Sunday, May 17, 2009

36. Gatz

Who is Henry C. Gatz?What is the book Henry Gatz shows Nick? Why is it important to the novel?

2 comments:

  1. Henry C. Gatz is the father of James Gatz, or in other words, Jay Gatsby. Henry C. Gatz showed a book to Nick which is called Hopalong Cassidy. On the back cover of the book, it shows “the word SCHEDULE, and the date September 12th 1906” (Fitzgerald 181). Underneath it, there is a timetable from six in the morning till nine in the evening that consists of exercise, work and studying. This is important to the novel because it shows from the beginning of the life of James Gatz that he wanted to live in the American Dream. He wanted to be successful and lived in the life where he can get whatever he wants and have people respect him for what he had worked for. The book also shows that people who come from small towns in Minnesota for example, can achieve to be successful as James Gatz and earn a living that is like the American Dream.

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  2. Jay Gatsby´s father, Henry C. Gatz, is a farmer who never came upon much wealth and who is extremely proud of his son and of his accomplishments. "His pride in his son and in his son´s possessions was continually increasing..." (Fitzgerald, 180.) He shows Nick a book called Hopalong Cassidy, which is about a cowboy hero, with a schedule of Gatsby´s day printed in the back. The schedule has almost no leisure time and many activities to increase his knowledge and improve his persona. This book is important to the story because it gives us a glimpse of James Gatz before he became Jay Gatsby. It shows us that Gatsby has been a hard working man all his life and that he knew he wanted to accomplish something whit it.

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