Hey fellas! ... of Gatsby

Hey readers! I'd like to dedicate this next post to all of the guys I've come to know since moving here. They've all made such a big impact on my life, mostly beyond my control, and I believe they deserve an honorable mention.

First up, I'd like to talk about Tom Buchanan. Now I met Tom in college at Yale and we're friends, but I need to speak truthfully about him, against my usually non-judgemental attitude. Tom is your typical bully. He was a star football player, and his body is built to boot! However, he's not too bright, and, aware of this, does what he can to mask his stupidity in a variety of strange ways. He's strong and persistent, yet arrogant and forceful as well. His testosterone fueled personality occasionally leads him to lose his temper and make unwise decisions. Countless times, I've seen myself getting pushed around by him like a chess pawn. He likes to use people to his own benefit, sadly, treating them as lower than himself. Despite his flaws, he is married to Daisy, is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, and is very wealthy.

Next, we have Jay Gatsby himself. Mr. Gatsby is my neighbor here in West egg. He lives in a huge mansion that dramatically triumphs over my small home. On Saturdays, Gatsby would throw extravagant parties displaying his wealth. Everyone wanted to go, and, ironically, at his own party is where I unexpectedly met him. Gatsby is a dishonest, mysterious man. Nobody truly knows how he got so wealthy or how he arrived at his high social status. I had heard many rumors about his origin until he told me the truth. I learned that his real name is James Gatz and he was born in North Dakota. He was schooled for half a year at Oxford after fighting in the war. He is in love with Daisy Buchanan, Tom's wife, and since meeting her, has dedicated his life to gaining enough wealth to be with her. He got to where he is today with the help of Dan Cody, the man who inspired Gatsby to do whatever it takes to achieve wealth.

Third, we have George Wilson. He lives in the valley of ashes and runs a auto shop. He is married to Myrtle Wilson and I haven't had much time to speak with him. I know that his wife was having an affair with Tom and that he was clueless. Also, the death of Myrtle really shook him up. It was really sad seeing him like that.

Lastly, I would like to include myself in this list, and I do this as humbly as I may. I am from Minnesota and educated at Yale, like Tom. I moved to West Egg and went into the bond business. I found a cheap, yet nice house located right next to Gatsby's mansion and I occasionally like to go down to East Egg to visit my cousin Daisy and Jordan Baker (whom I secretly like). I was early on taught not to judge others for they have not been given the same opportunites as me. Throughout my time here, I have been helping Gatsby rekindle his relationship with Daisy by hosting tea parties and introducing him to close friends. It's not the most fun or rewarding work, but somebody has to do it.

(source: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/characters.html)

Love For the Hopeless

I would like to take this time to talk about, if one wouldn't mind, the subject of unrequited love as seen through my eyes. Now this may seem like such a sad topic for me to be writing about, but lately it's hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm referring to the relationships between Gatsby and Daisy, George and Myrtle, and Tom's involvement in each. Now it seems like every girl likes Tom, the arrogant tough guy of East Egg. Daisy has loved him despite his "brute" behavior and relations with Myrtle and Myrtle loves him even though she's married to George. In the end, Gatsby and George are the ones who end up getting the short end of the bargain while Tom gets both! I just think it's ridiculous...but sad. Why does it have to be this way? Aren't the good guys supposed to prosper? I guess times are changing.

Gatsby loves Daisy more than I've seen any other man ever love a woman. She said she loves him, but she also says she loves Tom. I even believe she's about to stick with Tom, even through all of Gatsby struggles. And these aren't any old struggles, this is devotion at it's purest for five years! For five whole years Gatsby loved Daisy and committed himself to her. For five years, Gatsby loved without being loved. And now, for five years, Gatsby was living a blind mistake. That's just terrible!

