My Opinion of Nick

After reading the novel 'The Great Gatsby' I feel that the character Nick is portrayed as a lonely yet judgemental sort of person. For example, when it comes to describing the other characters of the story, Nick always seems to give a negative sort of opinion. He appears to describe everyone as either stuck up, 'with her chin in the air' or not a trustworthy character, he proves this when he says that he is suspicious of Gatsby after Gatsby offers him a job. As Nick is constantly telling us about the faults of the other characters it leaves us with no time to ponder about Nick's potential faults.
I think that, for me, Nick seems to be quite lonely because, even though everyone around him is having some kind of dilema or crisis, the fact is that they still actually have someone to have a dilema with or about. Nick doesn't seem to have anykind of bond with anybody except Jordan. He does eventually end up with Jordan for a brief amount of time even though it still inevitably ends up bad and they both end up alone. Nick shows some resentment towards the fact that he is alone as he always seems sour whenever it comes to the relationship of somebody else. he is left aloine to contemplate his solitude often throughout the novel.

Great Gatsby chapters 4 and 5

Chapter 4:
Narrative Style: The narrative style of this chapter is different to all the other chapters. For example, instead of having the usual point of view from Nick part of the chapter is written from Jordans point of view '(said Jordan Baker that afternoon...)'. That paragraph really stands out to the reader as it is out of the ordinary and makes us,as the reader, pay even more attention, almost as if its subtly telling us something important is going to happen. It also helps give us an insight to Jordans character as we are hearing the story from her pov.

Characters/Characterisation:
In this chapter we are introduced to many new characters, most being Gatsbys colleagues; all of whom seem to be very dispicable characters from Nicks point of view. All they seem to do is 'gamble' or end up killing someone or rather themselves. 'Who afterward strangled his wife', 'who killed himself by jumping in front of a subway train'. this shows us the kind of dangerous people that Gatsby is associated with and makes us even more unsure of the character Gatsby himself.
We also find out that Nick and Jordan are finaly aware of each others feelings. We are reassured of them liking each other when the kiss in a park. 'I drew her up again closer, this time to my face'.

Themes:
There is obviously a theme of love in the chapter from Nick and Jordan. There is also a slight feeling of dread after finding out about Gatsbys friends and the kind of suspicious activities they get up to.

Settings:
Most of the chapter is set in a cafe that Nick is at, it is also based in the park the Nick and Jordan visit. Having a contrast between the dark empty cafe and the open wild life of the park helps define the mood that is set in both places between the characters.

After reading chapter four it leaves me with even more question and doubt about how trustworthy Gatsby is. I think the fact that Fitzgerald has described the kind of people Gatsby hangs around with is his own way of trying to manipulate our opinion on him, especially as Nick doesn't much like the other characters either so we hear a biased opinion on them. Since we hear about the horrid things the new characters have participated in, it leaves us in anticipation for something bad to happen to the characters of the novel.

Chapter 5:
Narrative style: The chapter stays with Nick as the narrator. Since it is in Nicks point of view we see clearly, although in a biased way, the scenario of Gastby and Daisy's meeting.

Characters/Characterisation:
We see another side of Gatsby in this chapter. He is very worried and nervous about meeting Daisy which not only shows us that he cares alot about her but cares alot about what she thinks.
Nick seems to get irritated very easily with the situation,especially with Gatsby. He is possibly bothered about the relationship Gatsby and Daisy share or shared, and the fact the his relationship with Jordan seems slightly complicated.

Themes:
Grief is a theme shown between Daisy and Gatsby, Daisy is 'mixed up' and upset about the complicated situation she is in with Gatsby and cry's. However, she blames this on simple things such as the fact that he has nice shirts. 'It's just...just i've never seen such lovely shirts'
Suspicion is also shown when Gastby ask's Nick to work for him, Nick is concerned and suspicious about what kind of work Gatsby is involved with.

Settings:
It is raining through out the majority of this chapter showing that something bad is about to happen and helping to set the depressing mood of the chapter.

