Dear AP students:
In the previous entry I explained that The Great Gatsby is able to express a great degree of cynicism by using the 1919 World Series as an example of corrupted American institutions/way of life. But one other thing that fueled this cynicism is the American experience in World War I. America went into the war in a very idealistic fashion--we were going to make the world safe for democracy. College students like F. Scott Fitzgerald dropped out of college to join the army so they could fight in what they considered a just war. But these army veterans came back from the war very disillusioned by all the deaths that occurred during this horrible war. They came to the conclusion that these deaths were meaningless. Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway are known as The Lost Generation because they lived (and wrote) in the 1920's feeling lost/disillusioned/cynical as a result of their wartime experience.
I see quite a bit of this kind of cynicism at the end of Chapter 3, where Nick Carroway says after listening to Jordan Baker talk about the original love affair between Daisy and Jay Gatsby..."There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." This statement doesn't say anything about real affection, or about self-expression, or or people helping other people, or trying to do the right thing. There's absolutely no idealism in that statement. Can we see examples of Carroway's quote in The Great Gatsby? Who is pursued? Who does the pursuing? Who is too tired? Who is too busy?
Related to the above,, what are we to think of Jay Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy? What do you think about a guy who goes so far as to make enough money to buy a mansion across the bay of Daisy and her husband so he can continue wooing her five years after their original relationship?
Next, there is much mention of the the "mist" in the bay. What does the mist symbolize?
Another color we see in this story, besides "gray", is "pink"--what does this color symbolize? Where does it show up? Who wears "pink" clothing?
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Mist (in general) symbolizes blindness, not being able to see clearly beyond what you see (which is not far at all). The mist in the bay makes the scene more mistical or suspicious and open to surprises/shocks.
That aforementioned quote particularly resonated with me throughout this chapter, as it is quite ambiguous. I, for one, am taking a literal approach and assuming that Fitzgerald is categorizing mankind into four different stages of life: "the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." Second, the quote could also be interpreted bilaterally in terms of wealth and love.
So, let's start off with wealth:
The pursued are busy, while the pursuing are tired: While a rich man is busy protecting his wealth, a poor man is tiredly pursuing it. Fair enough.
Now onto love:
As Nick begins to pursue Jordan, Gatsby has been pursuing Daisy ever since they first met. Thus, Jordan and Daisy are both pursued. As Tom is tired of living with Daisy, he begins to pursue Myrtle. The same goes for Myrtle, who seems to be pursuing Tom.
Overall, it all seems to be this sort of large chain reaction and endless rat race, but I can't exactly pinpoint the exact meaning behind Fitzgerald's quote.
And from what I've read, Gatsby seems to be the one who has an affinity for pink attire, which could be perceived as uncouth by his wealthy counterparts. The color most likely represents unrefined materialism, as Gatsby is striving to flamboyantly stand out like a sore thumb in an upper-class society. The color could also represent his love for Daisy.
Gatsby and Daisy are basically hand-crafted in a kite together. They will end up together no matter what if Gatsby does all he can in his power to make it so. Reguardless of the amount of years spent apart it is quite clear that Gatsby did see "love at first sight" and Daisy would've accepted his hand in marriage but being that all women, want to be independant in some ways, don't want to be dependant on the wrong person if they can not fufill their needs, nor do they want to baby someone who they thought would baby them sometimes.
The mist, in my opinion, represents the idea that from Gatsby, to Daisy, it seems difficult to get across one another, like an obstacle. The mention of pink, I agree with Justin's perspective that it could represent one of two things: his love for Daisy or his idea of sticking out to the rich society.
"The pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired" all ties down to all characters in the story who are either tired of working or is too busy working to notice what is going on. For example, someone like Daisy seems like she got tired of being heart broken and settled for Tom. Someone like Gatsby is busy pursuing Daisy back and someone like Jordan is busy impressing Gatsby. Either way, any one of the main characters are being pursued or is pursuing another person to further their happiness.
The usage of the symbol of mist suggest blurryness and unsureness. A mist is defined as a "cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog". And it's presence in this book is used to describe just that.