George and Myrtle's relationship was pure and good until Tom showed up. Then, because of his greed and inconsiderate personality toward Daisy's feelings, he goes off and has an affair with Myrtle who, in turn, has an affair behind George's back. In one fatal swipe, Tom kills the love lives of two innocent men, only longing for the one thing that will complete them. It just really upsets me that the one who doesn't deserve anything good prevails and gets whatever he goes after, taking it from the ones who deserve it more. But hey! I guess sometimes one can't reach their dream, no matter how hard they try... :(

(source: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/characters.html)

Dan Cody: The Spring of Prosperity

When I first met Gatsby, I was perplexed by all of the rumors I would hear about his social status and rise to fame here in West Egg. Now what to believe and what not to believe were questions in themselves that begged for answers, but what's even more important is what is the truth behind this mysterious man. Easy to believe I was startled by the story Gatsby told me about his past...

James Gatz met Dan Cody in Lake Superior when he was just 17 years old. He was loafing around the area when he saw the Tuolomee anchored. Seeing the opportunity, the man suddenly became Jay Gatsby and took a rowboat to warn the 50 year old Dan Cody of a possible storm approaching. To Gatsby, staring at that yacht was like seeing his dream right in front of him. Luckily, Gatsby is the kind of guy with enough drive to seize the opportunities he's given. After interviewing with the wealthy millionaire and flashing him a charming smile, Gatsby became his "steward, mate, skipper, secretary, and even jailor". He became Cody's right-hand man, helping him when "Dan Cody drunk" took over "Dan Cody" sober. This lasted for 5 years until Dan Cody's death, suspiciously a week after Ella Kaye boarded his yacht in Boston.

One can easily see the influences Cody had for Gatsby. Because Cody was such a heavy drinker, his bad example taught Gatsby not to excessively drink. He also gave Gatsby hope and experience with wealth. I believe the most important influence, however, was helping James Gats become Jay Gatsby. It is because of Dan Cody that the vague contour of Jay Gatsby matured into the successful man today; the great Gatsby.

(source:http://www.fcps.edu/westspringfieldhs/academic/english/1project/99gg/99gg2/charlis2.htm)

The Twenties

A Flapper

Black Tuesday - October 29, 1929

Louis Armstrong

Tom Buchanan

Ford's Model T

It is now 1929 as I write this. I must tell you, this has been some decade!

It has boomed, this decade. Some say that, for the most part, it has even "roared." I mean, beginning with President Harding's promise of a "return to normalcy," we saw a big decrease in governmental Progressive reform activity. Laissez-faire became the economic lifestyle and this country entered an unprecedented era of prosperity. I believe it was only natural that we would become so prosperous; we were the only remaining global superpower following the Great War!

The country did not rest in these years, especially on a social level. Like I've mentioned before, Prohibition was in full effect, albeit only on paper. People still consumed just as much alcohol, if not more! Young women were rebelling, in a sense, against traditional gender roles, instead embodying the new "flapper" - bobbed hair, shorter skirts, more widespread smoking, all while dancing to jazz. This was truly the Jazz Age, as the music genre definitely flowered. Among my personally favorite musicians are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Fletcher Henderson.

In addition, nativist sentiment was at a level higher than I have ever seen. We experienced a resurgency of the Ku Klux Klan in this decade. Even the government felt the national nativism, passing in 1924 a National Origins Act that severely cut the rate of immigration. My own friend Tom is blatantly racist. I still remember the first time I visited him and Daisy in East Egg - that day, he mentioned a book called "The Rise of Colored Empires," and told me about how, if we whites weren't careful, we'd be overrun by nonwhites. Such fear, I believe, was the general reason behind the paranoia for white nativism in these years.

Consumerism was also huge in these Twenties. Ford led the pack in the mass production of the automobile with his Model T. It became hugely popular; if I remember correctly, about 15 million were sold by 1927! Plus, the radio entered its heyday. I've heard some people call it a new "national pastime," since almost every home has one nowadays. And of course, you cannot forget the movies! They rapidly became an increasingly central part of life here in America these past 10 years.

