In class on Friday, we ended with this notion of "tension" as a central part of Eliot's poem. Similarly, tension is at the core of what makes literature worth breaking down into individual lines, words, even syllables... that tension is (or is not) resolved, at least partially, through language. Tension is created formally (by form) in order to influence content.
What types of tension do you see in The Great Gatsby so far? Respond with a specific passage that you think illustrates tension in Gatsby, or respond refuting a classmate's claim about thon's (!) passage. In your comment, be sure to specifically explain what tension you see developing and why.
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I was thinking some more about tension this morning and remembered a conversation we had early in the year--what is the American literary tradition? We talked about conflicting ideas of guilt and entitlement, the secular and non-secular, urban and rural, preservation and consumption (perhaps not the best way to express that tension)... I don't have notes on the class, but I remember several interesting paradoxes on the board by the end of the period.
ReplyDeleteI can't participate in the blog tonight so I guess I can only start it off.
ReplyDeleteOne almost obvious example of tension in the first chapter is the character of Daisy. From the moment she's introduced, the air of tension around her is completely visible. All of her encounters with Nick are fairly awkward. When she first greets him, she says, "I'm p-paralyzed with happiness," stuttering her greeting, and then she laughs again as if saying something "very witty," and Nick simply claims that that was a "way" she had (Fitzgerald 13). She continues to act in this same awkward manner, and we get the sense that she's a very unstable person.
The passage I want to focus on occurs toward the end of the chapter on pages 21-22, when she has a serious discussion with Nick about her life and how she's become "pretty cynical" about everything (Fitz 21). She openly talks about the birth of her daughter and how pessimistic she was in regard to it, claiming that she said that she hoped her daughter would "be a fool" and that that was the "best thing" a girl could be (Fitz 21). She then says that she thinks everything is terrible, and that everyone else thinks so, even the "most advanced people" and that she knows so because she's "been everywhere," "seen everything," and "done everything," which strikes up some similarities with Eliot's poem, due to the character of that poem's uncertainty about taking a step forward in the future (Fitz 22). It seems like Daisy is the future version of that character, and that all of that person's fears were true. This tension within Daisy ends up creating tension in Nick, and the closing paragraph of that passage is what I want to acknowledge.
"The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributary emotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged."
The comfortable little setting that Nick has settled himself into now seems to have deep, dark roots. He sees how married life has made Tom and Daisy, and now knows the unhappiness that it's seemed to inflict upon them. Nick's new awareness of this "distinguished secret society" has managed to have a negative impact on him, and has left him in an "uneasy" state, proving the air of tension now surrounding himself, along with that of Tom's mansion.
After reading the first chapter of the novel and then reading this blog question, I wasn't clear or sure how to approach my answer. I re-read the chapter with the question in mind, and even though I don't think it's very insightful or profound of me, but rather simple and obvious, I picked up mainly on the tension that is evident in terms of social situation and standard. So I guess I'll take a risk and just go with my gut here…
ReplyDeleteI think the most obvious, and maybe the most prevalent "tension" established in the first chapter is between class and the standard of living, through the clear divide of East and West Egg:
"They are not perfect ovals- like the egg in the Columbus story they are both crushed flat at the contact end- but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly overhead. To the wingless a more arresting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size" (9)
The tension/ contrast that exists between the two sides of long island is shown by Nick living in West egg- "the less fashionable of the two" (9)- in a "small eye sore" where he is in the "proximity of millionaires all for eighty dollars a month", presumably where people are rich, but also lacking in social class or manners (I think? ). Nick goes to visit his cousin Daisy, and her husband Tom, who live in East Egg (richer, sophisticated, refined, traditional)- described: "Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable summer really begins on the evening I drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans" (10). People in long island are clearly judged and defined by where they live- (which now that I think about it, is interesting because it totally contrasts to Nick's nature of not judging people set at the beginning of the chapter: "'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone', he [his father] told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had'...In consequence I'm inclined to reserve all judgment" (5)...which is also important to consider, I think, because Nick is the one, in this chapter, who is looked down upon by Daisy, Tom and Jordan, as if he hasn't had the social advantages that they've had.....)-and that is exemplified in the evening that Nick shares with the Buchanans, in the way that they treat him, approach him, and judge him, and also in the way that Nick views them as people and views the way that they live.
