Dan Cody

While Dan Cody is not one of the central characters, he influences Gatsby in a great deal before this story began.
Dan Cody was a copper mogul aboard a yacht. While James Gatz was fishing and digging for clams as a reprieve from janitorial work, he noticed an impending storm out in the ocean. He rowed out out to warn him, and Cody took him in now as Jay Gatsby.
While spending time with Dan Cody, Gatsby gained a lot of responisibilities. One of which was looking out for the drunk Dan Cody, which influenced him to not become a drinker.
But on an even bigger scale, Gatsby fell in love with his luxurious wealth. He became motivated to attain that himself, and set new goals for himself. I wonder if this story would even be a story without Dan Cody..?

The Men of Gatsby

The men of Great Gatsby vary a lot. Nick Carraway is meek and innocent, wanting nothing to do with scandal and doesn't give a care about money. He is interested in Jordan but he does not go to the ends of the earth to win her heart. Jay Gatsby, or James Gatz, is the exact opposite of Nick. He is a criminal, selling illegal alcohol, doing whatever it takes to become rich and famous for the woman he loves. He pursues a scandalous affair with Daisy, extremely public and wanting to tell the whole world. Tom Buchanan is wealthy, but not by choice. He has inherited money that has been in the family for many years. He is involved in an affair with Myrtle Wilson, yet he still loves Daisy, and will always love her. It seems the money corrupts them, making them greedy, wanting more, not only in cash, but also in women and possessions. Greed causes them to act irrationally, which proves why Nick is so kind and has such a pure heart.

You-Should-Quit-Love

I honestly am kind of embarrassed for the characters in this book. Sure, "all is fair in love and war" they say, but i think there is just far too much to conquer. Take Daisy's materialistic nature.
Sure she loves Tom, but she loves his money more. She proved that the first time around when she left Gatsby in the dust, and sorry Jay, not much has changed. Gatsby just won't give up on her. He thinks he can throw extravagant parties just so he can waltz in and steal her heart...but his unrequited love for her just doesn't seem enough.

But it isn't Gatsby stuck in oblivion, Tom is right there with him. He hasn't noticed this entire summer the loss of his wife to Mr. Gatsby. He is too concerned with his love, Mrs. Wilson. After the hypocrite Tom chastizes Gatsby for stealing away his wife, he is left with no mistress himself.
Mr. Wilson refuses to give up his love for Mrs. Wilson, and decides to move as far away from Tom as possible. Even though Myrtle is well aware of this predicament, she unhappily refuses to give up Tom. When will the characters realize what they already have is all they're ever going to get?

The Women of Gatsby

The famous women of The Great Gatsby: Jordan Baker, Daisy Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson. All are beautiful with love interests, and all infatuated with glamor and money. Jordan Baker is a competitive golfer who is friends with Daisy. She meets Nick while visiting Daisy. The two later start dating. "Jordan represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s—cynical, boyish, and self-centered." (spark notes) She deceives others, and isn't "careful" as Nick says while she is driving. During her golf tournament she cheats to win even, showing what kind of a person Jordan is. Jordan is not a bad person, she just is deceitful.
Daisy is Nick's cousin. She loves attention and is amazed by wealth. She once had a relationship with Gatsby, but then wouldn't wait for him and decided to marry Tom. She playfully ignores Tom's affair making her look foolish. "In Fitzgerald’s conception of America in the 1920s, Daisy represents the amoral values of the aristocratic East Egg set." (spark notes) Overall, Daisy is seen as annoying and needy.
Myrtle is Tom's mistress, who is married to Mr. Wilson, whom she is not happy with at all. She is completely head over heels for Tom, telling the story of how she met him like it was the best day of her life. She is only an exciting toy for Tom, and she doesn't realize how he uses her. When she continues yelling "Daisy" in his face, Tom decks her in face, yet she still loves him. She is blinded by her love for him.

Green-Eyed Monster?

jeal·ous·y
 –noun,plural-ous·ies
mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.
(dictionary.com)

Jealousy is everywhere. It is a sin we experience everyday, whether we like it or not. Scientists say that jealousy can be experienced starting at 5 months old! So don't feel so guilty next time you are feeling envious, because even babies can be jealous. It is seen all around, and influences works of art, music, movies, novels; it is expressed everywhere.
The Great Gatsby has many examples of jealousy throughout the book. Money causes a lot of jealousy because of the greed the characters have. Although people nowadays are very greedy and it seems the world revolves around money, greed for this green paper has always been around. Jealousy causes the characters of the book to act foolishly and irrationally and make serious mistakes.


He that is not jealous is not in love. ~St. Augustine
This quote suggests that many people who are in love are easily jealous. In Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy both have affairs, making one another jealous.
Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening. ~Maya Angelou

Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you. There is only one alternative - self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved. You will always think it's a mistake or luck. Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within. Find the seeds of your jealousy, clear the old voices and experiences. Put all the energy into building your personal and emotional security. Then you will be the one others envy, and you can remember the pain and reach out to them. ~Jennifer James

The Great Gatsby Film Versions

Robert Redford played the handsome Gatsby in the 1974 film version, and while he looks the part, reviews suggest he loses some of the mysterious essence of Gatsby. Mia Farrow played Daisy, and came off as ditsy and nervous, as if she doesn't have much substance for all these suitors to be chasing after her. But there were good reviews on the narrator of the movie...