And suddenly - and sadly - all of this booming prosperity came to a screeching halt this year with Black Tuesday. On October 29 the stock market collapsed. Only a few months ago we Americans were living in high times, and now it all seems to have been flipped on its head. Thankfully, I am secure for the time being, since my family has been very wealthy for a few generations now. But as for the general public, the future now looks uneasily uncertain...


(Sources: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1564.html, as well as my own knowledge of the subject from AP U.S. History)

Battle of the Egg: West v. East

A Party at Gatsby's

Tom Buchanan

Map of the Eggs

Well, I suppose that you, my dear reader, can consider tonight's post a sort of extension to my previous post about the strained relationship between the "Old Money" and "New Money" people. Only this time, I will speak in reference to neighborhoods...

I live in West Egg. Apparently (as Tom was ever-so-gently (yeah, right) explaining it to me last week), the inhabitants of West Egg constitute the Nouveau Riche - the New Money. In line with that label, the West-Eggers are inherently unsophisticated and wasteful with their money, as Tom puts it. He's an East-Egger and, as a result, part of the Old Money, where all the real class and gentility lie, he says.

I've noticed his, as well as other East-Eggers', disgust with West Egg at Gatsby's parties. I remember the first party of Gatsby's I went to, the one where I spent much of the night with Jordan Baker - her entire posse of East-Eggers kept to themselves, voluntarily isolated, from the rest of the party. They were too refined for the nonsense of it, apparently. And when Tom came to his first party at Gatsby's mansion, - I remember it vividly - he prowled about with a scowl on his face, arrogant and even condescending his demeanor, since he, as a man of East Egg, was essentially above the party.

So there you have it. West Egg comprises the Nouveau Riche, while the Old Money inhabit East Egg. I myself find it all somewhat ridiculous, considering the two Eggs are so similar, in appearance anyway. In fact, they are "identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay" (5). I suppose this is just another manifestation of the tension of these times.


(Sources: "The Great Gatsby" novel, http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/greatgatsby/eastwestegg.html)

The Green Light to the American Dream

There's something about that green light that affects 'ol Gatsby so much. Something about Daisy too. He always looks from West Egg to East Egg with the water separating him from her. All he can see is that little green light...

They really do like each other. They were meant for each other, in a way. I mean, Daisy sure isn't perfect. Still, Gatsby looks at her as the greatest thing life has ever given him. Love and the pursuit of happiness, not wealth or social status, is the true American dream... and yet this idea has become so corrupted and mistreated lately. What is the 1920's bringing us?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm truly inspired by Gatsby's pursuance of Daisy, but he's putting her on such a high pedestal that she does not deserve. It's as if reaching his dream is all that matters, despite the unworthiness of it's value. It seems like all life around here is beginning to lose it's value. Everything is changing so quickly. People are forgetting what makes this country so special. Greed blinds even the most humble of men. And yet, for Gatsby, the green light on the other side is just a hope for a better future. It's a hope for a life where Daisy and him can be together. It's a hope for a better future.

Gangsters and Mafia and Racketeers, Oh My!

Al "Scarface" Capone

The Tommygun

Mobster

Jay Gatsby

Execution

I knew it. I knew it. Oh, how I knew it.

In a previous post of mine, I wrote about how I did not believe the Prohibition was working, by any means. I believe I also mentioned that it was helping to fuel the rise of gangs in America. Well, here we are now, nearing the end of these "Roaring Twenties," and that original belief of mine has proved to still be ringing true.

This decade has so far proved to be prosperous for most of us Americans, but even the wealthier among us cannot compare to the enormous profits that the mob has been reaping. They have completely undermined Prohibition! Who - tell me, just who - do you think provides the speakeasies with alcohol? Well, it certainly isn't Charles Chaplin! No, sir; it's the bootleggers. The gangsters. The mafia. The mob. The racketeers. However you prefer to call them.

