Rainy Day For a Romance

1. In chapter 5, when Daisy and Gatsby meet, how is weather used to create mood, and what mood(s) is created?

When Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in years the day starts off rainy. Fitzgerald describes the day like this, “The rain cooled about half-past three to a damp mist, through which occasional thin drops swam like dew,” (Fitzgerald, 84). As the day continued the skies started to clear up, “After half an hour, the sun shone again” (Fitzgerald, 88). After Gatsby showed Daisy his shirts it began to rain again, “Outside Gatsby’s window it began to rain again,” (Fitzgerald, 92). A common occurrence throughout the book is the use of light to describe a time of hope for Gatsby. In chapter 5 when it is sunny, or light out, Gatsby is getting closer to Daisy which is his ultimate goal. When there was no sun and it was rainy Gatsby felt that meeting with Daisy was a mistake and that he would not have a chance with her. When it became sunny I believe Gatsby thought that he might finally have a chance to win Daisy back. When it starts to rain again Nick wonders if Gatsby was underwhelmed by Daisy and that he lost his meaning in the green light, the symbol of hope.

Nick's Judgment

In the first two pages of the novel, Nick Carraway claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgment." Do you find that this is true so far? Please provide textual evidence to support your position.

Nick Carraway, for the most part, matches up to his claims that he holds all judgment about people. He says that it is because his father once told him, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.” (Fitzgerald, 1). I feel like this quote would speak more about judging someone because they are a professional pleasure dancer, rather than somebody who is much more well off than he is like Tom Buchanan. However, Nick also claims to hold his judgment for even the well off. He sticks relatively close to his declaration that he is not, nor has ever been, judgemental throughout the first three chapters. During the first encounter Nick had with Ms. Baker, she appeared very snobbish, yet he did not write one single note about it (Fitzgerald, 8-9). When learns of the affair Tom is having, he does not make a single disparaging comment about the situation (Fitzgerald, 15). He even went with Tom to meet his mistress without so much as giving him a crooked eye even when Tom breaks the mistress’s nose. The drunk man Nick met in Gatsby’s library that lost a wheel from his car and kept driving, although of a lesser status than the rest, is still exempt from Nick’s criticism (Fitzgerald, 53-55). Even when Nick remembers the scandal with Jordan Baker and realizes that she is a compulsive liar he continues on talking about her in the same light (Fitzgerald, 57). It could be argued that by Nick describing these people in this unflattering manner he is making a judgment about them. However, assuming that the way Nick is describing everyone is completely true and unbiased, then Nick sticks true to his word that he is a man without judgment.

Although, Nick does not put down others for their actions he does exalt himself for his own. The quotes, “I’m inclined to reserve all judgments,” (Fitzgerald, 1), and, “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” (Fitzgerald, 59), are instances of him lifting himself above others. Not all instances are as clear as these are. An example would be, “A sense of fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth.” (Fitzgerald, 2). In this quote, Nick is stating that not all people have the common decencies that are attributed to being a good person. He makes other statements like this throughout the first three chapters that make him seem that he thinks that he is a better person than others because of the things he does or does not do.

Characteristics of Shakespeare's Tragedies in Othello

Shakespeare's tragedies all end in a tragic death for the protagonist making the play tragic, but there are other themes that Shakespeare's tragedies must also include. One of them is the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedies often have a personality flaw that leads to their demise. The main characters in the plays are all rich and of high status so that when they meet their end it has a greater impact and is more tragic. There is also an external force that drives the character to act on the issue in the play that leads them to their downfall. The hero also has many opportunities to changes his course of action but he never does.

The play Othello fits in very well with these characteristics. Othello’s flaw is that he has a bad temper and can be hot headed. This causes him to be quick with rage and kill Desdemona. He is a nobleman held in high status that married a Venetian senator’s daughter bringing a lot of same to the family when he committed the murder-suicide. Iago was constantly manipulating Othello and encouraging him to kill Desdemona throughout the play. If it had not been for Iago the events of the play would have never happened. Throughout the play, Othello is given reasons to trust Desdemona by many people but he refuses to believe that she is not cheating on him until it is too late. Finally at the end of the play the protagonist Othello died and many of those close to him.

Protagonist Debate

For my response project Destiny and I debated against Zoey and Dua’a about who was the protagonist in The Merchant of Venice, Antonio or Shylock. Our position was that Antonio is the protagonist and Shylock is the antagonist. I am very glad that I chose this topic because I found it very interesting and wanted delve deeper into it. The only problem Destiny and I had was after we wrote our rough draft we realized that we were arguing the wrong topic. Once we straightened that out it was smooth sailing from there. I had never done a debate with the format we used, so that was a new and very fun experience. I am very glad with the results of our paper and the debate. This is definitely a project I recommend and would do again.

Shylocks Hate For Antonio

Was Shylock justified in wanting to kill Antonio?

Shylock has been through a lot in his life and has many reasons to dislike Christians. He was constantly ridiculed by Christians for being a Jew and charging interest on his loans. His only daughter and closest loved one ran off to marry a Christian and friend of Antonio. He is not even shown kindness when he loans money to Antonio who has beaten him and treated him with disrespect. This warrants him to feel a certain amount of disdain for Antonio because of his actions towards him. However, killing Antonio is still a harsh punishment for what he has done to Shylock. It would have been understandable if Shylock had wanted Antonio to go through what he did, and eventually change his ways.

Woman's World

At the end of the play, social order should be restored. One facet of this in the 16th century is men having dominance over women. Is this true in this play? Who has the upper-hand, and why? Provide textual evidence.

Shakespeare plays usually take place in two different places the normal world and the magical world. The normal world is ruled by men and women are subject to their husbands. Whereas in the magical world women are usually in charge. In the play The Merchant of Venice the normal world is in Venice. In Venice, the men ruled and controlled what happened in the story. Once the story shifted to Belmont, Portia and Nerissa started playing a more important role in the plot. When the trial took place in Belmont if it was not for Portia’s and Nerissa’s quick thinking Antonio would have died at the hands of Shylock. Even after Antonio’s trial the women still hold the power in the play. You can see this by the way they trick their husbands once back at the palace in Belmont (Act 5.1). The reason the power stays with the women at the end of the play is because they are still in the magical world where the women rule.

Conflict

According to the 5-act play structure, the climax or turning point of the play should have happened in the third act. Did it happen? If so, what was it and what central conflict was addressed? If not, discuss the central conflict that has not yet been resolved.

The central conflict is between Shylock and Antonio. This is over the loan Shylock gave to Antonio in act 1. It followed the 5-act play structure through act 2 when Antonio’s ships started to sink one-by-one causing the rising action. The ordeal came a head when Antonio’s entire argosy sunk at sea, forcing him to default on the loan. When Shylock found out about this he had Antonio locked up and awaiting trial. This left the readers on a cliffhanger waiting for the resolution of the conflict. I feel that this is the climax of the story because it had built up and it happens right after the rising action.