The old man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is a well written book by Ernest Hemingway in which he uses the heroic figure; Santiago an old man, to show how a real man should overcome his troubles. The troubles may be catching a fish, as it is for him, or overcoming any trouble at all. The reader at first gets an image of an old man where the tone is sad, and depressing. There is a comparison between the old man and  Jesus Christ ,as a person who works hard and goes through a lot of pain; “…his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords”, just as Jesus carried the cross and had nails go through  his hands. The young boy, Manolin, is a person that really honors Santiago and sees him as a great man. The fish in the sea is symbolic to the troubles that people face in their everyday life. The old man and the boy like the baseball player DiMaggio, “I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing”, said the old man ,saying what   he thinks a real man is like, overcoming pain and not giving up. Later once Santiago is asleep he dreams when he was a boy and of himself being in Africa watching lions in the sunset, symbolizing that he is  a lion in the sunset part of his life, meaning he has little life left. The next day the old man goes on his eighty fifth fishing day, since he caught a fish, in hope to catch a fish that day. He wishes the boy was with him plenty of times, showing how much he loves the boy. Santiago while at sea, finally hooks a fish, but a really strong one; one the old man knows he has to fight for. Santiago has admiration for that fish that when he hurts his hand, while holding on to the fishing line, he never let go even with the pain and blood in his hand. He just grabs the line with the other hand. He wish to see the great fish, but not the way he looked now; as a weak old man, he thought that the fish and himself as rivals. The struggle is long and very difficult for the old man but after many days, and with his bad hand cramp up, while the other hand in pain with an injury , he has determination to catch that fish . The fish got tired and Santiago had a chance to pull him in. He had worked hard for this, but all his hard work; reward was taken from him as he fought hard with sharks, and nearly lost his life, for the fish, but only ended up with the skeleton of the fish. In this book the recurring theme is of a heroic figure that should never give up no matter what the situation is. In Santiago, the central character of The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway has created a hero who personifies honor, courage, endurance, and faith.

     Throughout, this books there are moments in which examples of honor are display. The old man being a real man knows what honor is, and knows which other people deserve honor. Santiago sees the fish, which he is working really hard to catch as a competitor which he admires on how strong it is and how the fish, like him, does not give up.”I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends”. The old man may respect the fish, but he shows more honors in which he will too try his best to beat the fish and finally catch him. Santiago honors the fish, but he honors himself as well, as he is truly a man, or at least he tries to be. “I wish I could show him what sort of man I am”. Here he is talking about the fish; how he knows it is a worthy opponent, and he wants the fish to look at him as well as an opponent worth fighting with. He shows that he has a lot of honor and wants the fish to know about it as well. The old man also sees the great DiMaggio as a man with plenty of honor, on how he can still play baseball even with the pain in his foot. “But I must gave confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel”. Santiago sees this famous baseball player as an example as how he should be as well, how a real man should be. DiMaggio goes through a lot of pain during his games but does not complain, and at that moment so was the old man as he had one of his hand with an injury while the other was cramped up holding the fishing line of a huge pulling on it. He has to be as good as DiMaggio to be worthy of the fish, which is his rival.

    The life of the main character in this novel is of a man that shows courage that cannot under any circumstance show any fear or be put down by terror. Santiago has had a life where he has showed that even in dangerous situations he has proven his manhood. “When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening”, even when a young man he was not afraid. The old man used to be alone with lions in Africa at a young age that shows how he can withstand being alone, which to most people that is frightening at a young age. The lions represent animals with courage, and are compare to him a lot of times to show how Santiago, like the lions show courage. The old man was a brave young man, and even in his old age he still shows the same kind of courage, which is to never to give in to fear.  “Then he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible”, the old man was alone in the middle of nowhere fishing. Santiago could have stayed close to land to be safe at his age alone, but instead even afraid he still went out and fish for his life depended on it. Santiago could have had help with him, but he like most of his life he was alone and he still did not turn back to safety. The sea is a very dangerous place for a person to be on account on how unpredictable it could be with, the storms, sharks, and getting lost. It would be unthinkable for anyone to consider doing this, without having courage to do this that being the old man. “When once, through my treachery, it had been necessary to him to make a choice, the old man thought”.  Here Santiago had the choice to not do be at a far out point in sea, but he makes the decision to show courage and stay. Courage is difficult mental and moral qualities to withstand, the old man does this very well. He is mentally scare, weak, and alone but even if he knows it will be difficult and treacherous he continues on and remains where there is no guarantee he will survive.

