The Great Gatsby: Chapters 4-5

"The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world."
The author states in this quote that The City of Ashes is beautiful. This is an ironic statement because it is the one place that is not considered beautiful. Since the city sits between two cities, populated by rich people who can afford technology that produces ashes, it is the most disgraceful and filthy place in the world. Fitzgerald adds irony by describing it as a “wild promise” because normally when someone is described to be wild, they are described to be crazy.  Therefore, he is saying only crazy people would think The City of Ashes demonstrates the mystery and beauty in the world. (104)

2.      “He would never so much as look at a friend’s wife.”

The author wrote this narration coming from Mr. Wolfsheim to convince Nick, as well as the audience, that Gatsby is not a bad person despite all rumors. To have a man refrain from checking out a beautiful woman simply because of the fact that she’s with his friend, that resembles loyalty. Since men are thought of as people who cannot control their feelings or hormones, this was a big deal from the time of the setting until the modern day. This argumentation also convinces Nick to remain well to Gatsby because it is not because Gatsby is a bad friend for not opening up. It is simply the fact that he cares more about other people. (116)

3.      “It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people.”

The author narrates as Jordan Baker and says this quote when telling Nick the story of Daisy. The author argues that not drinking is an advantage when you’re among hard-drinking people. This is true because you will have the ability to control your actions when they cannot. You will have your brain intact with awareness for anything uncontrollable that could result during events that involve alcohol. The author is also making a point to his story as to how Daisy was so well liked. If she seemed rounded and sober around people, her reputation will benefit towards her status of being a social-lite. (103)

4.      “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.”

In those quote, Fitzgerald describes adults and their love lives while he talks about an evening of Jordan’s and Nick’s. The author claims there to be only four categories of the different types of people. There are the ones that are pursued because of mere attraction. The ones who are pursuing are the ones with courage and the right amount of self-esteem. Unfortunately, there are those who are too busy for a love life as well as those who are tired of trying and failing because of their age or because of the countless times of rejection. (97)

1.      “He was running down like an over-wound clock.”

Fitzgerald argues in this quote that Gatsby was so happy and excited that all his emotions came down like a destroyed clock. This is significant because a few paragraphs back, Nick’s old cheap clock removed itself from the wall and collapsed on Gatsby’s head, to everyone’s astonishment. It was preventable. The motion just happened so fast. By also comparing Gatsby to an old clock is also a way to argue about his appearance. It was like saying he looked pathetic and embarrassing. This is understandable since he is in the presence of the girl of his dreams and people tend to be nervous and stupid around the people they most desire. (111)

Let Teenagers Try Adulthood

This response has been made to the following article:
http://english.basd.k12.wi.us/mocarski/collegeenglish/botstein.pdf

Leon Botstein wrote the article to try to persuade people to see his point of view in high school effecting society. He forms an idea to stop high school from damaging these young adults by taking away high school and have a junior college instead.
Botstein starts his article explaining how high school is mixed with the real world along with the fantasy world.People are divided into groups. The biggest groups of all are the insiders and the outsiders. The insiders are the popular individuals who are attractive and athletic while the outsiders lack those qualities. It could be argued that the qualities match up with the real world. Most adults have their own little world within their work occupation but when they come home to be themselves and relax, they watch sports. So although athletes do not rule the world, they are powerful and liked because of their ability to be physical.He then further evaluates that smaller groups are based on masculinity, femininity, rate of growth, and age. While this may be true, in the work fields, people are also segregated by wealth, power, associations, and experiences. Some of these qualities are influenced by the high school version of the real world.
Another quality that seems to separate teenagers is emerging idea of puberty. Botstein says there's a thin line between the pubescent and the kids on the edge of changing. This would not be true nor related to the work force because hormones do not take over people's lives. They may seem to because some people strive in life to get their sexual needs. In reality, that is only a small portion of who we are. Some students could be having sex and yet still be valedictorian while the other student, who is not getting any, could be a high school drop out. Adults are also not separated by the numbers of mates they've had.
Since children are reaching adulthood faster in the twenty-first century, it would be best to rethink the schooling system. Most students behave badly in school simply because they are not interested in the topics.
We cannot make them learn something that is not relevant to what they need to do in life.
By demolishing the American High School, we create a junior college. These institutions are to fulfill the student's interest. Based by their career goal, they would go to the school specific to that area. By doing so, this helps stop the segregating of students since most will have the same interest. This institution would be for the basics. Once the student is sure of what she or he wants to do in life, they can move on to college to head out to the real world. If the child experiences a change in goal, they could simply switch schools.
For those who are unsure of their career path, they could take time off from school to figure out themselves since junior college would start after the sixth grade. Everyone will have more time to pursue towards their dream. Life is way too short to waste time dealing with unimportant things such as high school statuses.