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ReplyDeleteHere are a few passages that show the tension existing between culture of East and West Egg shown in the social setting of Chapter one:
ReplyDelete1. After Tom brings Nick into the room to meet Daisy and Jordan, he questions Nick about his job. Even before he asks the question, I think it shows that Tom has a clear bias, since he is presumably the more refined, sophisticated and successful one-“”’I’ve got a nice place here,’ he said [to Nick], his eyes flashing about restlessly. Turning me around by one arm he moved a broad flat hand along the front vista, including in its sweep a sunken Italian garden, a half acre of deep pungent roses and a snub nosed motor boat that bumped the tide off shore…” (12)- as he lives in East Egg and Nick does not:
“’What you doing, Nick?’ ‘I’m a bond man.’ ‘Who with?’ I told him. ‘Never heard of them,’ he remarked decisively. This annoyed me. ‘You will,’ I answered shortly. ‘You will if you stay in the East.’ ‘Oh, I’ll stay in the East, don’t you worry,’ he said, glancing at Daisy and then back at me as if he were alert for something more. ‘I’d be a God Damn fool to live anywhere else’” (15)
2. “You make me feel uncivilized, Daisy…I meant nothing in particular by this remark but it was taken up in an unexpected way” (17).
After Nick says this, it is said that Tom “violently broke out”, in saying “Civilization is going to pieces” and beginning to talk about Nordics and the superiority of the “dominant race” which he obviously is a part of. Nick views this comment, maybe judges Tom, in observing “There was something pathetic in his concentration as if his complacency, more acute than of old, was not enough to him anymore”.
This passage adds to the first description of Tom’s “supercilious” nature, and paints a bigger picture of Tom’s boastful arrogance, obvious egotism, and indifference to his wife.
3.) Another instance is when Daisy leaves the table to follow Tom on his phone call and Jordan tells Nick to be quiet when he starts to make a conversation, so that she can hear the argument going on in the other room. Nick questions this, confused “Is something happening?” at which point Ms. Baker responds, “You mean to say you don’t know?...I thought everybody knew” (19).
I sort of interpreted that as her looking down upon Nick, as if implying How could you not know?, as if in her class/ where she lives, she is entitled to know, Nick is not, or that she is isolating him and judging him based on where he lives. As if strike one, he lives in West Egg, and strike two, he doesn’t know the gossip that exists in the elite class of East Egg.
4. “Sophisticated-God, I’m so sophisticated!”…
“As if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged” (22)
Again, as if Daisy sees Nick in a different light because he lives in West Egg, that he could never quite fit into this sort of “secret society” or be “sophisticated” .
5.) And last, I think this passage shows the tension in social standard, that Nick recognizes driving away from the West Egg mansion:
“I was confused and a little disturbed as I drove away. It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was rush out of the house, child in arms-but apparently there were no such intentions in her head. As for Tom the fact that he ‘had some woman in New York’ was really less surprising than that he had been depressed by a book. Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory hear” (25)
And as he is “disgusted” by the evening and the attitudes and judgment he encountered and the tension felt in the social setting because of it, I think it’s as if he’s relieved driving away also, to live where he does, for when he gets home he sits after he parks his car and ruminates almost, on an “abandoned grass roller in the yard” before seeing Mr. Gatsby.
In order to respond to this question, I needed to get a better understanding of tension and literature, and found the definition to be a balancing between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies. Tension is present in literature through the form of the context, which can be further evaluated by breaking down the words and sentences. As discussed on Friday, tension in literature does not always have a negative connotation. Tension is generally a presence of two opposing ideas; a paradox.
ReplyDeleteI chose the same example of tension as Kaare, so I guess I’ll add to what he said. Daisy claims that she is cynical about life, because she has experienced everything, and is “sophisticated”. She hoped that her daughter will be a “‘beautiful little fool’” because “‘everything’s terrible anyway’”. This statement concludes that in this case, ignorance is bliss. Society is inevitably cruel, therefore people are better off unaware of the challenges of life. The tension or paradox which is presented in this passage is the desires of the individual versus the expectations of society. Daisy is intelligent, experienced, and sophisticated, but as a woman during this time period, she is better off being naïve and unaware of her surroundings. This is because she would then be spared the pain of knowledge of certain things, such as her husband’s affair. Kaare mentions the similarities between Daisy and the character in Eliot’s poem, by stating “their uncertainty to take a step forward in the future”. This reminded me of a specific passage in Eliot’s poem.
“For I have known them all already, known them all-/Have I known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,/I have measured them with coffee spoons;/I know the voices dying with a dying fall/Beneath the music from a farther room./So how should I presume?” (49-54).
Both characters have had a great deal of experience, therefore they should be certain of life. However, their abundance of experience leads to uncertainty because they are not sure whether they have taken the right path. This presents another paradox: too much certainty leading to uncertainty.