Simply because the alcoholic drink was banned in this decade does not mean that people - men and women alike - chose to stop drinking. Enter the mob. Gangsters have made an extravagant, albeit lawless and blatantly illegal, enterprise of supplying beer and liquor to the speakeasies. And they, their fashion, and their lifestyles have become glorified! I should not be surprised; they have, essentially, become the Providers in our alcoholic drought.

Al "Scarface" Capone is my case-in-point. Ruling by the tommygun, he has built up perhaps the nation's largest crime syndicate, in Chicago. A syndicate, of course, based solely upon bootlegging. And yet, he enjoys the status of a rich celebrity, going to lengths as far as donating to charities to retain his public image. As of yet, the authorities have not been able to bring him to justice. Or, possibly, they are unwilling to do so...

I feel that even Gatsby might have taken part somewhat in some sort of underground criminal activity as this! Though I am still becoming acquainted with the man and may not yet be able to draw a justified judgment, his ol' pal Wolfsheim struck me as suspicious. I would not be surprised were I to find that Wolfsheim has connections with the mob. Moreover, Gatsby is enormously wealthy! He claims to have inherited his money, but I still have a gut feeling that that might not be the entire truth. I suppose I will have to wait to find out if Gatsby himself has any relations to the rising mafia of this day and age.


(Source: http://chicagotheroarin20s.tripod.com/the1920s.html)

Sharing is Caring

Though I've always looked down on those who have shown that they do not deserve my respect, I find it especially hard to identify with the more selfish people I'm surrounded by. The one's you see who have everything, but aren't willing to give a dime. The one's who have the ability to change the lives of the many, but instead indulge on themselves. The one's who inherited their wealth and social status, but do not fully appreciate it. Since when has money been more important than happiness?

I've grown up as one who would not judge another, for I have no right to, but when I think of selfish people, my friend Tom Buchanan comes to mind. Now I know he's exceptionally rich and there's always temptations that accompany vast amounts of money, but when one is so involved with himself that he completely disregards the feelings of his wife, I believe the line has been crossed. I did not, in any way, support Tom's affair with Myrtle Wilson. I also feel sympathy for Daisy, but it surprises me that she never objected to whole affair in the first place. Selfishness corrupts people into bad morals. That is why I consciously try to refrain from any and all selfish thoughts.

Lately, I have also been contemplating whether Gatsby's attempts to win back Daisy have been selfish too. I mean, it almost seems like he's using me for his own benefit. Gatsby's a good guy with good intentions (as far as I know...), but I have this feeling that our relationship is working only because I have a connection to Daisy that he sees as an opportunity to reach his goals. What about me? What do I get in return? A "thank you" or appreciative gesture of any kind would be nice. Uhh...selfish people these days.

(source: ngko09.blogspot.com)

Old News? Newly Old?

So I was speaking with Tom the other day. He was on a rant about money, and yet he was not talking about cash! He's frustrated with all the "Nouveau Riche" - the New Money people. He says they're the scum who earn their wealth within their own lifetimes, people typically from the lower or lower-middle classes. They disgust him! Tom says they do nothing but spend their money, "spend, spend, and spend some more," he says, but because they're lower-class waste they have no idea how to spend their money right! He thinks they "have no taste and only buy mansions and cars and jewelry and God-knows-what-else to flaunt their dirty money and make themselves look richer."

Gee, you think they piss him off? But that's Tom for you...

As for me, I guess I hadn't really noticed the trend. I do now, but that is only because Tom pointed it out. Apparently, he says that he and I come from "Old Money," that we're wealthy because our families have been rich for a long time (his family is enormously wealthy; my grandfather's brother started a hardware business that my father runs to this day). "We're better!" he says. "We have class, we have dignity, we have taste... We know how to use money! And I mean, USE!"

Oh, Tom...



(Source: http://www.slideshare.net/CoolTeacher/new-money)

If the Shoe Fitz...

So I made myself an exciting new acquaintance last week! I met a man who is as close to a celebrity as I've ever known, Mr. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. He is a second cousin, three times removed (and obviously the namesake as well), to Francis Scott Key - the writer of our beloved "Star-Spangled Banner." And, what do you know, Mr. Fitzgerald is also a writer!