This chapter shows

The Great Gatsby chapters two and three

After reading chapter two and three or 'The Great Gatsby', I think one thing that really stuck out to me was the way the characters at the party were described. For example, although Nick decribes what the two girls wearing the yellow dresses at the party are wearing; he fails to mention what anybody else is really wearing. he also fails to really tell us the names of any party guests.
Nick refers to a few of the guest as 'Mr Mumble'. obviously their names are not really Mr Mumble it is just showing how uninterested Nick is with them. He cares so little about them that he doesn't even bother to ask what their real names are, let alone actually listen properly to them in the first place.

It is decribed that Nick is at a party held at Gatsbys home. The way Fitzgerald describes the party makes Gatbsy home luxurys seem all the more great. For example, Nick mentions Gatsby's 'Rolls-Royce' and his many 'servants' not only helping us as readers to get a good image of what the party is like in our head, but it also allows us to gather some background history and lifestyle of what Gatsby is like.There are many people at the party even though none of them actually know Gatsby. There are people that make rumours such as 'he killed a man' and that 'he was a German spy' thus proving further that they don't specifically know anything about Gatsby. These rumours also start to create a picture in the readers mind, leaving them to wonder wether this image of Gatsby is true or false. The whole chapter leads up to meeting with Gatsby, however when it actually happens it is quite sudden as Nick doesn't even realise he is talking to him. The way Fitzgerald has laid that out in the chapter leaves the audinece thinking ' is Gatsby just an ordinary guy?' 'do I like him as a character?'. I think this is a very effective yet strange technique that Fitzgerald has used intentionally to make the reader feel this way.

Nearing the end of chapter three there is a car accident. It seems very strange and random for Nick to tell us about it as it has no real significance. We don't know any of the characters and no one is really hurt. As it appears to have no significance it leaves me questioning whether it will have some later in the chapter and this is just Fitzgeralds way of telling us that.
It also appears that Gatsby calls Nick 'Old sport' alot of the time. However, when he does call him this it seems to be rather forced, almost as if for some reason he is making himself refer to Nick as it to seem friendly. This may also have something to do with a previous character saying that Gatsby seems to ' care alot about what people think'. Leaving me asking myself the question, why?.

The Great Gatsby chapter 1

We have been reading 'The Great Gatsby' in class and this is what I think of the story so far, my review for chapter 1.

So far I am quite interested in the story. I like to read alot, naturaly, and this novel is the sort of book I quite like to read. When we began chapter 1, we were introduced to the narrator of the story Nick. Nick seems to be a light hearted, sarcastic kind of guy as he if often making jokes or rather sarcastic remarks about what the other characters say to him.
For example, when his cousin Daisy tells Nick that he 'reminds her of a rose' he retorts 'This was untrue. I am not even faintly like a rose'. The audience are aware that, obviously, Nick is not like a rose but it adds blunt humour to his character and gives us an idea of what his personality is like.
Other characters, such as Daisy, Tom and Miss Baker are also well percieved. Daisy seems to be fairly 'ditsy', '"What'll we plan?" she turned to me helplessly: "What do people plan?"' Tom appears to be a bit of a shovanistic pig who loves himself. For example he didn'nt approve of Daisy calling him 'hulking' because it's not a very attractive word so he doesn't want to be assotiated with it.
Finally, Miss Baker seems to be quite a pesimistic, nonchalant character, almost as if she if bored with everything in her life because she has everything '"We ought to plan something" Yawned Miss Baker, sitting down at the table as if she were getting into bed'. This makes it sound as if she just lazily mopes around the place all of the time.
I think the setting in the novel is also described very well. F.Scott Fitzgerald really goes into detail about the surroundings. For instance, the area surrounding Nick, once he sits outside has 'wings beating in the trees and a persistant organ sound as the full belows of earth blew the frogs full of life.' This places a very piecefull image in the readers head to show how cool, calm and empty the area is.
So far, I think that one of the main themes for the novel is more than likely going to be love, however I'm not entirely sure as we havn't properly got to meet Gastby yet. As his name is in the title, I think the main plot will obviously revolve around him. I think, judging by the blurb and what I have read so far, it will be about him overcoming many obsticals in his life and in himself in order to be with the person he loves; or rather in order to get them to love him. I feel Nick will play an important part in helping him and also helping his cousin Daisy sort out her relationship with her husband Tom.