"Nick Carroway, the protagonist and narrator, is somewhat better portrayed. His speeches remained compelling, to an extent, and watching his eyes through the film, they become sadder and sadder as Gatsby nears his tragic fate. The loss of innocence and disillusionment in the film fare somewhat better as well, and the elusiveness of happiness can fairly easily be inferred from the movie as well."

from Merlot Vivre copyrighted 2007
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1280814-The-Great-Gatsby-Movie-Review


As for the 2000 film version...
"This production is modestly successful at telling Fitzgerald's story, with an attractive recreation of the wealth and decadence of the era. While it is competently made, the movie is a bit bland, with the squeaky-clean look of a made-for-television movie and an overly straightforward set of performances. The party spirit of 1920s Long Island is there, but the depth of feeling between Gatsby and Daisy is not. When the movie is light and witty, it works. But the film's blandness robs the story of its most important element -- Gatsby's desperation and Daisy's yearning."

-Brian Webster
http://www.apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=2845

There have also been numerous critiques suggesting that the two main actors have little passion for each other and do not play the parts so well portrayed in the book. While this ruins a bit of the plot in the book, the cinemetography is well developed and the settings for the scenes work well.

While each had their own critics, i believe the 1974 version followed the book closely, and relied on the storyline. Despite perhaps misconstructed characters, Nick was cast well and was able to bring the movie to its justice.

Mafia/Gangsters

Some of the most notorious gangsters arose in the 1920s. One of the all-time biggest gansters was Al Capone. He controlled the "Underground Empire" that included a network of speakeasies that sold illegal alcohol during the Prohibition period. He was well respected by his fellow gang members. He hired thugs and hit men to do his dirty work while he remained in the dark.


One of the most famous of his dirty deeds was the St. Valentines Day Massacre. He hired his men to attack the gang of George "Bugs" Moran, a competing bootlegger. In the S.M.C Cartage Co. Garage, 7 men were shot to death. Conveniently, "Bugs" had noticed cop cars outside of the garage and remained far from the troube. Although Capone's main motive would be to get rid of Moran, he certainly made a statement as he began his climb up Moran's men, eventually leading to the rival gangster himself.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896, to Edward and Mollie Fitzgerald. Edward Fitzgerald manufactured wicker furniture, but failed at the profession and became a salesman. His mother inherited money which her family comfortably lived off of after Francis turned 12. Fitzgerald attend school at St. Paul Academy where his first newspaper article was published.Francis fell in love with Zelda Sayre while assigned at Camp Sheridan. The two were engaged but Zelda broke off the engagement because she could not wait for him. Fitzgerald continued writing books, but when This Side of Paradise was published and made Fitzgerald famous overnight, the two got married almost instantly. Zelda spent a lot of time in the hospital, and F. Scott wrote short stories to pay for the bills. Money was tight for the two, and although Fitzgerald wrote many books dealing with money, he had trouble managing his own finances. Zelda ended up dying in a fire in Highland Hospital in 1948.Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940. He publised 4 books: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender Is the Night and the most popular, The Great Gatsby.



www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html

Money Money Money

Old money vs. New money has nothing to do with the age of the currency; it has to do with how long money has been passed down from generations. Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". Old money typically associated with the upper class. New money is recently acquired wealth, someone who has worked hard and earned their money rather than inheriting it.

In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is an example of old money. He inherited his family's money, not having to work for an income, simply inheriting the riches. Jay Gatsby is an example of new money. He has recently acquired wealth that he enjoys showing off in extremely luxurious ways, like throwing hugely extravagant parties.
The Rockefeller and Vanderbilt families are some examples of "old money". They have enterprised and kept their money, passing it down through generations.

The Roaring 20s

The 20s were such an amazing time period! We were carefree and had fun. We had dance competitions which were fun to even watch! People loved to dance, especially the Charleston, Fox-trot, and the shimmy. We listened to the comedy shows, news, live events, jazz, variety shows, drama, opera, the radio had everything!

Many things happened in our decade, like the discovery of the tomb of Tutenkamen, Mickey Mouse's first movie named "Steamboat Willie", the first talking movie "The Jazz Singer", and even the colossal Stock Market Crash in 1929. Some of the best and worst times we lived through in the 20s.. but we still remember them as such a great and exciting period in our lives!

Flappers: Scandalous or Respectable?

In the 1920s, women began to change. They cut their hair short, wore dark makeup, and wore their skirts shorter. They went to parties, smoke, drank; all things women would never be caught doing. They had fun for a change, but this was seen as disrespectful, and these disrespectful women were known as flappers.

The young women of the 1920s broke out of society's expectations when they decided not to sit around and be conservative. They decided to enjoy their lives. The flappers went out and partied at night, dancing and having fun. They danced a very popular dance, called the Charleston.


This is an example of the popular dance, the Charleston.

The Flappers' image consisted of drastic - to some, shocking - changes in women's clothing and hair. Nearly every article of clothing was trimmed down and lightened in order to make movement easier.

Although women in this day and age went against what was considered conventional, they did what they wanted and showed that women have power. They were respectable because they taught others not to let others tell you what to do or put you down, showing that their actions were not scandalous.