Reading Journal: The Great Gatsby (7-9)

Interpretive and Evaluative Questions:

1. Q: How did Gatsby's death contribute to the theme of the book?
    A: The theme of The Great Gatsby is to not dwell on one's past wishes because they will only result in consequences.  Gatsby's death indirectly resulted from the choice he made in regards to his love for Daisy.  He chose to tell Tom about this affair, and then drove off with Daisy, which killed Myrtle.  This caused Wilson to kill Gatsby.  This was a huge snowball effect, all starting from Gatsby's life-long wish of five years.  Having these things happen to Gatsby show that if you hold on to something long enough, that thing will take over your life (in a bad way).
2.  Q: Who is the hero of the story and why?
     A: I think that the hero of the story is Gatsby.  Throughout the book, the readers come to identify with him in that his story is the classic underdog story.  He has a good motivation throughout the story, and he doesn't do anything against the readers' morals.  Generally, most people who read the book want Gatsby to succeed.  All of these things combined make Gatsby the clear hero of the story.
3.  Q:  What do the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg symbolize?
     A:  I think that these "eyes" symbolize exactly what Wilson says they symbolize--God, or at least some higher power.  The eyes are said to be "neglected," and religion is definitely neglected by the upper class in the novel.  Also, the eyes watch over everything that happens in the story: Tom's cheating, Myrtle's death, etc.  God is supposed to watch over everything that happens, as well.
4.  Q: Why would Fitzgerald choose Nick as the narrator of the story?
     A: First of all, Nick is in a very good position in that he is related, in some way, to all of the main characters.  He knows Daisy and Tom and lives next door to Gatsby.  Also, I think Nick was fairly impartial--fairly.  Even though he had some opinions, they didn't distort the readers' perceptions of the book.  Nick told the story as it was and didn't lie about anything.  In addition, I also think that having Nick as the narrator left quite of bit of the characters up for interpretation.  Many people have many different opinions about the different characters.