     The way a real man is portrait in Hemingway’s view is of a man that endures all and never, under any circumstance gives up. Santiago is a great example of that type of man, in the book he is shown in some problematical conditions in each he could have easily given up. “The sun was hot now and the old man felt it on the back of his neck and felt the sweat trickle down his back as he rowed”. Santiago has been fishing for eighty five days in a row now, and had not caught anything, but he was still persistent and continues. The sun is very bright above him, and he is very hot and tired with only a bottle of water; even with all this against him he never complains or just stops and goes home. The old man endures all this hardship to complete his goal to catch a fish, just like a real man. Santiago’s rival was a very strong fish that would not give in and let the old man pull it in, it was a tedious task of holding on to that line holding on to that huge fish “.But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and Santiago was still braced solidly with the line across his back”. It had been four hours of the war between the old man and the fish; Santiago could have let go of the fish and looked for a smaller and easier fish to catch, but instead he continue to battle that fish. This shows how he never gives up and does not stop reaching to complete a goal, even difficult, until completed. He even says “I can do it as long as he can”, here he is referring to the fish, that he can pull on the line and go through that pain as long as the fish may want. The old man could have been there for a week or longer if the fish would have wanted, he stay battling the fish for days and did not decide to give up until the fish did. This shows the kind of determination he has that he would compete with a big, strong fish even if he was weak and old. Santiago would endure until he completed this goal until the fish was caught and no sooner.  The old man had to endure so much to finally catch the fish, and if he would have not endured he would have never been able to catch the fish in the first place.

     The struggles that Santiago had to go through were not easy, but the old man always believed in himself that he would be able to overcome all his troubles; he had faith things would get better. “But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks”.  Santiago had gone so many days without catching a fish, but not once did he stop fishing; he could have given up and lost faith in his ability as a fisherman. The old man continue fishing showing that he has faith that eventually he will be able to catch that great fish, he does not stop believing in himself no matter how grim the situation may look. Santiago is well aware of the dangerous situation in which he is going into, as there are plenty great fish that can overpower him. With this knowledge the old man does not conceive his defeat; instead he has full confidence in his ability to overcome the adversities that come his way. “I may not be as strong as I think”, Santiago said. “But I know many tricks and I have resolution”. There are many tricks the old man could have used so he did not have to go out to the dangerous sea, but Santiago had faith in himself that even if it was difficult; he found a resolution to pull through and achieve his goal. The old man stated that he was not a religious person, but still he prayed to god so that he may catch a fish. “But I will say ten our Fathers and then Hail Mary’s that I should catch this fish…” Santiago shows that he has faith in god that he would do all this so that he could be successful, but in reality he real has faith in himself. The old man does his prayers mechanically and sometimes incorrectly; this shows how he does not really believe the prayers are very effective; he mostly believes in himself as a man who has the strength to catch a great fish.

     This book is a great example of how the reader, like Santiago are one in the same. The reader may not have the same struggles as Santiago; to catch a fish, battle a shark, being old, but the reader is still a human being who has their own battles to fight, and overcome. Hemingway creates a character that any person can identify with as an example of how one should never give up and continue to with a battle until the mission is completed. At the end the reader may realize that life, like the book; may not have a happy ending where everything goes according to plan, but the reader could learn from Santiago that even if all his hard works reward was taken from him he still has the power to continue on with his life. The reader could learn that when a problem arises the best solution is to show what no fear and face that problem face on without any doubt in their abilities. 

    

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Man Waiting Until Parents Die Before Doing A Single Thing That Makes Him Happy

http://www.theonion.com/articles/man-waiting-until-parents-die-before-doing-a-singl,18805/,

Link to the article 

Parents have very high hopes for their children they want what is best for them, but sometimes they do not know what that is. Some young people have gotten the idea that in order to do good in their lives they have to lives the life’s their parents have lay out for them when what actually happens is that they grow bitter. With the use of hyperbole, sarcasm, and tone the onion is able to show how young people lose their own identity while trying to please their parents to an extreme.

     The onion article starts of as would any article stating the setting while having a tone that is very serious it talks about a man that for some reason does not want to enjoy live until his parents have passed away. The person in the spotlight, Brian Terlaine, seems to be a normal person at first,” thirty-seven-year-old bank employee”, but later the reader is surprise to read that he is eagerly waiting for his parents  to die to live a normal life. Terlaine is fully capable of doing anything he wants, but refuses to do so for fear of his parents to be disappointment in him. He wants to avoid having his parents “second-guess or disapprove of them”, “them” being the choices he makes, so the only solution he can think of is to wait until his parents are gone so they won’t be there to criticize his actions. This is an example of a hyperbole on how the author is exaggerating how this person would wait until their parents die to just simply avoid how they disapprove of his decisions; also how he won’t do a single thing that makes him happy is being extreme, but it is how the author gets to his point that some people take what their parents say to them to seriously. A normal person would listen to their parents but at then live out their own lives and make decisions that make them happy. Parents will be there even when their child has grown up to try and put in their two cents into their live, so what the author is saying is that can’t be avoided and if you don’t want to hear them pass judgment on then that person has to do whatever their parents say, well at least until they die.

     Not only does the author exaggerates about what to do to please parents, but also writes about how even though extreme Terlaine is the perfect son avoiding things that would displease his parents even he wants to do them. “In direct opposition to his own personal hopes and desires, Terlaine has talked himself out of such actions as skiing, buying a video-game system…”, it’s amusing on how all the things listed that he won’t do for  the sake of his parents approval are all things any normal teenage boy would do. This shows how young people really do not care what their parents say enough to stop doing things that they enjoy but their parents hate. Most teenagers would just do all this things like buy a video game system or going to a beach house without even thinking that what their parents might think. The author writes that Tertaine has dreams to live a live on his own “but has never actually live more than six miles from his parents”. It is part of any teenagers’ life to experiment with things and figure out what they like and as they grow up to grow into their own person, an independent individual. Later in the article the author is being sarcastic on how Terlaine “feels lucky his mother and father care enough about him to remain involve in his life”, when what the author actually means is that if Terlaine’s parents actually care about him they would not be so involve in their sons live, but let him actually let him live out his own life.

