Sunday, May 17, 2009

13. Believable?

Is the story of The Great Gatsby believable? Explain why or why not.
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7 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 8, 2009 at 10:14 PM

    The story of The Great Gatsby is believable and not believable at the same time. It is believable because many of the young women who helped the soldiers who were home from the war would fall in love with them, but the women would move on in their lives and the soldiers might end up going back to war. The women and the soldiers would part ways and probably never see each other again. If they did one of them is bound to have a family or be married. The reunion between the old soldier and the woman would most likely be confusing for her if she were already married, as is Daisy when she meets up with Gatsby again. It is also believable that Tom (the husband of the woman) would suspect that there was something happening between the old soldier and his wife. Many women would also not admit to their husbands having an affair, like Daisy not admitting to Tom’s affair with Myrtle.
    The Great Gatsby is not believable because the likelihood of a soldier and a woman meeting up again is one in a million. If they do meet up again, both of the people probably won’t feel the same way about each other as they did when they were young. The chance of Daisy running over Myrtle Wilson, the woman Tom was having an affair with, is very little. I also don’t think that Tom would be as open about his affair with Myrtle in real life as he is in the book. Most men who want the American Dream would not try to publicize the fact that they are cheating on their wives. Tom brings Myrtle to popular restaurants and invites Nick to come up to the apartment that he rents for her (Fitzgerald 28).

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  2. Ana CristinaJuly 11, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    I agree there are some parts of the Great Gatsby that are believable and some that are not. One of the things that is believable is that Daisy is subservient to Tom. Not long ago this was the norm. Women knew there place; they knew that it was below men. Another thing that is believable is that Daisy knows about the affair that Tom has, yet she does nothing. She does not value herself enough and she is too scared to leave Tom.
    What I don’t think is believable, for this era, is the fact that Daisy and Gatsby lost contact. Maybe in a time when there were no telephones or email that could have happened, but in this era of communications it is not possible. We now have face book, email and twitter. We are in constant communication; we can even know what the other person had for breakfast. Maybe in Fitzgerald’s time this was believable, but for this generation it’s not. I also disagree on the part that says that in the reunion the people would not feel the same way. I think they would feel the same way. But the problem would be that they are in love with the old version of a person. War and other events change a person. Both lovers would not be the same. Like Gatsby with Daisy, they are in love with the person they once knew, not the one that is here now.

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  3. Michael W. WomackJuly 27, 2009 at 8:37 AM

    The Great Gatsby is a story based in the roaring 20’s. Most of us have learned about the flaws of modern day society at that time. People of the 20’s were pompous, arrogant, self centered and only concerned with folk relative to themselves. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed this self indulgent presence through his characters. Being a man that lived through the 20’s Fitzgerald was able to experience how society life occurred. He himself experienced the Jazz age; a period of time where people felt they had to express themselves through the sounds of music and dance. Evidence like this is what we must take into account when trying to acquire an answer about whether or not The Great Gatsby is believable or not. F. Scott Fitzgerald included, most likely, his own experiences into his novel. However it is a non-fictional book, so even though the characters may be people Fitzgerald knew and chose to portray inside of this book there is no way to be sure that the characteristics of each character were imagined. Let alone the events. Thus, given the facts and the book, I personally believe it is both real and yet not.

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  4. Eduardo M.July 29, 2009 at 4:22 PM

    I agree. Though there are many thing that are believable in the story, a few are over exaggerated. I must say, However, that this story is more real than it is given credit for. The social behavior given to the characters is real enough, since their characteristics appeared to have 19th century morals and behaviors. I must disagree with Tania that the soldiers move on and forget about their lovers. If the love is as Gatsby described it, there is now way they would forget it. Also, the fact Daisy moved on and married Tom is more real than if she would have waited for Gatsby during the time he was gone. It would seem too perfect and the story would not have developed anyways. I also do not doubt the exaggeration of Gatsby's parties, since, like Michael mentioned, it was the roaring 20s, and the beginning of the modern era began. Even today many parties are as huge or bigger than Gatsby's so it is not surprising or doubtful for the greatness of them as described by Nick (Fitzgerald 43). Finally, Tom's affair seems real, since Daisy does not give him the love he needs, it is only natural for him to find more love. Like I said the American dream is impossible to achieve completely and for Tom and Daisy, no matter how close they get or want to get, will never have it with their relationship.

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  5. UnknownAugust 3, 2009 at 5:33 PM

    I agree with what everyone says. The Great Gatsby is both believable and sometimes, a little farfetched. But knowing what I know of the Roaring Twenties, I have to say that I almost completely believe this novel. The Great Gatsby is something that could have occurred to anyone during this period. It was a time of wealth and materialism. People acted in their own convenience, using their money and wealth as a key to everything. Like in The Great Gatsby, people did not have much morals or values. There were many instances where family men like Tom had affairs. The Great Gatsby exemplifies the social conduct of the time. The human virtues are clearly displayed in The Great Gatsby. Man becomes greedy and enraptured by wealth that all morals are forgotten. Like Michael said, a large portion of The Great Gatsby portrays Fitzgerald’s life. Daisy is very similar to his wife, Zelda. Because The Great Gatsby mirrors Fitzgerald’s life, it is even more believable. The extreme behavior of the people in The Great Gatsby that Fitzgerald portrays is one that he had to live through during the Roaring Twenties. However, Fitzgerald may have exaggerated the characters a little to emphasize the flaws of the Roaring Twenties. Therefore, this book is believable and at the same time, not believable.

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  6. UnknownAugust 7, 2009 at 8:08 PM

    To me, the story of "The Great Gatsby" is not believable. Everything seems real; the different social classes, the personalities of the aristocracy, the imperfect marriage problems, and other realistic problems in life. However, the character of Jay Gatsby seems too unreal to me. I cannot believe that there would be such a man. Who would be so over-dedicated to reaching his goals? Gatsby was obsessed with this woman called Daisy. He could not let her go and move on with his life. I think that over time, everyone can move on with their lives. But Gatsby decides to reach his goal no matter what, as if his purpose of life was getting Daisy back. If that gets destroyed, what else does he have in life? Such a person seems fictional to me. No one in the world would be like Gatsby. Maybe one can be very hard working and get very wealthy in the future; but being stuck in the past and present just because one cannot move on with his life is unbelievable. I think that it might have been true, but not so exaggerated like Gatsby was in the story.

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  7. UnknownAugust 11, 2009 at 6:42 PM

    The story of "The Great Gatsby" seems more unbelievable than believable for me. I agree with Thomas that the higher class men would not marry just a girl from a town in that time. Also, I do not believe that the affairs can be such extensive. How could the wife of Wilson, Myrtle be dating Tom, Tom, who is married with Daisy, and Gatsby, who is in love with Daisy. I find it unreal how these people can cheat each others wives without getting noticed. Also, I find it hard to believe that Daisy did not feel guilty about killing Myrtle and not telling the truth to Tom and Wilson. However, I think that the life of Gatsby could actually occur. There are always miracles in the world. Also, for me, Gatsbys love toward Daisy seems more of an obsession, to complete his life. That for me is believable as there are people who are obsessed and cannot tell the difference between obsession and love.

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