The Great Gatsby

            The Great Gatsby took place in the 1920’s and mostly focused on the upper class or “East Egg.” There were mainly two large categories of class, the poor community West Egg and the wealthy community East Egg, most of the characters in this book are from East Egg and lives consisted of expensive parties. The 1920’s were full of parties and alot changed in that time. They show this in the novel with Gatsby’s extravagant parties with all the new styles, music, alcohol and dancing. Some didn’t approve of this new fashion but this trend caught on fast. This time was full of parties and fun! Gatsby, the main character in this book was very wealthy and hosted lots of these parties at his huge house.

    The Great Gasby was a very good book. Sometimes it got alittle confusing, at the begining of the book I was confused by west and east egg, but i know understand. The book was sometimes boring but it also had its interesting parts. The fact that Tom used Myrtle Wilson for basically sex was always interesting. I didnt like Tom's character because of the fact that he treated Mytle horrible and acasionally rewarded her with a gift, and that he was doing all of this behind poor Daisy's back. I was furious when Tom broke Myrtle's nose when she only said Daisy's name. I wish she had gotten out of that relationship but I think she loved Tom and he only thought of their relationship as something physical.

page 37 "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" Shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai......."

Tom hit Daisy so hard he broke her nose!

      I was shocked when Wilson shot Daisy and didn't really like the ending of this book. I was sad Gatsby never got what he truely wanted... which was Daisy. All of Gatsby's wealth didn't give him happyness and the one thing that could he didn't get.

Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird

                 I'm not much of a reader but a few chapters into To Kill A Mockingbird I was interested and hooked. During this time period a lady was supposed to act like a lady, always  perfect mannered and dressed. Scout (Jean Louise) seems like the complete opposite. Early on in part 1 you could tell she didn't like acting like a lady. Her older brother Jem and her seem very close and she participates in all of the boy activities. The only time she played with other girls in the neighborhood was when Jem was mad at her. Other than that she was always apart of Jem and Dills skits and adventures, mostly dealing with Boo. Also Scout never wore a dress and always overalls, like the boys. In my opinion, the reason she acts like a boy is because of the lack of a motherly or womanly influence on Scout. Her father has not taught her how to act like a woman and is ok with the way she acts. The only time he corrects her about not acting like a lady is when she begins to cuss. She used the words like hell and damn often, Atticus (her father) does not like this and tells her so. Scout uses her new skill on page 79 when she ways "pass the damn ham, please." Uncle Jack was shocked and had a talk with her that night after dinner. On Christmas, when the family meets up it's obvious that Aunt Alexandra and the Grandma did not approve of the ways Scout acted, not only blaming her but also Atticus. She once again displays her boyish behavior when she punches Francis in the face, although he deserved every bit of it.

                     The reason I focus some much on Scout's behavior is because that day in age disapproved of her kind but its those girls and women who helped make today as versatile as it is. Today women aren't forced to fit in a certain image, but back then it was looked down upon if they didn't. I respect and love Scout's character because of her strong personality and the fact that she doesn't care what people think of her and continues to be "Scout."

                Jem, Dill and Scout are all very interested in the Radley's, especially Boo Radley. While reading the book I'm equally interested in what goes on inside the house and Boo. The house seems very mysterious and scary. The part where Boo Radley puts a blanket around Scout's shoulder gave me the chills. I could only imagine how Scout felt. I'm assuming that Boo is going to be a very kind character later in the book, but we will see... I also like how Jem and Scout find random items inside the tree...I'm interested to see how that turns out.

             So far I'm enjoying this book and can't wait to read on.

Ellen Skay

The Grapes of Wrath

I found The Grapes of Wrath a very heart wrenching story. While reading I could only imagin life being like

 that.

 I think that the character Al is strong and helps the family during their journey.  Al takes care of the car and keeps it running during the long dragged on journey to California. “I ain’t tired,” said Al. pg. 132. Even though he is very tired he stays strong and lets other members of the family rest while he drives and looks after the car. Al explained, “I don’t know what made her go out. I give her plenty of oil.” Al knew the blame was on him.pg 166.   This is another time he shows strength and takes reasonability for the misfortune of the family. Al is very knowledgeable about cars and when it breaks down he fixes it and keeps the family moving along. I believe if he didn’t keep the family moving everyone would start to loose hope and interest on the great future they long for. Therefor he keeps the family strong and together, without Al the family would fall apart. The Joad family is without money, without food, and without work. The lack of food makes them all weak and tired but they must keep moving.  Al took a paper bag from the seat. “This here’s some bread an’ meat Ma sent, an’ I got a jug of water here.”  Al at the wheel, his face purposeful, his whole body listening to the car, his restless eye jumping from the road to the instrument panel.pg 123.  I think this sentence is perfect for Al because it shows how much he cares about the Joad family and their future.

I focused my blog on Al because i thought many of the characters throughout the novel slowly lost hope but Al never did. He kept the familly one strong unit. At times I thought the book got alittle boring but it told a great story. I could not relate to this novel but imagined their life and was touched by the families bravery.