Post 1 - Walter Leonardo Rivas

Post 1: After reading one or two chapters

So here I am, re-reading "The Great Gatsby". Now, don´t get me wrong, I really love the novel and I agree that it is one of the finest novels in American history.

The first character we get to know is Nick Carraway. He is the narrator, but he is not the protagonist of the novel. The story is about Gatsby, who represents everything for which Nick has an unaffected scorn. Nick Carraway comes from a well-to-do family from the Midwest, he is a Yale grad and a WWI vet.

Daisy Buchanan is Nick’s second cousin once removed. She is an alluring woman, and there is something in her voice that men who had cared for her find difficult to forget. In a sense, she is a siren.

Tom Buchanan is Daisy’s unfaithful husband. As Nick, he attended Yale University. He is a contemptible character, a racist and obscenely wealthy.

Jordan Baker, a famous golf player, and Daisy's friend. She is a great gossip, and rather snooty.

Screenshot from The Great Gatsby - Official Trailer (2012)

This is a valley of ashes — a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.

 This quote made me think about the 1920s boom. Specifically, how the prosperity so obvious in every town and city was not enjoyed by everyone. In fact, the gap between rich and poor was very large: the top 5% of Americans earned one-third of all income.