Class reflection

So far the class has been really interesting. We have had numerous deep discussions. Everything we’ve done in the class has been very thought provoking but I’d like to reflect on is “The Great Gatsby.” I want to reflect on Gatsby because I now have a much deeper understanding of the book. In class we’ve discussed this novel so much that I’ve learned so many more outlooks, perspectives, and meanings of the novel. This is so interesting to me because I never would have thought that Gatsby was somehow trying to live the American dream. I never looked into the deeper meaning of Gatsby and Daisy in the book. I just looked at the shallow meaning of it. I am now learning that when I read I need to pay more attention to the deeper meaning of the story. Authors don’t just write down words to make a story; they very carefully choose everything that’s put in the book and a lot of times the book has a deeper meaning than just the story.
In “The Great Gatsby,” Jay Gatsby is trying to live his American dream, but to the outside world he is living the American Dream; Gatsby’s rich, and he came from nothing. Isn’t that the American dream? To in the end prosper when starting out with nothing? I disagree. I took a different understanding to the American dream. How could Gatsby be living the American dream if he’s not satisfied with all his money and objects? Gatsby longs for Daisy because he wants to relive the happiness he once had with her, but in reality that is unattainable. So, Gatsby’s not happy with his money, he can’t have Daisy, but I believe he’s still living the American dream. He is attempting to pursue his happiness. Isn’t that what the American dream is? I feel that the American Dream is that we all have the right to pursue what makes us happy. I just feel that in general people want money to make them happy so we generalized the American dream to just the idea of one day being rich. This all is important to me, because I learned so much about what it means to be American, and what the American dream really is to me. And I learned all of this from a book.

Class discussion

Today’s class was an interesting one. We discussed the deeper meaning in “The Great Gatsby.” It was a very interesting class and the discussion was deep, but I couldn’t always follow what was going on. I found it difficult sometimes to understand what was going on, so it was difficult to participate in the discussion. The class discussion is constantly changing. I found myself thinking hard enough to just follow, without trying to think of something to say. Even though it was a challenging discussion I really enjoyed the content and thought put into it. I don’t exactly remember everything that was said but I do remember thinking “Why is everybody in this class so smart?”
In the discussion we discussed the meaning of the characters in reference to how they were like the author Fitzgereald. The night before we read an article written by Fitzgerald when he was “cracked up” and we related him to the characters in the novel. We also analyzed this article and try to understand what all of it meant and the deeper meaning behind it. Overall it was a great class. It was engaging, thoughtful, and entertaining.