Good Afternoon everyone,
As I was going back through The Great Gatsby, although I am not a fan of the novel, one of the most interesting things to me has always been the valley of ashes and how it separates the West and East eggs. Another particular aspect that is highly engaging is the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg and how they symbolize the eyes of God staring down at the moral decay. It is as if his glasses act as a telescope to watch out throughout the entire valley of the ashes. One thing that has always struck to me as odd is, why only the eyes? A pursed lip could tell a as many stories as a pair of all seeing eyes and noses are often referenced to. Another aspect of the story that I always found worthy of discussion is why would Tom go into the valley of ashes to have an affair when a man of such monetary value could surely achieve this with wealthier women. Is it because he feels less likely to get caught? I always thought the all seeing eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg were there not only to watch over the moral decay, but to remind Tom of his immoral action. What do you guys think? -Kayleigh
Okay, so link these thoughts to our reading and discussion so far. How do these questions and ways of talking about the text relate to value/evaluation? What approaches are you using to read and why? What are the goals of your critical approach above? (Don't say, "to understand the book." Go further!)
ReplyDeleteThe first few times that I read Gatsby, I remember that I hated Tom almost as much as I hated Daisy. He's overbearing and pompous. Daisy is pitiful. The book is full of great metaphor though, and I think that that's probably why everyone reads this book in high school. I look forward to reading this through different eyes. I think that we'll see an entirely different book. Thinking about it from a different angle, it's just about a bunch of privileged white people whining. Or even just infidelity and jealousy.
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