In addition, Daisy’s grief of being overly experienced and sophisticated, reminded me of an earlier passage in the chapter where Nick talks about how he cannot criticize anyone because they don’t have the same experiences or privileges as he has.
ReplyDelete“I was privy to the secret griefs of the wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-frequently I had feigned sleep…” (Fitzgerald 5-6). Nick’s awareness and experience often led to a disadvantage, as does Daisy’s experience because it often leads to pain and suffering.
I can't exactly participate in the blog discussion either, so I might as well toss out my ideas as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kaare that Daisy certainly represents a sense of tension, but I have to ask him what effect this has on the content of the story.
Additionally, I feel that the concept of time and control gives a certain amount of tension towards the characters (I say "time and control" because it appears thus far that the two are correlated - as one gets older, thon controls more).
"Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven - a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax," (Fitzgerald, 10). This shows that the power of time holds a great importance over the characters of the book. Specifically, we see an analysis of accomplishments of a man in early age and an expectation of what his accomplishments ought to be in later age.
The effect of this tension on the story and the characters of Gatsby is evident - we see the growing importance on social status and emphasis on what one did rather than what one will do, which follows Grace's theories of tension between social classes.
I agree with Grace's statement that people in Long Island are judged and defined by where they live, which is interesting considering Nick's nature of not judging people who haven't had as the "experience" he has had. But would he would judge someone with more experience or a person with a higher social status than him such as the Buchanans? And what exactly defines experience?
ReplyDeleteKaare, I Just read your point,"The comfortable little setting that Nick has settled himself into now seems to have deep, dark roots. He sees how married life has made Tom and Daisy, and now knows the unhappiness that it's seemed to inflict upon them. Nick's new awareness of this "distinguished secret society" has managed to have a negative impact on him, and has left him in an "uneasy" state, proving the air of tension now surrounding himself, along with that of Tom's mansion.", and I wanted to add a little.
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a really good point in acknowledging the tension that exists between Daisy and Nick, and I wanted to add in I think a lot of that tension comes from (as you pointed out), the tension that is clear in Daisy and Tom's marriage. I love the connection you made about Daisy's acknowledgment of that tension and unhappiness in her marriage to Elliot's poem, as if all of Daisy's fears and uncertainties came true.
There are a couple main parts of the chapter that depict the unhappy and tense marriage that Daisy is a part of that I want to point out.
-(small instance at the dinner table): "'That's what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen of a---' 'I hate the word hulking,' objected Tom crossly, 'even in kidding.' 'Hulking,' insisted Daisy.
-As Kaare mentioned, on page 21, how Daisy so willingly opens up to Nick about how "cynical" she is about her life
- Nick asks Daisy about her child, and in the story Daisy replies with she begins, "Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where..." (21)
- Obviously the phone call incident with Tom's "woman in NEw York" and the argument that Jordan wants to eavesdrop
- The way that Daisy ( I think, or the way I perceived it... ) mocks her husband's earlier conversation about the "Nordic Race" towards the end of the chapter:
"'Did you give Nick a little heart-to-heart talk on the veranda?' demanded Tom suddenly.
'Did I?' She [Daisy] looked at me. 'I can't seem to remember, but I think we talked about the Nordic race. Yes, I'm sure we did. It sort of crept up on us and first thing you know---'
'Don't believe everything you hear, Nick,' he [Tom] advised me." (24)
Grace hit on a really central tension in the novel--East/West... excellent documentation, too.
ReplyDeleteGeorge and Kaare (who may not check this again, so perhaps it is all up to future commenters): what are the two forces here...?
Nicole mentions certainty and uncertainty which is really interesting, especially when compared with the idea of responsibility, time and aging that has been thrown around but not totally fleshed out yet. How does becoming older and more cognizant (less ignorant) of the world contribute to certainty or uncertainty?
There's one more quote I forgot to include when I was trying to explain how the East/ West Egg social standard differs and thus creates tension and conflict:
ReplyDelete" They [Jordan and Daisy] knew that presently dinner would be over and casually put away. It was sharply different from the West where an evening was hurried from phase to phase toward its close in a continually disappointed anticipation or else in sheer nervous dread of the moment itself". (17)
Graec-is Nick talking about West Egg or a different West in this passage? (Think about the east/west tension and the many implications of those words beyond East and West Egg)
ReplyDeleteGrace! I spelled your name wrong. Sorry! Typing too fast...