The part of the novel that speak of pursuing is about the the love chains between the charater. As Justin Ramon said Nick is pursuing Jodarn, Gatsby pursuing Daisy, Tom with Mrytle. From a woman's perspective, the chain of all these men pursuing woman all emphasize on the idea that woman are objects that are to be pursued and that woman are objects that all man want.
The usage of the symbol of mist suggest blurryness and unsureness. A mist is defined as a "cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog". And it's presence in this book is used to describe just that.
The part of the novel that speak of pursuing is about the the love chains between the charater. As Justin Ramon said Nick is pursuing Jodarn, Gatsby pursuing Daisy, Tom with Mrytle. From a woman's perspective, the chain of all these men pursuing woman all emphasize on the idea that woman are objects that are to be pursued and that woman are objects that all man want.
When talking of the busy, the pursued, the tired, and pursuing, I see connections to the people who've already been introduced within the story. Tom is an example of the tired - he's no longer in his prime, he's taken his interests elsewhere and in a sense his affair with the mistress turns him into a pursuer. Daisy, resigned with her fate [before sir Gatsby of course] is tired, no longer pursued but boring and tiring to those who are familiar with her sight.
Pursuing is the new kind of wealthy, pursued is the old kind as the next generation makes an attempt to to reach their state of power and influence while adding their own conventional flairs, if you will. As a whole, through saying such a thing, Nick thinks of the wealthy as a mere circle; they go no further, they fall no lower than they already do. It's against the notion of progress, of success because those brought up wealthy only repeat it, but Nick makes an attempt in being humble in certain instances. However, after listening to the relations of Daisy and Gatsby, he realizes that maybe fate is what he will be resigned to, this endless circle.
From the quote, I definitely see that Gatsby is pursuing Daisy(pursued). Gatsby has also busied himself with materialistic things to fill up his home and has coordinated may parties at his mansion. And the day, Daisy came over Gatsby seemed tired too. Possibly the tiredness comes from the stress in Jay's and Daisy's love affair. The mist in the bay may symbolize uncertainty for Daisy's and Jay's future together. the pink, im not so sure of, but it may symbolize love and romance.
Stephen Davis
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.", this phrase connects all the characters together. They are all connected in some way. Since the pursued(Daisy) is busy trying to figure out what she wants and tired of the heartbreak Gatsby has given her. The pursuing (Gatsby) is so busy trying to impress everyone around him but maybe he's really tired of the lifestyle that he's been having and just wants Daisy back.
The mist can symbolize as an obstacle that has been hindering Daisy and Gatsby's love. Or sometimes this can symbolize darkness, foreshadowing how someone would end up in a bad situation like maybe dying. Most of the time horror movies, use mist as a sign of darkness or death.
Pink can be shown as affection, love. Maybe even courage?
Okay since this book has "love story" elements, I think it is cute and romantic that Gatsby would do all that for Daisy. And I guess it was good motivation for Gatsby because he is very wealthy now. At the same time I find it pathetic that he still is trying to get her back knowing that he needs to be over the top to get her to notice him again. Gatsby is being a little too over dramatic being that he bought a mansion across the bay from Daisy, creeper...
Alyssa Lagasca
Jay Gatsby is bascially using his wealth and buying Daisy all of these expensive things in hopes that she will be with him. There is a sort of love triangle in this affair because Nick is after Jordan, while Gatsby is after Daisy, and Tom is tired of Daisy, and after Myrtle. Gatsby is the one whom has an ego for pink attire due to his wealth. I also believe that the mist symblozies blindness and so it shows how all the characters are not really quite sure whom their after. Gatsby is eventually going to end up with Daisy, no matter what he does. However, I believe that Nick is the one whom truly loves Daisy even if he doesn't end up with her. I believe it to be one of those, "love at first sight" experiences.
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." Nick was referring to all the love affairs going on in this book. the chain that connects them all together . when he asks for jordan he's aactually choosing to pursue her. however by this quote, he implies that everyone is similar.the mist symbolizes the obstacle to see things clearly which gatsby goes through when trying to understand daisy.