Mr. Fitzgerald hails from Minnesota, born in the city of St. Paul on the 24th of September in 1896. He tells me he is somewhat of an alum at Princeton. This is because, as he tells me, through his college years he often ignored his studies, preferring to write plays and scripts, so he was placed on academic probation. He risked not graduating, so in 1917 he enlisted in the Great War.

As I said, Mr. Fitzgerald is a writer (and, on an unrelated note, seems to be quite the party-goer, and he was drinking a lot when we spoke). He wrote an early draft of his first novel during the war, titling it The Romantic Egoist but it was rejected by publishers. After returning home, he revised it and was able to get it published, this time as This Side of Paradise.

Mr. Fitzgerald tells me that the novel brought him quick fame (such is why I went out to buy the book on Monday - it is proving to be quite a good read so far), as well of the heart of his beloved. Though I did not get the opportunity to meet her, Mr. Fitzgerald tells me her name is Zelda Sayre. They married only a week after This Side of Paradise was published! Can you believe that?

And he tells me that they've recently had a daughter, little Frances Scott Fitzgerald. Still only an infant, how adorable!

Mr. Fitzgerald also wrote a second book; he tells me it is titled The Beautiful and Damned. I will be sure to look for it once I finish with Paradise. And, he was telling me that he has plans to travel to Europe - France, in particular - to find solitude to write his third novel. I'm excited to see what will come of that one!

Flappers!

Hmm... Besides the evident failure of Prohibition, do you know what other trend I've noticed recently? Women! Or rather, their style... Take the young women of today and compare them to the ladies of 10 years ago and, my friend, you are in for a real surprise.

"Flappers," I hear them being called - the new women of the 20's. Talk about an age of liberalism! I've seen them come and go at ol' Gatsby's parties, dancing to jazz, bobbing their hair, wearing makeup, wearing increasingly shorter skirts... Even the young woman who lives down the street from me now drinks and has taken up the habit of smoking!

At first, I only saw these liberalized ladies on the silver screen, but I've noticed that as time passes "the flapper" encompasses an ever-expanding range of women. Well, one thing is for certain: Throw social American norms out the window, the 20's are now in full swing!

Prohibition? Hm. Not quite so, sir...

Ahh so here we are in the summer of 1922. I honestly cannot believe that it has been, wow, three and a half years since those ol' "Progressives" (as I hear some people calling the reformers of our American society of the past 20 years or so) gained passage of their precious 18th Amendment. Three and a half years! Three and a half years of "Prohibition!" Three and a half years since alcohol was made illegal!

And yet, here we are. The saloons have all been shut down, but for each one, two or more speakeasies have taken its place! You know of the speakeasies, do you not? They are, in essence, saloons, though illegal; people flock to them for the forbidden drink just as the birds of the African savannas flock to waterholes in times of drought. In this case, Prohibition is the drought, the waterholes are the alcohol-abundant speakeasies, and we are the birds, constantly being hunted down by superficially watchful lions - the police - yet always flying just outside of their reach.

Such is the trend I've come to notice. Prohibition was meant to stop the intake of spirits, but it has seemed to only increase the habit among Americans. Look at Jay Gatsby - he goes as far as offering alcohol at his very own parties, hosted at his very own house! Enforcement of the Amendment has not proved very effective. Also, I've noticed it has fueled the growth of many dangerous gangs. I mean, how else would a speakeasy gain access to alcohol? Bootlegging and the bootleggers who do it! They're the ones who make and sell alcohol, illegally of course.

These cannot be not the consequences that the drafters of the 18th Amendment could have predicted can they? Outright disregard for the law, the expansion of speakeasies, the rise of gangs.... And it's only been three and a half years!

I only hope matters improve. But I cannot say that I know if they will. I would not be surprised if the Prohibition is repealed at some time in the future... I guess we shall wait and see.