ReplyDeleteI think that becoming older and more cognizant of the world contributes to certainty and uncertainty because when people are younger, they tend to be fearless and less doubtful. Due to ignorance, children or youth in general do not question what they are told or what they believe to be true because there are no conflicting or imposing ideas in their minds. As people grow and their perspective broadens, they begin to question things that once seemed concrete. People no longer stick with their gut reactions, but tend to approach situations logically and cautiously. This logic makes them uncertain because they are forced to question what they once believed was fact. This relates back to my earlier point that ignorance is bliss, because when ignorant, thon does not make decisions based on logic. Nick and Daisy, who claim they are experienced are forced to suffer due to their abundance of knowledge and awareness.
ReplyDeleteWoops! Haha, I was skimming the chapter again to find west/east situations and apparently got really excited to find it and didn't take the time to analyze that one...
ReplyDeleteBut you're on to something there (even if accidentally). Think about where Nick is from and where he has gone. This will become increasingly important when we meet Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteNicole: I'm glad you looked up tension for us--I hadn't thought about the confusing and multiple meanings of the term, but your literary definition is spot on.
First of I would like to point out Fitzgerald’s love of the word “rosy”. I do not know whether this is relevant or not, but since rosy is a pink and pink is a mixture of both red and white I wondered if there might be some color symbolism within this single color. White usually represents innocence and purity and red usually represents aggression, evil, and danger. With the combining of such contrasting meanings I think that the author is trying to communicate the tension visible in the home. The first time he uses the word “rosy” is when the narrator first enters the Buchanan home. He says “We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-colored space, fragilely bound into the house by French windows at either end.” (12) Fitzgerald uses the word again a few pages later saying “Slenderly, languidly, their hands set lightly on their hip s, the two young women preceded us out onto a rosy-colored porch open toward the sunset where four candles flickered on the table in the diminished wind” (16). Fitzgerald’s pick of the word rosy also stood out to me. Instead of choosing the word “pink” Fitzgerald instead chooses a word derived from the word rose. Such a word choice becomes even more obviously conscious when Daisy states “‘I love to see you at my table, Nick. You remind me of a—of a rose, an absolute rose.’”(19) A rose is a a demonstration of tension in itself (the beauty, lust, and want it possesses versus the danger it contains).
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I found there to be a conflict with Nick, our narrator, between guilt and entitlement. Within the first few pages Nick is reminded of something his father said, “Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (5) the next page we see the guilt Nick possesses for having such advantages. He states “I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth.” (6) By describing himself as a snob we are given the impression that he obviously has had advantages in his life and recognizes that, but he is somewhat guilty for these advantages through the use of the word “unequally”. He goes on to say “I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.”(6) He wishes that the world could be equal, that no man could be luckier than the next. Hence we are introduced into the conflict of guilt and entitlement that is in much of American literature.
ReplyDeleteI also saw a glimpse at the conflict of women and the world. Daisy states “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (21) In one sentence Daisy addresses a major conflict in society and brings it into her own home. Along with this tension, Daisy also presents to us another conflict in the chapter. The word “tense” is used only once in this chapter although many tensions are presented within it. The sentence reads “‘It couldn’t be helped!’ cried Daisy with tense gayety” (20) and takes place after Tom’s New York woman calls during dinner. Determined to keep her image and the expectations of her society, she forces herself to act like nothing is wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn response to others about Daisy, I view her as the central character of conflict. In this chapter she brings up many conflicts, including those about image, society, and social standing according to class and location.
I also think Grace is absolutely right that Nick lives among shunned millionaires. This is demonstrated at the end of the chapter when we see Gatsby. He is obviously a very strange character when we see him stretch “out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling…when I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the quiet darkness.” (26)
I'm not sure if this is accurate but I might as well just throw it out there. I was looking into the symbolism of an egg because I was questioning why the author would have such a distinct location, in Egg and by the water. I found both to be representations of rebirth. Although I cannot tell if this is significant yet, I thought I would just see if anyone could work it into their conflicts.
ReplyDeleteOH WAIT. Okay well this could be completely wrong but does an egg--a life completely trapped inside a shell present a representation of a conflict later in the book?