When grey and mist are put together in a scene it projects an image of awareness/caution. Though grey is a mear boring color and mist is a symbol of pre-caution and putting the two together only makes the moment less scarce in a way. For example, if you're in the grey mist and seem something suspicous is going on, the color will relieve the stress and intense feeling of the scene, then be quick a pull a jumpy part by having this hidious creature come out of no where.
The "pursued" in the story is clearly Daisy. She acts available towards anyone with wealth. The "Pursuing" is represented by Gatsby for he is the one going after Daisy. All he wants is her affection and love. For the "busy", Tom obviously shows this trait. Tom is too busy with his own entertainment and affairs (the scandal with Mrytle.) Last, the "tired" is represented by Jordan. Jordan especially because she shows no interest in pursuing no one and remains neutral. When she was given the opportunity to kiss Nick, she declined and found it quite offensive.
As for the color pink, it is seen in Gatsby's wardrobe to represent his bold ego. This ego is either genuine or front. Either way, it is sort of a device to catch Daisy's eye. To show how different he is now that he has all the wealth. The color pink also represents fixated love for Daisy. This color is there to show how his love for Daisy remained despite the 5 years and her marriage.
-Eriel Carino
World War 1 was a very harsh time for everyone. It was the very first war that we thought we would achieve something right but unfortunately there is no right way to end any war. We all expect to have heroes return home but behind that uniform are scarred memories.
The mist can symbolize a great confusion and doubt. There is no sense of direction in a mist. Everything is uncertain.
-BRANDON JOSE
Referring to Carraway’s quote, the one being “pursued” is Daisy Buchanan, the one who is “pursuing” is Jay Gatsby, the one who is “tired” is Chester Wilson and the one who is “busy” is Myrtle Wilson.
First, Daisy is being pursued by Gatsby on account of their past relationship, and has been pursuing her over the five years they have been separated. During their past relationship, the two loved each other greatly. Yet, Gatsby was in the military and was poor, and Daisy, being brought up by a wealthy family, was fixated to believe that money and security was ranked before love. Thus, she left Gatsby, eventually marrying Tom Buchanan two years later. Gatsby has been pursuing to win her back ever since.
Secondly, Chester Wilson is very tired from doing hard work in his garage for his petty wife—who is too busy pursuing a wealthy man rather than fixing her life at home. Though Chester is not nearly rich, he is superior to Tom and Gatsby in certain morally righteous ways: he is an honest, legitimately employed man. He, unlike Tom, is loyal to his wife, and will extend to great lengths to make her happy. He, unlike Gatsby, earns his money—not in bundles—but legally.
In real life, mist is white moisture in the air that is like fog, but less dense. Fog greatly obstructs one’s capability of seeing at a distance. However, since mist is less dense than fog, it means that one will be capable of seeing more of his or her surroundings through the mist than through the fog. Point being, the mist must indicate to readers that though there is much mystery to Gatsby’s background and his intentions (in the beginning of the novel) there are many opportunities to “look ahead” and foreshadow events as the story goes on.
As we know, Gatsby’s fortune is used to pursue Daisy—the one and only reason for its existence. Therefore, the reason why he is the one character that wears pink is because the pink must symbolize wealth (in clothing).
The mist symbolizes blindness, becasue gatsby cannot see her, or her house because of this grey fod, and only see's the green light which represent his hopes, which are to be with daisy. I also agree with sandy about men pursuing women and shows them as objects.
-Daniel Hernandez
Mist as said by many of my classmates, gives the reader the impression of blurryness or blindness and this links with how Gatsby pursues Daisy or how Nick to Jordan,Tom and Myrtle.It links for example with Daisy and Gatsby because Gatsby tries in all his power to make Daisy his wife and Daisy having this mist in her life that wants to marry and yet not marry Gatsby because like said previously in the blog that the 20's were in fact the era of women becoming more independent and Daisy was shifting toward that phase.
Rebecca Dayton
I believe that the mist in this story symbolizes the unsureness of what is to become between Gatsby and Daisy. When I think of mist I imagine things in front of you blinding and unclear. It may be that Gatsby does not know what is to become between him and Daisy. He is unclear of what he wants until he is reunited with his love of his life. The first thing that comes to mind when pink is said is love or lust.
