Who is Gatsby Really?

A man throws the grandest parties that anyone has ever seen, yet nobody seems to know anything about him. He doesn't have to invite anyone, yet everybody will still come. His name is Jay Gatsby. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is this sort of mysterious character that very few people know about. When Nick first sees him he is "[stretching] out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and as far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling" (25-26). The trembling represents that his desire for this unknown thing across the water is so great that he literally cannot hold still, and it is a sharp juxtaposition from the cool, calm, and collected character that everybody seems to think he is. The reader can infer from this that Gatsby is a mystery that shows neither his true character nor his true intentions. So why do people find his mysteriousness so fascinating? Well, I think it is the same reason why super heroes never reveal their true identity. A quote from Disney's Hatching Pete,"The magic is in the mystery, and once the mystery is gone, so is the magic." People are enthralled by the unknown because it allows them to use their imagination; it allows them to create magical and extravagant scenarios and ideas. Heck, people love mysteries so much there is even an entire genre devoted to it. Fitzgerald intentionally creates Gatsby as a mystery because it allows the reader to develop their own bizarre ideas, along with the other characters in the novel, about him.




                        

Family

Growing up, my family has always been there for me. Whether it be when I needed emotional support or help on a homework problem, I knew that I could always count on them. Reading about these dysfunctional families in Maus, The Bluest Eye, and The Glass Castle was kind of an eye opener for me. I always knew that I was fortunate to have such a loving family, but I never really grasped just how detrimental not having a functional family can be. In Maus, Art "can't even make sense out of [his] relationship with [his] father" (Spiegelman) which highlights the lack of communication and understanding they have with each other. The fact that Art has lived his entire childhood without getting to truly know his own father is almost unimaginable to most of us, yet it happens to children all the time. A broken family in The Bluest Eye can be seen in the relationship between Geraldine and Junior. She "did not talk to him, coo him, or indulge him in kissing bouts" (Morrison) because she only met his physical needs. Any love she had was only towards her cat. Because Junior never received any emotional love from his mom, he ends up hardened and           cold-hearted. Junior is just one example of the emotional impairments caused by a lack of a loving family. In The Glass Castle, Jeanette and her siblings realize that the ways of their parents are very different from the path that they want to follow. This causes a sort of rift between them that doesn't ever get completely resolved. The difference in their beliefs is why her mom thinks she is "fine" and that Jeanette is "the one who needs help" (Walls). Although Jeannette ends up with the life she wanted, her path to get there was very rocky due to the different values she had with her parents. After reading these three novels, it really puts into perspective how fortunate I am to live in a "normal" family and how little these issues are talked about in school.
                 

               

Art Over the Years

In the 17th and 18th century, the two main types of art were Baroque and Rococo. In art, Baroque is used to describe something bizarre or irregular. Baroque art was very complex and grand. It displayed exuberance, naturalism, and classicism. The art mirrored the dynamic energy of the time period, and differed from many of the previously established rules. Caravaggio was one of the most influential artists during this time and below is one of his paintings.


 

The next major art type was Rococo. It developed in Paris, France and was very light and elegant. The ornate style used mostly gold and white colors. It displayed many fanciful curves based on "c" and "s" shapes. Many sculptures in this time used porcelain and silver. The Rococo design was commonly used in entire rooms and included elegant furniture, small sculptures, and framed mirrors. Below is an example of Rococo design in the Basilica at Ottobeuren.



Both of these art forms showed magnificence and power of the owner. They also evoked a lot of emotion from those that viewed them. However, following these art periods were Romanticism, modern art, and eventually contemporary art. The word contemporary means belonging to or occurring during the present. Contemporary art is the most recent art period, and it consists of work on all sorts of unusual mediums. Some mediums that have been used are trash, colored pencils, poker chips, post it notes, chewing gum, cassette tapes, and even bathtubs. The paintings also strayed away from the usual human and nature paintings and became much more abstract.  However, despite being much more abstract, contemporary art has been much more socially conscious that any other era preceding it. It has been used to take stands on societal issues such as feminism, gay rights, AIDS, and racism. For example, in class we discussed the DIA painting, Officer of the Hussars, and it clearly discusses the issue of racism. Art has changed so much over the years, and it is going to be very exciting waiting to see what it changes to in the future.

Inferiority Complex

1. in·fe·ri·or·i·ty com·plex

   noun

   1. an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere
   2. 
      
   3.  Often times people just feel like they are not good enough. Whether it be in academics, sports, looks, personality, etc., everyone knows the feeling. In Toni Morrison's book, "The Bluest Eye," she examines the effects that people endure due to the inferiority complex caused by racism. In her novel, Pecola is an African American girl who believes that she isn't beautiful because she is not white. "To eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat Mary Jane. Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane" (Morrison 50). Her idea of beauty is so distorted that the only way she feels adequate is when she consumes and tries to internalize society's view of beauty. She feels so worthless that "each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes" (Morrison 46) in hopes that the newfound beauty of blue eyes would make her life perfect. The inferiority complex can easily be seen in society. Take Troy High for example. It is filled with so many academic and musical superstars. With so much talent clustered in one area, it is no mystery why sometimes I feel like I am just not good enough. However, over the years I have come to realize that I am my own person, and that means I have my own skills and abilities. That means that instead of trying to compare myself with others, I am striving to be the very best that I can be. So to anyone reading who has ever felt inadequate, I just wanted to say that you are an amazing person and you are better than good enough!

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Memorials

Those who create monuments must consider how to enhance the emotional impact of the homage paid to those who have achieved and those who have passed, through a harmonious combination of materials, location, and historical significance. The Christopher Columbus Monument in Riverside Park, Easton, Pennsylvania is a perfect example of how the use of location can serve to enhance the monument. The placement of the monument is between some woods. On misty or foggy days, the monument mirrors the mysterious feelings Christopher Columbus must have had when he first arrived to North America. Materials also serve as an important piece of monument making that needs to be taken into consideration. The sculpture of Elroy Johnson "was supposed to be cast in bronze" (Roadside America) but ended up only having "a coat of bronze paint [slapped] over the plaster model" (Roadside America). The lack of adequate materials caused Elroy Johnson's sculpture to end up as the laughing stock of monuments and pay no respect to Elroy Washington as a Lobsterman. However, in Maya Lin's Vietnam memorial, she used "black granite in order to make the surface reflective and peaceful" (Lin). Her brilliant use of appropriate materials resulted in one of Washington D.C.'s most famous memorials. The reflective granite allows people admiring the monument to see themselves in the names of those inscribed into the wall, thus allowing them to see that everybody is capable of doing honorable and courageous things.  Historical significance must also be taken into account when building a monument. Take for example Crazy Horse. To most people, it would simply be an extravagant sculpture of an Native American general because "they wouldn't know the differences among Indian tribes, or care"(Lawrence). However, to those of the Sioux tribe, he is a huge portion of their history. To them, he is the man who stood up against encroachment of Indian land. He deserves respect and reverence for all that he has achieved.