ReplyDeleteOh I should have responded earlier haha! Ok, well, looking at what everyone has said so far, I'm going to respond with a combination of Kaare's and Grace's ideas.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kaare and George that there is a clear tension with the character Daisy, but this tension seems to be a result of the differences of class between East and West Egg. ( I don't think anyone said this already-as far as I could tell-but if I'm totally repeating, I'm really sorry!) ANYWAYS, Daisy's tension seems to be caused by the constant need to please her husband, Tom, because he is apparently having an affair with a woman in the City. Because of this, there is another tension within their own family. Oh. Wait, I wasn't even going in that direction, but that worked out nicely! The tension within the immediate family of Tom and Daisy is quite evident; we can see how upset and innocent Daisy seems throughout the Chapter, and Miss Baker (Jordan) adds to the pressure and discomfort within the home. When Nick first arrives, he notices that Daisy and Jordan are, "as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of all desire" (Fitzgerald 17). I thought that the fact that Fitzgerald uses the word "impersonal" to describe the eyes of the two woman helped to display the lack of relationship between Tom and Daisy. Just reading about the couple made me imagine this really awkward couple, with a strong lack of trust. I don't know if the relationship is that bad, but Daisy seems to enjoy annoying her husband, blaming him for hurting her pinky finger, and calling him "hulking". So instead of talking about the tension between the classes and just Daisy herself, I think I'm going to go off on this because it hasn't been mentioned as much. Throughout the chapter, we realize that the family life in their home is not a balanced or happy lifestyle. Tom is suggested as being very controlling, "Turning me around by one arm he moved a broad flat hand along the front vista...He turned me around again, politely and abruptly" (12). This sense of controlling his own guests suggests that Tom does not let Daisy have much freedom. The relationship between the two characters is very "flakey" feeling (to me at least, maybe not to the rest of you). I feel for Daisy, and I'm not positive if she is aware of this woman that Tom has in New York? Well, even if she doesn't she seems innocent to life, and just floats along, while trying to mind her own business, she is really picking up on the loves of others as well, claiming herself to be "sophisticated".
I think that Grace's first blog entry about the west/east egg conflict was an excellent idea. I never caught on to the conflict between the two places to live. I think that Fitzgerald is not only creating tension between the two land areas, but also the people that live in the two parts of the land. The characters in the book seem to almost characterize each other and other people according to where they live. As Fitzgerald writes, "I live at West Egg, the - well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them" (Fitzgerald 5)
ReplyDeletewhoo hoo! my picture worked :)
ReplyDeleteGrace, you had some excellent passages picked out! I realized that in my first post I didn't really have a full passage (and most of the chapter has probably already been typed out onto this blog) but I felt that I needed to include a longer one in order to better demonstrate the tension within Tom and Daisy's marriage.
ReplyDelete"'She’s a nice girl,' said Tom after a moment. 'They oughtn’t to let her run around the country this way.' 'Who oughtn’t to?' inquired Daisy coldly. 'Her family.' 'Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old. Besides, Nick’s going to look after her, aren’t you, Nick? She’s going to spend lots of week-ends out here this summer. I think the home influence will be very good for her.' Daisy and Tom looked at each other for a moment in silence" (23).
Fitzgerald uses words including "cold", and "silence" which both create a sense of uneasiness within the room, and even the reader feels uncomfortable, while not even present in the actual room. Daisy responds with confidence, but there is also a trace of weakness in her voice, asking her cousin, Nick, for reassurance.
I think it is very interesting that we are viewing these tensions between social classes through the lense of an individual who, in the begininng, discusses how he has been born with advantages that others do not have and claims that he reserves all judgements but then we quickly see how judgemental Nick really is. Many of the evident tensions between social class that have already been discussed may be external in that differences in social class are clearly an important aspect of the story, but i think it should be considered from what perspective we are seeing these tensions from and and what kind of a character these tensions make Nick to be. Nick is very judgemental not only of the outside world, but of himself. George's idea of time and control and that "we see an analysis of accomplishments of a man in early age and an expectation of what his accomplishments ought to be later in age" i think is what illustrates Nick's self-conciousness. We see how aware self-aware Nick is:
ReplyDelete"I was rather literary in college--one year I wrote a series of very solemn and obvious editorials for the "Yale News"--and now i was going to being back all such things into my life and become again that most limited of all specialists, the "well--rounded man" (Fitz 8-9)
"I lived at West Egg, the--well, less fashionable of the two..." (9)
ReplyDelete"'You make me feel uncivilized Daisy'" (17)
It seems to me that Nivk is very aware of exactly what George was talking about--where one should be and when. Because of this we, as the reader viewing Nick's life through his eyes, see tensions between Nick and Daisy, Jordan and Tom not simply because of social class, but how Nick views himself in relation to others.
After reading the chapter, and all of your comments, it will be hard for me not to repeat what others have already said because i feel that you have all brought great ideas up. Some of them i had noticed myself, such as the tension between the east and west towns in this long island area, the tension between Daisy and Tom, Daisy's internal tension, as well as Nick's tension with each other character, as well as himself. Obviously tension plays a huge role in this initial chapter, but what does it mean? why is tension so significant and what will it mean for the rest of the book?
