and his experiences during that time and all of those who he new like, Jordan Baker who apparently is engaged to another. Awkward. All in all, the book was pretty good. There was a lot of hidden meanings that need to be looked for and a lot of illusion vs. reality. But the book teaches a lot of good lessons and makes you think of what was really going on back in those days.

The Great Gatsby

As Tom, Nick, and Jordan return from the scene of Myrtle’s death, Tom is pretty much freaking out from the thought that Gatsby, who supposedly is the one who ran her over, didn’t even stop to see if she was all right or to explain that it was an accident. Instead he just went home. But what Tom and the rest of them don’t know is that it was Daisy who was the one who was driving and by Gatsby’s description of her is that it didn’t seem to register of what she had just done. I don’t know if I just missed it but I don’t remember how Myrtle got out to run into the road where she could get hit by a car. It is said that when she ran out in front of the car she was trying to stop the car like she knew who was driving. Why? Well because when Tom was driving Gatsby’s car into New York and he stopped for gas Myrtle looked out of her window where she was locked away and saw Tom there. This yellow car is very unique so of course when she saw this car coming she thought Tom would stop and take her with him. That is also what Mr. Wilson thought as Tom arrived at the scene until Tom could explain that he just came from NY. As they are at Tom’s house Nick gets ready to go home in a taxi and as he is walking towards the end of the road to wait for the taxi he spots Gatsby in the bushes. Gatsby then comes out and explains all of this to Nick. Nick tries to get Gatsby to go home with him in his cab but Gatsby is too dedicated to Daisy to just abandon her and leave her with Tom in case Tom may get violent and be dangerous. When Gatsby returns home Nick hurries over to his house to once again talk about what had happened. That night what Gatsby had come to figure out is that Daisy chose Tom. Yet even though he knows this he still is not willing to admit it.
Then the chapter goes to back when Gatsby and Daisy were truly in love and he was leaving her to go to war. Gatsby wasn’t rich then and she loved him, but why can’t she still love him rather than keeping her social status with Tom. The chapter goes to George Wilson and he is looking for the man who killed his wife. He tells his friend Michaelis that he can find out who it was and when Michaelis is home sleeping George leaves and is walking all over talking to others to figure out who it was. As Gatsby is trying out his unused pool shots are fired. Nick goes running through the house to the back yard where he finds Gatsby in a pool surrounded by red blood where George Wilson had murdered him and then took his own life.

The Great Gatsby

Chapter 6 starts off with Gatsby’s life before he was known as Jay Gatsby. He was actually James Gatz before he changed his name. Also he used to own a boat and supposedly lived on it for a while. The man, the portrait hanging on his bedroom wall, is a man he used to know, Dan Cody. This man had a huge part in Gatsby’s success and also may have had a big impact on his life. Then the story goes to Nick and how he is at Gatsby’s house and within 2 minutes of his being there Tom Buchanan arrives. They exchange greetings and Gatsby seems really nervous and tells Tom he knows Daisy. Real Smart! Tom, of course, takes this partly the wrong way and is very curious to find out how and where from he knows Daisy. It is pretty strange how easily Gatsby folds under pressure and how he blurts out things that are not exactly supposed to be known. Gatsby and Nick are invited to a party where Nick can’t go but Gatsby can. I think that Gatsby will take any excuse to leave his house and make new acquaintances with others so that his is known and out there. But he really shouldn’t have gone especially at how easily it was to tell that the woman’s husband clearly didn’t want him to go with them to their house. Chapter 6 ends with Nick and Gatsby talking about Daisy and how she didn’t like the party of Gatsby’s she attended. I can see why. She was barely ever around Gatsby because he had other guests to attend to and she was sitting at a table with really annoying people, I don’t blame her for not enjoying herself. Plus Gatsby is trying too hard to impress Daisy and it is not really what she wants. Then Nick is about to say something. But what? He held it back for a reason.Chapter 7 starts off with Gatsby not having parties any more. People actually drove up and waited a little while hoping for the party to suddenly start up. Desperate much. Need time to get away and the only place they know of to go is to Gatsby’s house. But Gatsby actually fired all of his servants and hired new ones. All of this was done for Daisy, so there was no more gossip about them two. Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan all go to Tom and Daisy’s house for a little party for them and they are sitting around and Daisy starts complaining about the heat and wanting to go to town and then she, I think, mouths to Gatsby…I love you… and Tom sees this, really smart on her half. She couldn’t wait until Tom wasn’t there in the room at least. They are pretty careless back them about their affairs people are having. Tom gets very agitated about this, which is very surprising mostly since he is also having an affair and has been for some time. This gets him wanting to go to town so Gatsby and Daisy aren’t around each other so much and he is ready to knock Gatsby out, that is all that he is putting off through his emotions.

