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.