      The author writes to tell that teenagers don’t think about what their parents would say when they do things they enjoy, the author also writes that if a person lives out the live as told by their parents word for word then that person would without a doubt be very bitter. “Mom and Dad are just looking out for my best interest, said Terlaine, twisting his shirt into a tiny knot”, clearly Terlaine is very upset at the life he ended up with and very resentful at his parents as his what his parents think are his best interest aren’t making him happy. It is up to every person to make out their own lives as they are the ones that are going to live them out when they listen to anyone, even their parents on what to do with their lives they will end up not happy since they did get to do what they wanted. If a person ends up miserable, because they lived the life told by their parents they will hate their parents. Parents mostly want to see their child happy and sometimes that will mean their child doing something that they do not approve of so it’s up to a person to make the decision between doing what makes them happy or what makes their parents happy. At the end what will make parents happy is to see their child happy even if they do not approve what their child is doing.

    

     Parents are there to guide their children in the correct direction teaching them how to be good people of society, but parents should not see this as an opportunity to be in full control of their child’s life. Parents may have more experience than their child, but parents have to understand that their child has to learn how to live out their lives on their own even if that means making mistakes. In that same token children have to learn when is the right time to do exactly what is being said by their parents and when it is time to make their own chooses. If a person does not live out the life they want then they will be an old and bitter person who hates their lives and does not know how they got to that point in their lives when they are so resentful that they blame it on there parents.

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The Museum Curator

 

In a museum there are large collections of artifacts. A museum is visited by a large amount of individuals and should be properly organize to be admirable. There is a specific amount of artifacts and the locations of those artifacts are also things that make a museum so well organize. The person that goes to the trouble to make sure all in a museum is as it should be is a curator. The important decisions and considerations that should be taken into account to make the museum work and run properly is first, to analyze what most likely appeals to the public with an amount of artifacts, to make a balance between the economical intake made by a museum that it does not get in the way of its educational goal, lastly to examine that proper accuracy is being provided in the form to show sensibility to the public.                            

The mass diversity in a public is common of those individuals there interest differ, thus as the variety of the public so should be as for the collection of artifacts collection within a museum.  Like it is stated “encompass vast range of cultural material-including more than 800,000 works of extraordinary aesthetic, religion, and historical significance” (source c) it is clearly stated on how the National Museum of the American Indian embraces this concept of seeking to all aspects that can include all of the public’s interest.  As declare on source B “Peale also offered his visitors performers, a zoo, and an intriguing assembly of biological oddities” (source B), Peale wanted to attract the attention by pulling in there curious side onto his museum. The curator should not underestimate the power of the public, putting out artifacts that are in vast interest will go well with a museum.
As acknowledged previously the citizens are the ones that a museum depends on.
The public’s funds are the very thing that makes it possible for the museum to
at full capacity, at the same time there is a line that should not be overlooked. The whole essence of the museum is to set an education onto their visitors, as seen on source D “leading the anti-sales movement are museum professionals who feel that commercialism has no place within the scope of museum activities” there are those that oppose the idea of a “gift shop” as it has no purpose to the educational value only dollar value. While there are those that believe otherwise as to make balance;” not money or education but money and education”(source D),  that instead of the term gift shop museum store should be use as while the goal is still to share information between the public, a souvenir is not to make money but memories and increase artifact size.
When a spectator is observing an artifact it is expected to what is being looked at to be fully accurate.  The main thing that lacked in an museum for colonial Williamsburg was accuracy, there were plenty of fun filled facts but it never got to the real extend of the 18th century, as stated by Huxtable “the replacement of reality with selective fantasy” (source E). Huxtable was directing this comment to the colonial Williamsburg museum, there was plenty of how times were simpler with smiles and family not including the bad side of all this, back then slavery was alive and well not to mention famine and disease the people dying young. Americans are being taught history in an inaccurate way that many do not wish to continue on museums all over as taken for source E “for it has taught Americans to prefer-and believe in – a sanitized and selective version of the past”(source E). The other perspective that there is to this issue is simply that while accuracy is what the public wants there is always considerations that should be made to individuals, and be sensitive to the believes and historical culture of all. Stability is key to please the masses there is a way to put something in history without being offensive for a given example the topic of slavery could be told in the way to know the reasons behind and how America has grown from that.
The work of a curator is a lot of critical thinking of the museum and how improvements and organization is being handled. The way that the public puts so much input on the museum is also important for a museum well being. When observing a piece in a museum next time think it is because of the curator this experience is possible.





http://essaysareus.blogspot.com/2011/07/museum-curator.html
http://essaysareus.blogspot.com/2011/07/museum-curator.html

Schools against or for conformity?

The planet earth is a diverse place, filled with a variety of people each different from the next. Then why is it that there is so much emphasis put on conformity in the school system, where students follow a monotonous day; students are not looked as individuals, they are instead looked as if they were all the same. Schools should focus more on student’s individuality; to find self-fulfillment, but not to the point where order is lost. The structure of the school day can be modified to where students get to select their schedule time while having assistance’s from a mentor, also students should select their own curriculum, but having a core curriculum as well; in addition, the dress code could be adjust to where students have the freedom of choosing how to dress; yet, they dress appropriate for a place of learning.