ReplyDeleteOverall, the entire chapter is centered around tension. If there was no tension the chapter would not have been anything at all. in order to set the mood and tone of the book, tension was created. But why was this the mood set?
The awkward mood that was presented in what could have been a simple dinner gathering scene is vital because it shows the tension within each of the characters. Besides setting the tone of the book to be tension-filled and complex between characters and their relationships, the tension in this chapter exposes the characteristics of each character. (sorry i just said character 242345 times). So, the awkwardness of the situation brings out the true colors or feelings of each of the characters introduced thus far, but mostly i would like to focus on Daisy.
For instance,
As Kaare initially pointed out, the tension that Daisy portrays is shown when she says, "I'm p-paralyzed with happiness."(Fitzgerald 13). This alone shows Daisy's tension between Nick and herself. As well, it suggests her awkwardness and insecurity in some ways as she is not confident or strong when she sees Nick, but paralyzed, weak and UNABLE to move, suggesting her internal feelings of inability, inferiority and almost handicap. These feelings are only enhanced within her due to her husbands affair with his New York woman. The tension is increased when we realize that everyone is aware of this affair yet nobody does anything about it. There would be tension between Daisy and her husband in the first place, but with everyone knowing this gossip about them the tension is increased dramatically, especially since Daisy only fights with him inside for a moment before returning to the dinner table and almost acting as though nothing happened.
In conclusion, i agree with all of the above posts in that the tension is obvious throughout the chapter within and between each of the characters. I believe that the purpose of the tension is to reveal and expose right away to the audience the characteristics of each character introduced as of now in the book.
Wow there are some long comments on here. I will start by saying I will not be able to discuss this blog much later, so I figure I will write my post now.
ReplyDeleteLet me start by pointing out a bit of foreshadowing I picked up on in the beginning of the book. Nick says, "Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn" (Fitzy, 6). While Nick does say that Gatsby was "exempt" from his intolerance of "riotous excursions with priveleged glimpses into the human heart" (6), I still see there being a period of time that Nick must adjust to Gatsby's ways, which has the potential to create some initial tension between the two. I could be wrong, but it's just an idea...
Another bit of tension I picked up on was between Nick and Jordan Baker. When Nick first encounters Jordan, he is unsure of what to make of her, saying, "I she saw me out of the corner of her eyes, she gave no hint of it-indeed I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her for coming in" (13). From this we can tell that Nick is slightly put off by her seemingly pompous manner, and a sort of awkward tension is created when Fitzgerald gives Nick said reaction not once, but twice, "Again a sort of apology rose to my lips" (13). This tension between the two characters never is never really put to rest, as while they do make conversation, at the end of the chapter, when Nick finally finds out her full name, "I had heard some story of her, too, a critical, unpleasant story, but what it was I had forgotten long ago" (23). Here it is made clear that Jordan has some Gatsby standing on his lawn, and describes the scene before him, "But I didn't call him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from his I could have sworn he was trembling" (25-26). Could this strange motion have been of longing? Or is there a strange tension that Gatsby has with some unseen force? The word "trembling" was what gave me the idea. Hopefully, this will be made more clear in chapter 2...
And Emma, to respond to your question regarding the "egg", perhaps the word "egg" is used to show how closed in and encased the world in which Gatsby lives in is. If so, maybe Gatsby's "trembling" and "outstretched arms" could signify his yearning to "break out" of the egg and possibly, as Nicole mentioned, be "reborn" into the outside world? That's kind of deep for just one chapter, and maybe I'm completely wrong, but it's something to think about.
what a great blog so far!
ReplyDeleteEmma--you really moved the conversation in a great direction by mentioning the tension between entitlement and guilt. Eric's comments about Nick as a narrator, both entitled and guilty, saying he reserves judgement yet obviously not doing so very well (since the whole chapter is his judgement of new people he's meeting) connects nicely to Luke's comment about the foreshadowing... we get the impression that Nick is talking directly to us, which along with his somewhat faulty assessment of his ability to reserve judgement, makes him a unique narrator, one of whom we are constantly aware.
As much as East and West Egg represent important distinctions between new and old money, the West and East in GENERAL represent important distinctions. Why do we know this? What in the text suggests that geography and origin is central to identity? Think about where Nick, Tom and Daisy are from. I apologize if someone addressed this and I somehow missed it.