The Great Gatsby

Chapter 4 starts off talking about all of the people who attend Gatsby’s summer parties. They go from rich people to poor people and they describe their pasts. Then Gatsby takes Nick fro a ride, to lunch. Gatsby starts, kind of invading Nick’s privacy when he talks about how Jordan is going to be telling Nick a story about Gatsby and what Gatsby wants him to do. When they arrived at the restaurant they met a man there, Mr. Wolfshiem. Gatsby invites him to dinner and he had many stories to tell. But he is a bit of a strange man. After he leaves Tom Buchanan sees them and goes up to talk to Nick. When he is introduced to Gatsby they turn to talk to each other and when Nick turns around Gatsby has disappeared. But why? Could it have something to do with him being uncomfortable being around Tom while he is still in love with Daisy? Any who… Then Jordan and Nick go out and Jordan tells Nick of the story of Gatsby. Gatsby wants Daisy to go to Nicks house and then see him again like coincidentally. The reason Gatsby wants this is because he was once a lieutenant and was also in love with Daisy. When he went to war he sent Daisy a letter congratulating her on her marriage to Tom. This made Daisy get drunk and have to be put in a bathtub so she could attend her wedding. How sad. While taking a walk, Nick and Jordan, they really start to like each other and their relationship is taken to the next level. On to chapter 5… it starts off with Nick and he invites Daisy to his house. So when she arrives Gatsby, who is in Nick’s house waiting for them to come inside, once again disappears leaving Nick puzzled. Gatsby has got a thing about disappearing. So Gatsby knocks on the front door, Nick answers, and he goes into the living room. But things are not quite what he expected they would be. Things were awkward and embarrassing. Gatsby even knocked over a clock. This is an old clock where time has stopped which relates to the book in what I think that Gatsby’s life has kind of stopped. He has been waiting 5 years putting on parties, getting a fancy house, making lots of friends, and money, for what all seems to be for her. His life has been on hold for this one girl who he was in love with a long time ago. Then Nick leaves and when he comes back they were sitting closer and talking and Gatsby was even laughing but Daisy was crying. Gatsby invites them to his house and they take a tour of his mansion. When Gatsby talks about his room being an apartment I kind of thought that there was more to that. Maybe that there is more going on at these parties or that he rents them out to others like the boarder who is living in another room. When they get to his wardrobe I was slightly confused about why he was throwing all of his shirts for them to see, which made Daisy cry. I think she cried because she wishes she had this life and had it with this man. Then they go listen to the boarder play the piano while Gatsby and Daisy sit in a dark corner. Mysterious…or is it. Then Nick goes home and the chapter is done. THE END

The Great Gatsby

Chapter 3 starts off with Gatsby having parties at his home. Throughout summer he has had many parties and finally Nick is invited to one. You would think that finally he had met Gatsby but actually Gatsby sent his chauffeur to invite Nick to the party. Also during this you finally learn Gatsby’s first name, Jay. The summer parties seem to be mysterious and you wonder what is going on at them, and how the book talks about the different people who are leaving this party it makes you wonder what is going on. I think that Nick believes it will be a normal party and he’ll meet Gatsby and what not but it really isn’t like that. There are many people there who weren’t even invited and most of them are dressed in business suits and it’s like they just got off of work. And the women, some of them are dressed in pretty much like gowns. Then when Nick goes looking for Gatsby everyone he asks, either doesn’t know him or is just surprise that Nick doesn’t know him. But it makes Nick very uncomfortable and he goes outside where he sees Jordan Baker. Then they walk around together and talk together. They meet these 2 girls who talk about Gatsby killing a man but it is said to be that it was done in war. But Gatsby seems to be a nice man, like how he bought the one girl a dress that it wasn’t even his fault that it got ruined. Then Nick is talking to this young man who invites Nick to go on his new hydroplain and then all of a sudden he says something pretty embarrassing because the young man turns out to be Jay Gatsby. Awkward!!! After that Gatsby goes inside and watches as the people are dancing to this certain song. The way he watches them is as if he is proud. Proud to make others happy and getting others close together through this song. Gatsby seemed to be this older man who had parties to stay close to people and to be out there mingling with others, but he is actually this young man who is very mysterious and has really lived his life. And it isn’t done yet…

The Great Gatsby

The second chapter of The Great Gatsby started out confusing, until I read on. It is talking about how Nick is going with Tom to New York. Then on the way they stop at a gas station where Tom is getting a car and the guy there, Mr. Wilson, really likes Tom. Apparently he doesn’t know about Tom and Myrtle and their secret relationship. I’m really not sure why Tom took Nick to see her and completely prove the fact that Tom is in fact having an affair. I also really don’t understand why Nick is going along with it. I don’t understand why Nick is not getting mad about Tom and his other woman. Tom really isn’t my favorite person in the book at all. I can understand why there are times when you want to have an affair and why he would want to because he doesn’t love Daisy apparently, but it doesn’t make it any less wrong. Then they arrive in New York and Myrtle buy some things including a dog. They go to her apartment and she calls up her friends and sister. I personally think that the sister, Catherine, was totally hitting on Nick and all. The photographer and his wife were very annoying people all they talked about was taking photographs and who would be good in what picture. I don’t think I could last too long with them. The billboard with the picture of his uncle has a very strong meaning to it and it gives him a glance at the past and at his life and how it has turned out.