The Great Gatsby Chapters 7, 8 and 9 Response

Chapter 7

I was glad to hear that Gatsby called off most of his parties because all  I thought his parties were for was to show off how wealthy he was. I was surprised that Daisy showed her baby off right in front of Gatsby. Daisy didn't seem like a good mother to me because she never payed any attention to her baby girl. I thought it was cute how Gatsby and Daisy just couldn't hide their love for each other in front of others. I was glad to hear that Daisy invited Gatsby to the city because then the two of them could be alone. I became mad at Tom when he butted in and suggested that they all should go to New York. I thought it was good for Gastby and Diasy to ride together so they could have a little alone time. I felt like Tom was attacking Gatsby because he was jealous of the relationship Gatsby and Daisy had. Tom was very rude in this chapter only because he wants Daisy to love him and him only. I was so surprised to hear that Myrtle was hit by a car coming from New York City who just sped away after hitting Myrtle. Tom assumes that Gatsby hit Myrtle on his way back from New York with Diasy. I thought it was sweet for Gatsby to wait to make sure Daisy didn't get hurt by Tom. I was shocked to hear that Daisy was driving the car that hit Myrtle. I thought that Gatsby was so sweet to say that he would take the blame for it.

Chapter 8:
At first I thought it was sweet of Gatsby to wait for Daisy but now I think he went kind of overboard staying there until four in the morning. I thought Nick had a good idea about Gatsby forgetting about Daisy and moving to Long Island. I felt like it would be the best for Gatsby to just move on but of course he didn't. I thought it was cute that Daisy was the first girl Gatbsy ever lied to about his background to just to believe he was worthy of her. I thought it was really weird that Gastby has never swam in his own pool. Gatsby used all of his money to buy a swimming pool that he never used. I thought it was weird of Nick to refuse a date with Jordan Baker. I thought it was not a good idea to tell George Wilson all about Myrtle's death because the less he knows the better. When Wilson decided to go to Gatsby's house, I knew something bad was going to happen. Wilson finds Gatsby lying on an air mattress in the pool. Wilson shoots Gatbsy, killing him instantly and then shoots himself. I was sad to hear that Gatsby died all because Wilson thought he killed Myrtle even though he didn't. I think that George Wilson killed himself because his wife died and it was hard for him to process. I felt bad for Nick because he saw his neighbor and friend floating dead in a pool.

Chapter 9:
I thought it was not the reporters place to be swarming around Gatsby's mansion after his murder. People were still mourning Gatsby's death and all people could care about was raiding Gatby's mansion. I didn't like how everyone was telling untrue stories about Gatsby's relationship with Myrtle and George Wilson. I thought it was a nice gesture for Nick to hold a large funeral for Gatbsy. I felt horrible when barely anyone showed up to Gatsby's funeral. I thought it was a good idea for Nick to move back to the Midwest because everything in the east didn't seem to go well for him. Also, I thought it would be good for Nick to get away form all of the chaos. I thought it was weird of Nick to break off his relationship with Jordan who suddenly claimed she got engaged to another man. I thought it was ironic that the last person Nick saw before he left was Tom. I thought it was a horrible idea for Tom to tell Nick that he mentioned to Wilson that Gatsby owned the car that killed Myrtle. My final impression of Tom is that he is an uncaring person that is protected by all of his money. I thought it was sad when Nick went to Gatsby's house on his last night in West Egg. I thought Nick really cared about Gatsby when he erases a bad word written on Gatsby's steps.This truely shows how much Nick enjoyed having Gatsby around as a friend. At the end of the book, I thought it was good for Nick to reflect back on the events that took place in West Egg. I especially liked how Nick related eveything back to the memories he had from West Egg. For example, he said that he pictures the green land of America as the green light was shining brightly from Daisy's dock.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 6 Response

While reading chapter six, I thought it was rude of a reporter to interview Gatsby just because rumors about Gatsby were going around. I was so excited to hear the truth about Gatsby's life because I have been told nothing but lies about Gatsby's life in this book. I found it interesting that Gatbsy grew up on a farm because he comes across as more of a city boy. Also, I was surprised to hear that Gatsby dropped out of college after only two weeks of being enrolled. When I heard that he dropped out because he hated the humiliation he had to deal with while being a janitor, I felt sad for him because all of this cost him his education. I was also surprised to hear that Gatsby had to work as a janitor during college to pay for his tuition. This means that he didn't come from a wealthy family after all. I felt like Gatsby meeting Dan really motivated him to become a hard worker. After Dan died Gatsby dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man. I thought it was weird that Nick didn't see Gatsby or Daisy for several weeks after their reunion. I felt like it was a bad idea for Tom to be at Gatsby's house because Gatsby was in love with his wife. I felt like Tom was dumb not to realize that Gatsby and Daisy have a relationship. Tom finally turned around when he decided to go to Gatsby's party with Daisy to keep an eye on her. I feel like Gatsby really cares about Daisy because after the party was over, Gatsby was very unhappy because Daisy didn't have a good time at the party. I didn't like how Gatsby thought that his money could accomplish everything as far as Daisy is concerned.