      The unattractive side to school, is the time in which student gets to attend class. Everybody has different responsibilities they need to fulfill; thus, they should be allowed to have different times to attend class and vary the amount of time they spend in a class. There are eight periods in a high school schedule (Source B).  High school administration expects student’s to all learn properly following that schedule. Some students may need a longer period to learn the material while others may not; schools never look into this. Not every student’s mind is wired the same way; some students may need to stay extra time in a period to fully learn the material while the next may just breeze through it. There is a misconception that school scheduling is synonymous with “success.” (Source A), it is incorrect to follow a schedule so precise that at the end of the day the student does not benefit; after all ,school is for the student’s benefit. Students at the same time should not be given full freedom where they procrastinate or take too much in at once; there should be a limit to a student’s input to their schedule. Students still needs an experience instructor to point them in the correct direction. There should be equal input from both parties to accomplish the same goal, which is to help the students reach their full potential.

      As stated previously; students have the right to take their future into their own hands. The importance of time management has already been discussed; however what that time is being spent on is something totally different. It seems that the school system is compared to a “prison”. (Source E) where the teacher or “guard” decide what classes a student gets to attend, but unlike a guard, teachers should take into consideration what classes a student wants to take. Students decided to take a class; for example students take a music class because they plan on learning from that class to later have a career out of it (Source F), but as seen in this image there are a selected few in that class. This meaning that this program is not seen as important as classes that every student is force to take. “But the idea of a school is that individuals must learn in a setting in which individual needs are subordinated to group interests”. (Source D) the school system should stop trying to find a “successful” future for students and let students find out what success means to them; it doesn’t only mean to be well educated but it also means to have a skill in which students get to be pleased with their lives. If students do not get to be treated as individuals then the end result would be a society that has to repair the damage that these angry and resentful students do. (Source E), there should also be a balance were students have to have a core curriculum, to be their safety net in the occasion that their personal goals are not satisfied. Not all the time does a student’s dreams  become realize, in that occasion they have basic knowledge  gain  from their core classes to fall back on, knowledge that can be useful anywhere.

    Even if students try to stand out, the school system like a hammer pushes them back down, and makes them fit in like the rest of the student. The way that schools do this is through mandatory uniform. There should be a change in the dress code; students should be allowed to express themselves in the way they look; by abolishing the dress code as a uniform, which is obligated on students to follow. The dress code is a way to control students; making school a place “… where everyone is playing a kind of role….”.(Source E), what students want is the opportunity to show everyone what type of person they are, their interest, goals, and hopes. This allows students to feel comfortable with what they wear and be comfortable with the type of person they are, and built some self-esteem. Allowing students to feel free helps students perform better in school which leads to a better future. It is imperative for students to feel free to wear what they want but a line needs to be drawn; school is a place of learning and should be treated as such. It would be illogical to go to school dressed in pajamas. Well if there is a restriction students will know when to stop, and not take it that far.

      There are major flaws within the school system that should be address, and are not. The students own needs, and goals are overlooked by the school and are retold what the most “important” goals are. How does the school system actually know more about the students then the actual students?  Students may need guidance and support, but they never need someone else to think for them.

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Chapter 1 study questions

1. How does nick describe himself at the beginning of the book?

At the beginning of the book nick begins to tell how he is different from other people that because he holds his tongue because of his wealth he has more than others. The way that his father has taught him to be around other people who are below him, and nick follows his father sense of being better than others and he is how all should be and he wants to keep that status.

2. Why has nick come to the east?
Nick came to the east because after WW1 he return home and was tired of it so he wanted more than it to be more powerful with money so he went east to learn how to be in the bond business, it would satisfied his family as friends, while making in the world. In order to make it e would have to move to the city.
3. How does nick describe Tom Buchanan?

Nick tells that Tom Buchanan is one of those people that spend money as simply breathing air, he has always been rich and he believes that he will always be rich. Nick said that Tom not only an attractive individual but a person that was so good at what he did that he had reached the top only at twenty-one, he was already at the top with football in college a tough looking guy with a voice to follow.

4. Who is Jordan Baker? What does Nick find appealing about her?

Jordan Baker is Daisy, nick’s cousin, friend she plays professional golf. What nick mentions is that Jordan seems to a mysterious person that does not seem to show much interest in what is happening around her and an attractive women.

5. How does daisy react to the phone calls from Tom’s woman in New York??

Daisy acts surprise and nervous, as she hurries after tom when he goes to answer the found. After an argument in another room both tom and daisy return and act as if nothing had happened.

6. What is Gatsby doing when nick first sees him?

Gatsby is standing and looking at the stars from his lawn, and then he reaches for the water in a curious way that he was almost trembling.
7. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?

The reason Fitzgerald keeps on mentioning hope or dreams is because it is a way to personified what are his dreams and what he wish to accomplish. That he represents these characters as what his life is and all he wish to accomplish and did or did not.

8. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy’s house?

It was the summer time of 1918 when nick first goes to Daisy’s house.

