Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Notes
Content
“Great Gatsby”/ “Under The Red, White, and Blue” Chapter 1 Once again to Zelda Words: Provincial – narrow minded (originally meant to mean “from the country”) “There must be more than this provincial life!” – Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” Because his peers considered Nick normal, they would easily confide in him. His fathers words basically meant that if you weren’t judging someone, you were hoping that they would turn out better then they seemed when you first met them, or better than they seemed if you had judged them. His father also tells him not to judge others because they weren’t raised on the same morals as you. Their families taught them differently. “You’ve got to be carefully taught…” - South Pacific By the end of the book (the point of which Nick is speaking from in the first two pages), he wants his morals to be the way they were when he was younger. Like a soldier that is “at attention”, one-sided and unwavering. This implies that Nick may question his morals at some point in the story. Teutonic - displaying the characteristics popularly attributed to Germans. “…ragged edge of the universe…” After traveling the world during WWI, his mid-western life seemed too normal and calm. He needed to experience “riotous excursions and privileged glimpses into the human heart”. “I told him. And as I walked on I was lonely no longer. I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler. He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighborhood.” Confer – to grant or bestow. Nick has just arrived in West Egg (or has only been there for a short while) but is able to help someone else by having a greater knowledge of the neighborhood than him. This makes him not feel lonely anymore because being lost implies that one is “lonely” or “a loner”. Nick is not lonely anymore because he is part of “the neighborhood”. Part of a group of people. Because
he has passed on this information about the neighborhood, he has officially become one of the “East-Eggers”. “… their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.”/ “…the less fashionable of the two…” Although East Egg and West Egg are both seemingly upper class New York neighborhood, there are things that separate them. My best guess is that the “East Eggers” are more snobbish than “West Eggers” “… everything afterward savors of anticlimax…” Tom Tom Tom… this is what Nick was talking about when he said that the revelations of young men are “…plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions”. You want your college/high school years back. Ever man starting around his early thirties does. They take up fancy sports like golfing (or in your case, polo) and find themselves a younger mistress (of course, AFTER your first (or first few) children are born). You’re a sad man, but I sort of feel sorry for you. You drifted around in life searching for a place and purpose, until you realized your life is basically over. Life’s a bitch. “…I had no insight into Daisy’s heart…” “… privileged glimpses into the human heart…” Oh, you will Nick. “Two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all…” This is just beautiful, all be it contradictory. Supercilious - behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others “…a supercilious manner”/ “…a cruel body.”/ “…just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are…” Again, life’s a bitch. Cough you’re getting old and fat but trying to retain the demeanor you had in college cough cough. Fractiousness - easily irritated; bad-tempered “ A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up towards the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.” WHAT EVEN YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.
Imperceptibly – Impossible to be aware of. “ Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it.” I LOVE THE AMBIGUETY! Unobtrusively - not conspicuous or attracting attention Nordics - of or relating to Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands Extemporizing - compose, perform, or produce something such as music or a speech “I was conscious of wanting to look squarely at everyone, and yet to avoid all eyes.” BE MORE BEAUTIFUL I DARE YOU. Settee - a long upholstered seat for more than one person, typically with a back and arms. “…a beautiful little fool.” Sexism of the 20’s. Boys are “handsome little gentlemen”, girls are “Beautiful little fools”. Not meant to be smart or make something of their lives except be good, flouncy, bimbo wives. I think Daisy, however, is above this (although this is only the first chapter…). “ “Of course you will” confirmed Daisy. “In fact, I think I’ll arrange a marriage. Come over often, Nick, and I’ll sort of – oh – fling you together. You know – lock you up accidentally in the linen closets and push you out to sea in a boat, and all that sort of thing…” ” / “ “ Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old. Besides, Nick’s going to look after her, aren’t you Nick? She’s going to spend lots of weekends out here this summer. I think the home influence will be very good for her.” “ Daisy is upset with her own marriage, so she is desperate to put others together to form happy ones. She believes that if Miss Baker had a husband, she would settle down and be happy. She implies that all women become infinitely happy once they marry, even though she is obviously not. The sad part is, because this is the early 20th century, Daisy can’t do anything about her situation.
he has passed on this information about the neighborhood, he has officially become one of the “East-Eggers”. “… their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.”/ “…the less fashionable of the two…” Although East Egg and West Egg are both seemingly upper class New York neighborhood, there are things that separate them. My best guess is that the “East Eggers” are more snobbish than “West Eggers” “… everything afterward savors of anticlimax…” Tom Tom Tom… this is what Nick was talking about when he said that the revelations of young men are “…plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions”. You want your college/high school years back. Ever man starting around his early thirties does. They take up fancy sports like golfing (or in your case, polo) and find themselves a younger mistress (of course, AFTER your first (or first few) children are born). You’re a sad man, but I sort of feel sorry for you. You drifted around in life searching for a place and purpose, until you realized your life is basically over. Life’s a bitch. “…I had no insight into Daisy’s heart…” “… privileged glimpses into the human heart…” Oh, you will Nick. “Two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all…” This is just beautiful, all be it contradictory. Supercilious - behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others “…a supercilious manner”/ “…a cruel body.”/ “…just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are…” Again, life’s a bitch. Cough you’re getting old and fat but trying to retain the demeanor you had in college cough cough. Fractiousness - easily irritated; bad-tempered “ A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up towards the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.” WHAT EVEN YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.
Imperceptibly – Impossible to be aware of. “ Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it.” I LOVE THE AMBIGUETY! Unobtrusively - not conspicuous or attracting attention Nordics - of or relating to Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands Extemporizing - compose, perform, or produce something such as music or a speech “I was conscious of wanting to look squarely at everyone, and yet to avoid all eyes.” BE MORE BEAUTIFUL I DARE YOU. Settee - a long upholstered seat for more than one person, typically with a back and arms. “…a beautiful little fool.” Sexism of the 20’s. Boys are “handsome little gentlemen”, girls are “Beautiful little fools”. Not meant to be smart or make something of their lives except be good, flouncy, bimbo wives. I think Daisy, however, is above this (although this is only the first chapter…). “ “Of course you will” confirmed Daisy. “In fact, I think I’ll arrange a marriage. Come over often, Nick, and I’ll sort of – oh – fling you together. You know – lock you up accidentally in the linen closets and push you out to sea in a boat, and all that sort of thing…” ” / “ “ Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old. Besides, Nick’s going to look after her, aren’t you Nick? She’s going to spend lots of weekends out here this summer. I think the home influence will be very good for her.” “ Daisy is upset with her own marriage, so she is desperate to put others together to form happy ones. She believes that if Miss Baker had a husband, she would settle down and be happy. She implies that all women become infinitely happy once they marry, even though she is obviously not. The sad part is, because this is the early 20th century, Daisy can’t do anything about her situation.