The Great Gatsby Chapters 3,4 and 5 Response

Chapter 3:

I thought chapter three was very easy to understand. I felt like all Gatsby was good for was throwing his extravagant parties every weekend. None of Gatsby's guests seem to know anything about Gatsby or his past. All his guests would do is show up and get drunk and do it all over again the next weekend. I was excited to hear that Nick got invited to Gatsby's party because it would give him a chance to meet with his neighbor who he knows nothing about. Also, I think that it was wonderful that Nick ran into Jordan because then he didn't feel so uncomfortable at the party. Nick and Jordan seem to be getting closer and closer as the book goes on.  I thought it was kind of funny when Nick was talking to Gatsby and didn't realize it. They both talked about how they served in the same division during the war. Gatsby and Nick seemed to have bonded from the start which was good to hear because Gatsby doesn't seem to have a lot of friends who he could talk to about life issues. I also thought that it was great to know that Gatsby opened up to Jordan about his past because then at least someone knows who he is. I feel like Jordan and Nick should go out more often because there definitely seems to be some chemistry there. Also, Nick states that he is such an honest person which I think will become a lie as I continue reading the book.

Chapter 4:
I thought that it was a good idea for Nick and Gatsby to go to New York because then they could bond on a whole new level. I felt like Gatsby was lying to Nick when he told him about his past. Gatsby's story was that he was the son of wealthy deceased parents from San Francisco. Gatsby continued with telling Nick a lot of his accomplishments. I felt like it was a good idea for Gatsby to show Nick his medal and a picture of him playing cricket at Oxford because like Nick, I was very suspicious as to whether all of what Gatsby was saying was true. I thought that it was unjust for Gatsby to get away with speeding because even though he is rich, he was wrong and their has to be consequences. When I first read about Meyer Wolfshiem I thought he was very shady, a lot like Gatsby was. I was glad to hear that Nick met with Jordan again. Also, I was happy to finally hear what Gatsby talked to her about. I was surprised to hear that Gatsby is in love with Daisy. Gatsby insisted that Daisy's marriage with Tom was fake because Daisy got really drunk the night before their wedding. I feel like all of Gatsby's feelings for Daisy are sincere and he would do anything just to see her again. Gatsby did only move to West Egg just to be closer to Daisy.  Overall, I am so anxious to see what happens when Gatsby sees Daisy again.

Chapter 5:
While reading chapter five, I felt like Gatsby was becoming desperate to make Nick happy so that he will agree to the plan of inviting Daisy over for tea. Gatsby was setting himself up to fail by becoming so desperate to meet daisy again. Also, I feel like Gatsby is bribing Nick into becoming his friend rather than really developing a relationship with Nick. For example, Gatsby offers to have someone cut Nick's grass. Also, he offers Nick to join him in some business he does on the side. I felt like Gatsby was over reacting to inviting Daisy over. He was stressing himself out and telling himself that things would never be the same as they were. I felt like things between Gatsby and Daisy were awkward at first because Gatsby knocked Nick's clock over. I was glad that Gatsby and Daisy warmed up to each other as the day went along. I thought that Gatsby was trying to show off to Daisy when he showed her all of his most valuable possessions. It seemed like the only way Gatsby could win Daisy over was showing her how rich he was. I felt happy that Daisy and Gatsby still have feelings for each other. I don't know how their romance is going to continue because Daisy is married to Tom and she has been very faithful to him. Overall, I was glad that Gatsby and Daisy got a chance to reunite but I am uncertain if there love for each other will ever be the same as it was before Gatsby left for war.

Free Write

I am apprehensive about sharing my writing because I feel like people will be judgemental towards my writing. Also, I feel like my writing isn't as good as other peoples in this class. I fear that people will judge me when I share my writing. The best case scenario that would occur today is that I will get a lot of positive and helpful feedback on my writing that I can use while creating my final draft. The worst case scenario that could occur today is that everyone will be harsh towards me about my writing and give me very negative comments.

The Cold Makes Me Want To...

The cold makes me want to sleep in front of the warm fireplace. Also, the cold makes me want to drink a whole bunch of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top of it. Whenever it snows I think of having a snow day but it always seems to let me down. The cold makes me want to cuddle up with my warm blanket and catch up on some much needed sleep. Also, the cold makes it hard for me to wake up in the morning and it is hard for me not to hit the snooze button on my alarm multiple times.

Reflection on Strengths and Weaknesses of Argumentative Essays

My strengths as a writer are that I am good at developing a strong argument. From that argument I am good at creating great supporting facts that go along with my argument. Also, I am good at creating a conclusion paragraph that summarizes all that I have talked about in my essay. My weakness as a writer is that I don't create a very strong counter argument that talks about the other sides idea. When my counter agrument is weak then my whole entire argumentative essay comes across as one sided. Another weakness that I have as a writer is that I need to read over my essay outloud so that some of my essay doesn't come across as choppy. To improve my sentence structure I need to use a lot introductary phrases such as therefore. For this next essay I need to focus on my counter argument because without it my paper lacks the other side of my argument. Also, I need to focus on reading my essay outloud to myself so that my sentences all flow together.

The Awakening Response

At the beginning of this novel, I felt like nothing bad was going to happen because they were on a getaway for the summer. Nothing really tends to go wrong when you are on vacation for the summer. I felt like Edna was not faithful to her husband at all because she kept flirting with other guys and spending more time with them then she did her own husband. Also, I felt like Edna didn't care much for her kids because one night her husband told her that one of her kids had a fever and she reacted by not caring much about it at all. Edna seemed like she was the type of person who cared about herself and did only what she wanted to do. I felt like her husband would let her get away with anything because he thought she was going mad. I felt like Edna was a different person when she hung out with Robert and I think that both Robert and Edna should have been honest from the beginning about how they felt about each other. Edna showed that she really enjoyed being without her husband when she was alone in their house when he was on a business trip. The first thing she said was that she enjoyed the time to herself. Towards the end of the novel I felt like Robert and Edna were really going to be together once they admitted their feelings towards each other. In the end, I felt like Edna was happy with her life so I was surprised when she drowned herself.