9. Describe nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?

Nick is the narrator of the story he is a young man in his twenties who is from Minnesota. He has a wealthy family in so he attended new haven and then went to World War 1, later he moves to west egg in New York City to learn the bond business. Nick probably will be the person that gets reason into daisy and have an interesting relationship with Gatsby. The way that he will tell the story is that in a calming tone with reason behind what he tells, a way where he is mysterious in telling in his point of view on how things happened.

10. What image does the author use to describe Jordan maker? What does it mean?

The way nick describes Jordan is a very masculine woman the way he says that she is” slender small breasted girl with an erect carriage”, also like a cadet. This probably has to do with her personality of a strong woman that is trying to make it in a man’s world. With women recently being liberated she feels that she can do what a man a can. The author tries to get that image of her to see how her personality is like her appearance.







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Chapter 2 study questions

1. How does Nick meet Tom’s mistress?

Tom takes nick with him onto New York, to George Wilson’s garage to talk about his car. In the garage is George wife Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, which Tom introduces to Nick.

2. How does Myrtle react to Tom’s arrival?

She seems to act like she is happy to see Tom and fell as if she is all that with a snobbish attitude.

3. Describe George Wilson .How does he react to Tom’s arrive?

George Wilson is a working man who is trying to make a living but a less than confident person who seems to be not truly there. When Tom arrives he seems all shaken up and nervous, in disbelieve that he is there.

4. How does Myrtle behave as the party progresses?

Myrtle attitude changes from a person with life and vitality, to someone with arrogance, laugthing around making everyone seem like they are nothing compare to her.

5. What, according to Catherine, has Tom not left Daisy to marry myrtle.

The reason that Catherine believes that Tom has not divorce Daisy is because Daisy is a catholic and it will go against her religion to divorce.

6. Why did Tom break myrtle’s nose? How is this consistent with the author’s description of him in chapter 1? Judging by his treatment of myrtle and his wife Daisy, what seems to be Tom’s attitude toward women?

Myrtle was getting drunk at the party shouting about her new puppy and then she mentions Daisy. Tom tells her not to say his wife’s name but instead she is now chanting it and Tom full of range, breaks her nose. This shows that Tom’s body is a “cruel body”, and he had the appearance of “always leaning aggressively forward” this shows of his appearance of an aggressive person is true. Tom has the idea that clearly men are better than women and he has the right to make them do what he wishes, that they are there to serve him.

7. Describe the “valley of ashes”. What does it look like and what does it represent?

The valley of ashes is a poor land where there is industrial dumping, and all dump of the city is at where the air is dirty with pollution and dying land. The valleys of ashes represent the core of west and east egg where behind all this richness and glamour is a dirty place that is dying. That represents the ugly side of the beautiful land of east and west egg, for example the people.

8. Describe mr.wilson and myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting?

Mr.wilson a very unconfident man who has no life in him, opposite to him is myrtle who if full of life and does not want to waste it, she is filled with arrogance.
Mr.wilson does not seem to belong there while myrtle does she is a sneaking person who wants only the best as in money or social statues in the big city were everyone is moving around with life and goals. Mr. Wilson seems like a honest hard working men who is trying to make a living for himself.

9. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people he spends his time with?

In this chapter is seems that nick is not into drinking and cares what people think of him in the way that he wants to fit in with others. Nick is not like all the people who he is around with, they all seem, selfish people who want nothing more than power and will do whatever to get it and have no respect for others even their own husband/wife. While nick seems to be interested in making money he seems to show respect and decency towers other people.

10. Describe the violent act Tom committed against myrtle. What does this reveal about him?

This shows that Tom has an anger issue where if he does not get what e wants he will use his strength and power to do so. Also it shows how little he thinks of woman.







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Chapter 3 study questions

1. Why does Gatsby throw huge, expensive parties foe people he does not even know?

Gatsby wants everyone to have a good impression of him. There are rumors that he is a bad person that killed someone, so he does not want to people to have that image of him. Also he wants to show how much money he has to impress people.

2. Describe the two ways in which Nick differs from the other guests at the party?

Nick was actually looking for Gatsby, the host, while everyone looked at him with a strange look when he ask about Gatsby. Most of the people were not even invited to him party unlike nick. The people there were talking bad about Gatsby in his own house and did whatever they wanted, like getting really drunk to act crazy. Nick never actually participated in the other people’s conversations about Gatsby.

3. What does the owl-eyed man find extraordinary about the books in Gatsby’s library?

The man in the library was really amazed about the fact that the books were actually real, meaning that they have pages with word in them.

4. Why does the owl-eyed man describe Gatsby as a real Belasco?

The owl-eye man thought, like a lot of people, that Gatsby with the big parties he throws must be a person that more interested in having a good time rather than learning and reading good literature. And when seeing all these books it was a shocker on how different he is than what people expected, like him the owl-eye man.

5. What is the significance of the owl eyed man?

The point to the owl eyed man is to represent that there is another side to Gatsby that many people are not aware of. It is to expand the character to learn more about what type of person he is, and to show how people have the wrong image of him.

6. What does the reaction of the drivers of the wrecked automobile suggest about the values of Gatsby guest?

The guests at Gatsby party seem to see the crash of the car so curious, it was expected to be a reaction of rage or shock and try to help. This shows how little the driver is very drunk and thinks the car is just out of gas. He seems to think that this is nothing really nothing. That shows how these people are spoil, that a wrecked car is nothing.