So, to sum up... we have discussed social tension, sexual tension, and then more specifically a tension between paradoxes inherent in the American psyche... what about linguistic tension? This goes back to some of the devices you all talked about in the rhetoric presentations. For those of you who have not yet commented and are looking for a way to do so without repeating what has been said, where do we see tension in the rhythm of the words here? (Similar to what Mr. Chiappetta was saying with the rhyme, repetition and structure of "Prufrock")
consider also: is Daisy a likeable character? What evidence does Fitzgerald give us as to her culpability in her failing marriage?
ReplyDeleteEmma--also, your comments about "rosy" are right on. The atmosphere of that apartment is important and will later be contrasted with the houses and other apartments Nick visits. Other than the colors, what does Fitzgerald emphasize? How, if at all, is this physical reality a source of tension, or paradoxical when seen in light of the emotional reality?
To say something about origin being central to identity, we see a very clear distinction between Nick's reason for coming to the city and Daisy's reasoning for coming to the city. Nick tells us that it was the "practical" thing to do and then he later tells us that he doesn't know why Daisy moved to East Egg. Daisy and Tom "spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together." (10). Nick is in West Egg out of practicality and to work while Tom and Daisy are in East Egg just for the sake of being rich.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting as well as Grace and Eric that such controversy of status and judgment is prevalent in the first chapter. Most obviously, the tension found between Daisy, Tom, Miss baker and Tom and evident in their classes(Location East and West Egg), attitude and conversations. There was tension drawn immediately to Tom, as Nick introduced his character, showing his wealth and exemplifying a confusion to his actions, "It was hard to realize..." and "why they came East I don't know" (10). In Nick's descriptions of Tom as well there is hinted tensions. He uses words to describe Tom such as turbulence,supercilious, arrogance, aggressive, gruff, husky, and so forth. All these descriptions led to a "tense" sense from not just Tom but the relationship of Tom and Nick. Even when Nick described how he felt Tom liked him, the words chosen were unfriendly and not, relaxed, "We were in the same Senior Society and while we were never intimate i always had the impression that he approved of me and wanted me to like him with some harsh, defiant wistfulness of his own way" (12). The use of "harsh" and "defiant" didn't seem to be usual words associated with friendship or approval of another. As well the friendship is forced, that Tom must "approve" of him and that he "wants" him to like him, all forced and unnatural- creating a tense relationship.
ReplyDeleteLet me begin by saying I enjoyed reading all of your comments, and that I do agree with many of the examples of tension brought up in the blog. However, I interpreted the dinner scene at the Buchanan's a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteOne instance where Fitzgerald introduces tension is where Jordan and Daisy are talking amongst each other at dinner. "Sometimes she and Miss Baker talked at once, unobtrusively and with a bantering inconsequence that was never quite chatter, that was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of all desire" (Fitzgerald, 17). After reading this, I immediately thought of the Love Song...Prufrock where Eliot says, "In the room the women come and go/Talking of Michalangelo" (13-14). Jordan and Daisy, living in the sophisticated, elite town of East Egg, feel the need to talk about topics that they truly have no interest in, but to give them a greater status in their society. Both women are concerned with status and with impressing their acquaintances, and I feel as though they forget who they truly are inside. Like we were talking about on Friday, these women "are at a cocktail party" talking about things that they deem seemingly unimportant just so they can come across as important. This scene creates tension between each individual character's appearance, and what they truly believe on the inside. Michelangelo has so much more to offer than light conversation around a dinner table. I question Daisy and Jordan's sincerity and insecurity, and I feel this notion will resonate throughout the novel.
Further down on the page, Daisy says, "'Tom's getting very profound...he reads deep books with long words in them." (17) She is impressed with Tom's intelligence, and tries to mirror his brilliance by fakely creating a higher image for herself. Tom continues by saying "It's up to us who are the dominant race to watch out or these other races will have control of things." This statement justifies (?) the reason why Daisy especially feels she must converse about 'intellectual' topics, so that she remains a superior to the people in West Egg as well as around the country and world. Grace and LArissa mentioned the importance of the tension between the two very different societies of West Egg and East Egg, and I feel my response flows nicely with their ideas.
Does any body think that some of the social tension between Nick and Daisy might also be familial tension?
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Nick holds some tension with his family and introduces it pretty early on in the story: "Everybody i knew was in the bond business so i supposed it could support one more single man. All my aunts and uncles talked it over as if they were choosing a prep-school for me and finally said 'Why-ye-es' with very grave, hesitant faces." (7). (On a some what separate topic, this act of stuttering--as Kaare demonstrated with Daisy--acts as linguistic tension.)