Myzel Esguerra
The key similarity between many of the characters in the novel is that they are all pursuing something that they believe will make their lives better than they already are. Tom Buchanan initially pursues Daisy, but eventually he grows bored with his wealth and trophy wife, and looks for a new form of entertainment; his mistress. Jay Gatsby, pursues extreme wealth and the company of other wealthy people, until he comes to the conclusion that his life with forever be incomplete without Daisy. In my opinion, I think he cares less about Daisy, and more about the idea of having one attainable "object" that can bring some purpose to his otherwise frivolous life. We can never be sure what Daisy was really pursuing because she was so fickle and dependent on everyone around her that she didn't seem to make her own motives clear.
Chloe Slovinsky
The mist may symbolize the fading away of Gatsby and Daisys relationship. Although Gatsby is madly in love Daisy seems to be loosin what she felt a while ago. Pink may represent the love between the two.
Cobrin Humphery
the story places a mist in which may symbolize the unknown or what lies ahead of the future. that we are blinded from how far we have to be and how we are able to reach of our destination
Imran S. Hoque
I agree with Eriel in that Daisy is the one being pursued by Gatsby. Maybe it can be taken as a Marxist perspective with the division of social standing? Like Eriel said, Daisy makes herself available to those who are wealthy.
In the book, Gatsby wears the color pink. The color pink can represent his "well-roundedness". By wearing pink he can show that he has a sensitive side, even towards Daisy. It shows a soft side to him, but it can be a cover up to his superiority.
Coincidentally, I had written about this quote of "the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." (Fitzgerald 85). I wrote that the pursued is Daisy who is at all times dissatisfied and unsure of what she has and wants. The pursuers would be Gatsby and surprisingly Tom for they both desire Daisy. The busy would be both Jordan Baker and Nick for they seem to live difficult complicated lives. Jordan is beautiful, wealthy, and celebrity in the sports world and Nick is a restless veteran of the Great War who seeks conformity with the east. The tired, in my opinion, would not be anybody for every main character in the novel plays a significant role in a relationship throughout.
Jay Gatsby to me is a man who would have given everything he had for nothing. By purchasing a mansion across the bay from Daisy, he feels so close to her yet so far for the mist blurs his green light; Gatsby's American Dream. The significance of the mist is that it makes things unclear and therefore should not be pursued for it may be unsafe.
The color Pink appears briefly throughout the novel. For instance, Gatsby wears a flashy pink suit when he comes over to Tom and Daisy's mansion for a get together. Another instance is when Gatsby and Daisy are finally togeher "and there was pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea." (Fitzgerald 99). It is as if there was something magically romantic and playful about as the two looked in to one another in rapture.
Coincidentally, I had written about this quote of "the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." (Fitzgerald 85). I wrote that the pursued is Daisy who is at all times dissatisfied and unsure of what she has and wants. The pursuers would be Gatsby and surprisingly Tom for they both desire Daisy. The busy would be both Jordan Baker and Nick for they seem to live difficult complicated lives. Jordan is beautiful, wealthy, and celebrity in the sports world and Nick is a restless veteran of the Great War who seeks conformity with the east. The tired, in my opinion, would not be anybody for every main character in the novel plays a significant role in a relationship throughout.
Jay Gatsby to me is a man who would have given everything he had for nothing. By purchasing a mansion across the bay from Daisy, he feels so close to her yet so far for the mist blurs his green light; Gatsby's American Dream. The significance of the mist is that it makes things unclear and therefore should not be pursued for it may be unsafe.
The color Pink appears briefly throughout the novel. For instance, Gatsby wears a flashy pink suit when he comes over to Tom and Daisy's mansion for a get together. Another instance is when Gatsby and Daisy are finally togeher "and there was pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea." (Fitzgerald 99). It is as if there was something magically romantic and playful about as the two looked in to one another in rapture.
I think that this shows the energy it takes too pursue someone/something, and if you devote too much energy in something or someone, you end up being too tired, or maybe you were too busy in the pursuit and missed something that could prove very important to you and your life. I think his drawn out, elaborate plot to woo Daisy is telling of his character. It shows how he elaborately went about creating a back story, it also shows that despite the impression he tries to give off-a confident, ambitious man-Jay Gatsby is quite the opposite. The mist symbolizes an unclear future, not knowing what is to come.