7. What does Nick learn about Jordan after he’s spent some time with her?

Nick learns that Jordan does not like to be around smart men who can outsmart her in tricking her or something like that. Also that she was accused of cheating in a golf tournament. That Jordan lies about a lot of things about her personality, and the way she is.

8. What is the significance of Jordan’s lies?
Nick says that she does this because she does not like to be a disadvantage with other people. Also that she is not an honest person in the way she keeps a cool act, yet there is more to her where she is not such a good person, where she always gets what she wants. Behind a person that does not seem to care about anything, is someone who does care that she gets the best for herself.

9. Pay attention to Nick’s judgments. What do they reveal about his character that he does this (especially in relation to his opening comments)?

Nick makes statements of people attending Gatsby mansion, and Gatsby party in a way where he kind of making fun of them. He says that all these things were happening for example “eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing brushes…” nick in other words is saying how much effort was put into this party. Also about the guest on how hard they try to be the “thing” at the party. This shows that Nick is a judgmental person in the way that he feels sorry for these people on their way of living and how bad they are. He always says what is wrong with everyone, but he keeps it to himself instead of telling the people face to face.

10. Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him.

He is a middle age man, who is sitting next to a young girl and laughing, Gatsby is an Englishman with a very interesting smile, a man who was also in the war like Nick. Gatsby is a friendly person who even invites nick on a ride on his plane. He is a very happy person, even when Nick says he finds his party weird, because he cannot find the host. Also he is a mysterious person, who gets weird calls but polite to everyone.







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Chapter 5 study questions

1. What does Gatsby offer Nick in return for Nick’s cooperation in inviting Daisy to is house?

Gatsby is offering Nick a job, from a side business he has. He offers him an opportunity to make more money; also he wants to cut Nick lawn. In other words he wants to pay nick for inviting Daisy.

2. What is the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy like initially?

At first the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy is really awkward and nerve-racking. Where Gatsby and Daisy are just staring at each other and Nick is watching them.

3. How are daisy and Gatsby different when Nick returns to the house after a half an hour?

When nick returns Gatsby and Daisy are really over joy with happiness. Daisy has tears of delight in her eyes. Also it is said that Gatsby is almost glowing with joy.

4. What are Gatsby’s feelings by the end of the chapter?

By the end of the chapter, Gatsby is in love and full of hope, and joy to the fact that he is again with his love, daisy.

5. What does Gatsby reply when nick asks him how he makes his money? Why does nick find that significant?

When nick ask Gatsby where does he get his money, Gatsby just automatically says that is none of your business, “that is my affair”. Nick is seeing that Gatsby is hiding something, that all that he told about himself is a lie and now cannot keep up with his lies. That he must be doing something wrong if he cannot tell the truth.

6. Why do you think Daisy sobs when Gatsby shows her his shirts?

Daisy is crying when she looks at Gatsby shirts because she is overwhelmed about how rich Gatsby is now. Gatsby said that his shirts are imported from England, so they are expensive, and daisy knows this cries on how Gatsby finally has money so they could be together.
7. What is the weather like in this chapter? How does it reflect the emotional climate of Gatsby and Daisy?

In this chapter there is a rough weather where there is a lot of rain, heavy rain, afterwards there is sunlight. This shows how daisy and Gatsby must have felt when seeing each other after such a long time. How they both must of felt that pain again, when they lost each other, and how after all that pain there is sunlight at the end, they are both reunited once more.

8. In this chapter, Gatsby’s dream seems to be fulfilled. What indications are there
That reality cannot satisfy his dream?

When Gatsby is finally with daisy he thinks that all his dreams have come true, but there is the reality that daisy is still married and that she will not just leave tom for him. Even with all his money is not enough for daisy to be with him out in the open.

9. Why does Gatsby deliver so may goods and services to Nick’s house?

Gatsby wants to show his gratitude to nick by doing him favors and fixing up his home. But also mostly Gatsby just wants to impress daisy on how he is rich now that it was him that did all this things, cut the grass, the tea set, for her and that he can afford to spoil her now.

10.Describe the effect of rain on the plot.

The rain was a way to emphasize on the emotions happening between Gatsby and daisy. Also the rain shows how their force to remain inside, so there is no way of avoiding each other, daisy and Gatsby might have felt awkward but could not run away from that. There is also the fact that because of the rain Gatsby and daisy could not go to her house, which could have cause early trouble for Gatsby in destroying his dreams and hopes.







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Chapter 6 study questions

1. When does James Gatz change his name? Why?

James Gatz was 17 years old when he decided that he wanted to be known as Jay Gatsby. James wanted t start a new life, because he was tired of being a poor worker he wanted to change his life style and his name to go along with it

2. What is Daisy’s real response to the party, according to nick?

According to nick daisy does not care for the party and she is not happy at all. She does not like these types of people, from west egg. The only real good time she had was when she got to be alone with Gatsby.

3. What does Gatsby tell nick he wants Daisy to do?

Gatsby wants for Daisy to leave tom for him. He wants the relationship between him and daisy to be the way it used to be in the past when he first fell in love with her.

