chapter 8

American Dream – Along with last chapter this chapter shows how the American Dream is very difficult to achieve unless you were born into it. Myrtle was killed in the last chapter and her whole life was consumed around trying to be rich and live the American Dream. In this chapter Gatsby is killed which

Chapter 7

American Dream – Wealth becomes very apparent in this chapter. When Daisy’s daughter comes out so she can “show her off” it shows that Tom and Daisy are so rich they pay for someone to take care of their kid. Daisy isn’t like a real mom she doesn’t care for her child she just brings her out to show her to people. When they go to the hotel to drink and cool off it shows that money isn’t a big deal and they can just waste it on simple things like that.

Character Development – You see Daisy develop into someone who was secretly completely in love with Gatsby to someone who can’t tell her husband what she has been telling Gatsby. She is living in a fantasy but knows that she won’t leave Tom even though she has been getting Gatsby’s hopes up.

Colors- White is in this chapter again but they mention white powder and I think the powder is like a mask. She may look white and pure on the outside but really she has been cheating on her husband and leading Gatsby on. She isn’t pure and innocent at all.

chapter 6

American dream – The American dream is to be rich and go to fancy dinner parties and socialize with other people of your status. In Gatsby’s situation he may be rich but he doesn’t fit in with the “rich crowd”.

Character Development- In previous chapters you were able to tell that Gatsby didn’t really fit in but when he accepts the woman’s invitation when she wasn’t really inviting him it shows what an outcast he really is. He does’t understand they way the work.

colors – There is a lot of white in this chapter. For example, “Daisy’s white face” the white represents the beauty and perfection of Daisy. 

This I Believe

On Christmas Eve in 2005 my family and I spent the evening at my aunt’s house with the entire family just like every other year. The only difference was this particular year my cousin Patrick and I spent most of the night talking to my Great Grandpa about when he fought in WWII, what our parents were like growing up and numerous other topics. There were a lot of amazing stories that I am extremely happy I got to hear.

My one major regret from that night was forgetting to give my Great Grandpa a hug before I left. I didn’t get see him very often so I always tried to make the best of the time I got to spend with him, but in the chaotic mess of people leaving and saying goodbye I left without giving him that hug that meant so much to both of us. When I got home I realized that I had forgotten, but reassured myself that I would just give him a bigger hug the next time I saw him.

Five months later my mom called to tell me that my Great Grandpa was in the hospital because he had fallen; unfortunately the fall wasn’t why he was still there. The doctors had found that my grandpa was in the final stages of Leukemia and he only had a few short days left to live. My parents and I rushed down to see him the next day but he wasn’t the same grandpa who couldn’t keep from cracking a joke every five minutes or reminding you of all your embarrassing childhood memories. Instead he was laying almost lifeless on a hospital bed hooked up to more wires and machines than you can imagine.

At the end of our visit we all took turns giving him that lame one arm hug that barely got around his back because of those bulky bed rails. That was it I never got my chance to give him the hug he deserved and that I cherished until the next time we met.

 You shouldn’t ever let an opportunity pass you by because you think you will have the same opportunity in the future. This I believe.