Black Bottom Stomp

This music is lively and upbeat, good for dances of the time like the rag and foxtrot. I feel that its cordial sounds and cheery tempo would have been quite the atmosphere at Gatsby's parties. His parties were where the aristocratic could come out and let go and enjoy themselves, taking part in lively dance and festivities, very different from what I suppose the stiff-necked parties of the East Egg would be like.

Great Gatsby Reading Blog #2

The introduction of Meyer Wolfsheim does two things for us: it shows that Gatsby is familiar with many groups of people, some of them rater unique; it also makes us question whether Gatsby is in some sort of elicit business and how he came to get his money. The effect that these suppositions have on our idea of Gatsby are whether he is really so honest and benevolent a person as he seems and that there may be some more sinister reasons behind his "not wanting to offend anyone". The introduction of knowledge of Gatsby and Daisy's past make everything that Gatsby has done in the past five years of his life look like some pathetic ploy to win back love that he missed out on so long ago. He says that he wants everything to go back to how it was, and all of his actions, even inviting people to parties so that he might learn of her whereabouts, were moves towards that goal. It makes him seem less impressive and grandiose and more sad and almost pathetic. The more and more I learn of Gatsby's past the more I have to question how he rose to such high status and wealth in the world, it seems that fate stunts him at every opportunity. It also makes him seem like less and less of an aristocrat and more of an everyday man with big aspirations. All of the knowledge of Gatsby that comes the reader's way in this chapter bolsters respect for the man but the initial feelings of awe surrounding him have diminished. In its place I find empathy and wonder at how Gatsby came to be what he is in the novel from his origins as a clam-digger. 

Great Gatsby Reading Blog #1

Gatsby is the novels namesake, and will unquestionably be the hero in the end of this book. My reasons for saying so are many: he hosts many large parties so that people may have a good time, but he is responsible and does not drink himself (pg 50). He is also incredibly generous and invites his new neighbor Nick to his party and then out to try out his hydrofoil. I believe that he is a generous person and will be a kind of guiding light if Nick gets too caught up in the world of high fashion and partying. Nick will be somewhat of a hero, more of the person we are rooting for since we can relate to him fairly well, but I think that the circumstances will get the better of him. Jordan Baker will be a villain, her high class and indifferent attitude will lure Nick into feeling stronger about her than he should and being further sucked into living outside his means. She is bad news-bears for nick although he does not recognize it yet. she is inherently a liar and this will get Nick into trouble later in the novel (pg 58). Tom may turn out to be a villain, but right now he is just someone who is restless in his own life, he drags Nick into his problems because he feels that he is a friend although Nick may not feel quite the same way. His affair with his mistress, Mrs. Wilson, is nothing new to his pattern of moving city to city, although i fear that the toll it is taking on his wife who is now with child may spill over into Nick's life as he attempts to care for his cousin as best he can.

Bua's Style

The exaggerated lengths and proportions of objects in the paintings creates emphasis. His painting deal predominantly with black culture and more specifically with the organic rhythm of dance and music.the paintings seem to have a very upbeat nature and the stylized features and lanky limbs of the figures seem to give them a sense of life. the shading and contrast between light and dark ad both emphasis and realism to the peices. Reminds me of creole artwork.