4. Plato held that reality was an imperfect reflection of an ideal, permanent real. With this in mind, what would you say Nick means when he says, “jay Gatsby sprang from his platonic conception of himself”?

It is being said that Gatsby has had this dream of having daisy for so long and now that it is reality his dream his over. Gatsby has this idea that Daisy is the same person from the past and that Gatsby has the idea that things will go back to be that way, but in reality that cannot happened.

5. What is ironic about Dan Cody?

Dan Cody had everything that anyone could want but was still a heavy drinking and because he let a bad women into his life he ended up dying and not Gatsby not getting any money. Even if Gatsby was careful about drinking in the end because he let a bad woman into his life, he too died.

6. What parallel is suggested by the fact that Gatsby never gets the inheritance bequeathed to him by Cody?

The fact that even with all his money people from east egg will not accept him. If he had gotten that money things could have been different for him in relation with Daisy, because there could have been a chance that daisy would have left tom for Gatsby.

7. How truthful was Gatsby when he relayed the story of his life to Nick? Why does Fitzgerald tell the story of Jay Gats now?

Gatsby was making up things about his life and lying at first; but, then he goes on to the whole real truth about his life. Fitzgerald wants to get the point across of who really Gatsby is and the motives of his actions. After so much build up on how is a spoil rich person who has many bad secrets, it is said on how really Gatsby is just a normal man in love.

8. Describe the meeting of tom and Gatsby. What does this meeting reveal about them?

Tom was at Gatsby house with a couple, who had just come back from horse riding. Tom with the couple was really rude in the way that Tom is just better than Gatsby in every way, that Gatsby lacks social class and grace. This shows that they are not afraid to face each other for daisy.

9. Why did Daisy and Tom find Gatsby’s party loathsome?

Daisy and Tom are used to being around “old money”; people from east egg whose family always been rich. They feel that they are better than this people; even if they have more money than them they are still not good as they are. They see this entire people as ordinary people who are just lucky they have money.

10.How did Gatsby measure the success of his party?

All that Gatsby though about was if Daisy was having a good time or not. If Daisy was not happy than he fail at his party. He saw that daisy did not like this people and was bored so he was not happy about his party.








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Chapter 7 study questions

1. Why does Gatsby stop giving parties?
Gatsby has finally found daisy and is with her a lot. The only reason that he was throwing parties is to find out if anybody knew her, or where to find her. Know that Gatsby has found her there is no need to throw parties.

2. When does Tom first realize that Daisy loves Gatsby?

Nick goes over to Daisy house for lunch there he sees Gatsby and Jordan with Daisy. Both Daisy and Gatsby stare at each other with a passion, with tom standing right there; that then he realize what Daisy is in love with Gatsby.

3. Why is myrtle Wilson upset when she sees tom with Jordan?

Myrtle has never meet daisy and has no idea what tom’s wife looks like; so she just assumes that Jordan is tom’s wife. She is very upset about this.

4. Why does Gatsby view daisy’s child with surprise?

Gatsby has still not realized that after he left for the war she has moved on with her life. Daisy has gotten marry and had a child, Gatsby though that this whole time she was just waiting for him. And that the marriage to tom was not even serious.

5. Why does Gatsby object to letting Tom drive his car?

Gatsby’s car is much more impressive that tom’s and unique, so he wants to show it off to daisy to show her he is the better man. Gatsby wants to spen more alone time with daisy as well.

6. What ironic situation is occurring on the drive to town?

The fact that Tom just realize that his wife is cheating on her with a other men, and that he is right in front of him this whole time. Wilson has also realize that his wife has been cheating on him, and its tom someone who is right in front of him.
7. What is the significance of “blocks” Biloxi?

The memory daisy has of her wedding is that Biloxi fainted and that he stay with her family and right after her father died. The fact that nobody actually knew him, but he seem to know daisy, seem to be a connection in which daisy father could have be involve in some sort of “under the table” business.

8. Why is nick pleased with Gatsby’s honesty about oxford?

Tom keeps on saying that Gatsby is not a man to be trusted with all his lies. Then Gatsby admits to it and reveals the truth; so nick is thinking that Gatsby can be trusted because he is able to say the truth.

9. What has increased tom’s hatred of Gatsby?

When driving back home tom notices a lot of people at Wilsons; which he later finds out that it is because myrtle has died. She was run over by a yellow car, Gatsby car; also Wilson thinks its tom’s doing so that makes it even worse. Tom hates Gatsby even more know, he ran over his lover and made him take the blame.

10. Why does tom refer to the liaison between daisy and Gatsby in terms of intermarriage?

Tom knows that daisy is a catholic and Gatsby is not, and that they could never be together. Also he also refers that daisy has always been rich “old money” and Gatsby is “new money” to him that is a completely different race and daisy will never be with Gatsby.








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“The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History”

     In the essay “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History” by Jennifer price; the author is very implicit on her idea and point of view on the topic on the United States culture. The idea is that the U.S.A‘s culture is very pompous, this is shown by her view on how Americans are so worry with their image that is been seen by society. Price uses many writing techniques to express her view on United States culture, by the usage of diction, symbolism, and tone Price is able to convey her analysis on the greed and the corruption occurring in the American culture.