Josh Rodriguez
First off the quote about the pursued, pursuing, the busy and the tired can be related to the novel itself. First the pursued and pursuer is simple. The pursued is Daisy and the pursuer is Gatsby. The busy and the tired are not so simple. Daisy and Myrtle can be considered the tired. The reason for this is that they are tired in their marriages and cannot take their husbands anymore. Then the busy I believe are Mr. Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Mr. Wilson is to busy with his work to notice his wife is cheating on him. Then tom is to busy with Mrs. Wilson and flaunting is wealth to notice the relationship between Mr. Gatsby and Daisy.
Secondly I believe that Gatsby is almost arrogant about his pursuit of Daisy. He feels that because he is rich he can buy everything. He thinks he will easily be able to take Daisy back if he shows off his wealth. However his future is unforssen and foggy. There are many obstacles in his way making the path to her very hazy. Similarly to the way the fog makes the view of her house difficult and hazy. For this reason it can be said that the fog symbolizes obstacles standing in Gatsby's way.
Mist could symbolize confusion, because when you're outside and it's misty you cant see anything. And I think pink symbolizes love, Valentines day uses pink as one of the major colors to symbolize love. Combining these two, I think, would make Gatsby in the book. He is so infatuated with Daisy he can't see that he is losing everything else life has to offer.
As I read this phrase, I can see both Gatsby and Dasiy invloved. For Daisy, she is busy on finding out what it is she is wanting in life, while she is also tired of the damage that Gatsby has left for her during their relationship. For Gatsby, he is so busy in trying to please eeveryone around him, most he doens't even know, but is tired of his current lifestyle, and wants to have Daisy back, who know he realizes he truly wants.
The mist can symbolize as a type of blockade, or obstacle that stands in the way of Gatsby's and Daisy's relationship.
The color pink can represent a few things, more as a form of love, passion, care.
I think that the mist represents his blindness. But when he sees the green light, it symbolizes his desire to move on and see Daisy through the fog. As for the pink it can mean what is going to happen between Gatsby and Daisy in the future.
I feel as though Jay Gatsby will never complete his "transformation" to what he so desperately wants to become. He finally has the wealth and is high on the social class ladder but it still has not won him Daisy. I do not believe Gatsby will ever be satisfied even if he was able to get Daisy, he tends to always want more. This just contributes to the greed that has been mentioned here and there. On another note, pink might represent the love Gatsby has for Daisy.
Alexandra Daigle
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." ricochets the idea that there is a continuous cycle in this story, as well as in real life. Someone is always being pursued, whether it’s for their acts, their beauty, or their money. Likewise, there is always someone pursuing another in order for someone to be pursued. On the other hand, there are those that are tired and those that are busy. In this story’s case, Daisy is being pursued by both Tom and Gatsby, even though Tom already has her and is also pursuing Myrtle, Wilson’s wife. Jordan is pursuing Nick and on occasion, Gatsby indirectly pursued Nick as well. As for the busy and the tired, Daisy became tired of waiting for Gatsby to return from the war, Myrtle became tired of waiting for Tom to divorce Daisy, Jordan became tired of pursuing Nick, Nick was busy being pursued by Gatsby and Daisy, and Tom was busy trying to stop Gatsby from pursuing his wife, and additionally was tired of being pursued by Daisy. This never ending circle of pursuance made every single character either busy or tired and neither of the five are truly happy.
The mist refers to, as I’ve said before, the blindness of Gatsby to realize his hollow hopes of winning Daisy back. The mist covers the Sound except for the green light, making an image that Gatsby can only see Daisy and their past love but not Tom and their house and their child.
The pink, in which Gatsby wears, symbolizes his uniqueness from everyone else. Pink is a stand-out colour, making him appear better than others, as he is consistently trying to prove to the world, particularly Daisy. Pink also contrasts against the gray, dull world of New York as Carraway described earlier.
The mist in Great Gatsby can symbolize the obstacles that Gatsby and daisy will face . Generally the light colors in great Gatsby mean goals or dream. So the pink can symbolize Gatsby's goal to winning Daisy back.
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