Another example which is somewhat more subtle is when Nick talks about this "great-uncle" of his who founded his family line. " I never saw this great-uncle but i'm supposed to look like him--with special reference to the rather hard-boiled painting that hangs in Father's office." (7). I interpreted this as an example of how Nick is struggling with his familial identity.
Wow, this is a first. I am the last person to comment on the blog, and apparently by quite a while. Unfortunately, I am pressed for time, and Grace has used many of the quotes I intended to , so my response will be a short on textual evidence. Well then...
ReplyDeleteI would like to focus on the constast and tension between East and West as origionally pointed out by Grace. However, rather than looking at East and West Egg, I am going to focus on the terms in general, what they represent, and the origin for that representation.
In terms of the history of our nation, the East came before the west. Before we even knew the west existed, the east was colonized and developed. In the eyes of the east, the west was almost unworthy of attention. Even after it had been discovered, it was viewed as savage, populated by indians and fronteirsmen. The East was viewed as inherently better, for it had come first. After all, every significan pre-revolutionary event in American occured in the east. Even our government was formed in the East. This timeline shows the established nature of the east and the developing nature of the west, which is always one step behind. This is shown in Grace's quotes - the contrast between new and old money, and the societal implications of each.
Even with the established barriers between east and west, there are new divisions being established daily. As Americans pushed west, each new settlement became the new west, the new fronteir, leaving everything and everone behind them in their relative east. This shows how even in the east or the west, there are places which are more east or west than the rest. For example, in West Egg, the narrator's house "was at the very tip of the egg...squeezed between two huge places" (Fitzgerald 9). His house was an eye sore, an outcase even among the outcasts of the West, which shows a tiered social structure.
However, it is interesting to note that Daisy and the narrator are cousins, both of whom are from the midwest. The fact that they are from the midwest designated that they don't fully belong to the west, as is shown in how one lives in the east, and one lives in the west. As well, when you examine Daisy's life in the east, it is apparent as others have pointed out, that she does not belong there, which is a product of her origin.
As such, it is important to view the relativity of the west and east, how people fit into those two general categories
(for not everyone is purely east or west), and how origin/geography plays a role in social position.
Ok, so I guess im running a little late, sorry about that. Due to this, I figure ill get right to the point. I feel like everything has been discussed about the conflicts here in the first chapter. This being said, all I can think to do is state my agreements and disagreements with my fellow peers. Seeing as how Eric is the last on the blog right now, I feel it fitting to discuss his points.
ReplyDeleteYes I do completely agree that there are notions of familial tension between Nick and Daisy. Not only is this seen in your quote, but also further into the chapter when Nick and Daisy are talking to Mr. Carraway. “’Come over often, Nick, And I’ll sort of-oh-fling you together. You know-lock you up accidentally in linen closets, push you out to sea in a boat, and all that sort of thing” (23). To me, this came out in a sort of mocking or teasing tone that could only come from a family member. Also, to Eric’s point, the fact that Nick is receiving advice from a family member on a matter so personal leads me to believe that he IS in fact struggling with his familial role.
Unfortunately I had to keep this short because I was pressed for time, and I think that I still probably missed the deadline. Also, all of the quotes that I would have used to enforce my own ideas and opinions are already in the blog in one place or another. Ill be much more helpful on the next blog when I don’t get back from dinner at 945 at night.
Great observations Kara: that scene is one of many reasons I thought "Prufrock" would work well to introduce Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, that's exactly what I was getting at. Keep these ideas about west/east (and midwest) in mind as we meet more characters.
See you all tomorrow--I'm very much looking forward to our discussion.
Oh yea I won't be there tomorrow... I'm going to Boston.
ReplyDeleteOk, enjoy Boston, read chapter 2, see you on Tuesday
ReplyDeleteAnother tension I found, was that between Miss Baker and Nick, during their ease-dropping scene.
ReplyDelete" I was about to speak when she sat up alertly and said 'Sh!' in a warning voice" (Fitzgerald 14)
Then she continued on saying " You mean to say you don't know?" (Fitzgerald 15).
NOt only does this knowledge that Miss Baker possesses create tension between herself and Nick, but it also creates tension between the characters and the readers. By having the readers experience the characters ease-dropping on this seemingly-important conversation, we are consciously aware that we shouldn't be prying information out of the conversation. This tension is created between the reader and the characters, because Fitzgerald generates this 'atmosphere' that we, as readers are peering at the conversation through a small window in the kitchen, without anyone knowing we are there, and at the same time, we are comprehending the scene through the eyes of Nick. Therefore this also creates tension.
If anyone can understand my confusing ideas, i will be impressed, otherwise I am probably on my own for the most part. I can clarify this idea more tomorrow in class :)