     Just looking at the title the reader already gets the point across that the author is going to be using a sarcastic and ironic tone in her writing; “The Plastic Pink Flamingo : A Natural History.” The flamingo is plastic while” natural” may implied that is naturally made, while a plastic flamingo is actually manmade showing how ironic the title is.  The reader gets another taste of her sarcastic tone with the first two sentences of the essay; “first, it was a flamingo”. As if the italics weren’t enough to notice her sarcastic tone on making such an obvious comment, as if a pink flamingo could be anything but a flamingo. It is quite evident that price did this on purpose she wanted to be sarcastic to show her point on how a simple thing as a flamingo can become the symbol of wealth in the eyes of Americans. The author continues with using more irony in her work by actually saying that something Americans did was ironic. “This was a little ironic, since Americans had hunted flamingos to extinction in Florida…”  what price is saying is that once Americans wanted flamingos for their meat, fast-forward  a hundred years now the flamingo is almost being worship by the way it is use all across the nation “In the 1950s, namesake Flamingo motels, restaurants, and lounges cropped up across the country…”.The authors finds it ironic how Americans change their ideas about something that was once meaningless into something that everyone must have as soon as it is “cool” enough. This shows how price thinks that the American culture norm is to follow what everyone is doing or what everyone is buying even if it was just once meat.

     “When the pink flamingo splashed into the fifties…” notice on how the pink flamingo didn’t walk, went in, or dip into the fifties, no it “splash”, the hotel was not just nice it was “grand”, the author is using such playful and lighthearted diction to show how in a way she is making fun of American culture, by not taking it very seriously. “In the 1910s and 1920s, Miami Beach ‘s first grand hotel, the Flamingo, had made the bird synonymous with wealth and pizzazz…” at this point the author makes the flamingo a symbol representing wealth. The author wants to get the point that the only reason the pink flamingo was bought all over  was just because it was a way Americans use to show off their wealth as riches and having a good status is incredibly important in the culture of Americans. “Back in New Jersey, the union products flamingo inscribed one’s lawn emphatically with Florida’s cachet of leisure and extravagance”. The reason for taking a flamingo back to their homeland was to show to their neighbor’s naked lawns that they had wealth, they had visited Florida and that they were somehow with that symbol of wealth better than the rest. The wealth represented by the flamingo was not just for the prosperous anymore, no everyone wanted to be part of the action, “…the new interstates would draw working-class tourist down, too”. The essay stared with the grand hotel attracting the rich, but that was not good enough everyone has to follow what the rich did in the American society and like a pack follow the rich down to Florida and purchase a pink flamingo of their own. 

     An American in its natural habitat has the tendency to be pull by the corruption within the United States; as stated in the essay the flamingo may symbolize wealth, but Las Vegas symbolizes corruption and instant riches, the only sensible thing to do is to put both together.“… Las Vegas the flamboyant oasis of instant riches that the gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel had conjured from the desert in 1946 with his Flamingo Hotel. The American way is to get rich and get rich fast, the author makes a reference to a historic American person to display on how the American culture is that Americans would fall under the corruption of others just to be prosperous with money, to keep up with the high class people and having a good appearance. Price proceeds with more sarcasm in her tone as she makes another clear statement that a pink flamingos are bold also because they are pink, as if that is not obvious already, that flamingos are pink; “and the flamingo was pink-a second and commensurate claim to boldness”. The importance of a flamingo being pink isn’t just important because price says it is, but also because Tom Wolfe and Karal Ann Marling did. “…which Tom Wolfe called the new electrochemical pastels of the Florida littoral…”.”And as Karal Ann Marling has written, the sassy pinks were the hottest color of the decade”. The author is now appealing to ethos and looking to show that both these important people agree with the idea that pink is an important factor to the pink flamingo popularity. Price is sure that just because a celebrity is into something everyone would copy and would want to be like them;”… Elvis Presley bought a pink Cadillac”. Soon after this everyone wanted everything to do with the color pink, “washing machines, cars, and kitchen counters proliferated in passion pink, sunset pink, and Bermuda pink”. Like a wildfire everyone wants to keep status and up to date with the latest things in American society with price suggest is what the United States culture is all about. The sarcastic tone continues on with the finals paragraph of the essay, “why, after all, call the birds pink flamingos- as if they could be blue or green?”, the author wants to say on how Americans emphasize the color of the flamingo when in reality there is really no reason to do so, the color plays an important part in making the flamingo significant part in why it is trendy and stand out.   “The plastic flamingo is a hotter pink than a real flamingo, and even a real flamingo is brighter than anything else around it”, price points out on how Americans have the tendency to exaggerate things to a point where there was no real need to do so; the flamingo stands out enough the color that it is, but it is not enough for Americans they had to go and make the bird even brighter so it can stand out even more. It is never enough in the eyes of an American their society has to demand more and people are there to do whatever it takes to make sure that they are always the wealthiest.

     The pink flamingo is not limited to the United States the pink flamingo is admire by many people all over the world by its distinct features that make this bird special. Weather it is by Christians, in Egypt, or Mexico the pink flamingo makes way into different cultures. It was no wonder the United States has the urge to copy these people and adapt the pink flamingo as their own.  The United States culture is to be the best and that if anywhere else people are enjoying something they want part of this as well. 

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