I Swear to Drunk, Not God I'm!

        To the immense joy of my AP English teacher, my class has finally entered the "The Great Gatsby" era, where we talk about rich people, white people, and to no one's surprise, rich white people. In all honesty, I don't really understand the hype around the book. Sure, the book cover with the eyes is pretty, but I'm only two chapters in and already want to gauge my eyes out. The only fun thing about this otherwise sad, sad period is the fact that my teacher allows us to openly criticize and judge the characters in the story. Of course, it would be hard not to judge the cast when all they do is break laws, be racist, and spend money like they have trees of it in their backyards. I mean, come on, you're seriously telling me two people in the 1920s spent over $1,200 in two days? In 2023, that's equivalent to $18,421.56! Over 18 freaking thousand dollars! Divided equally, that's a little more than $9,000 a day. I may not know a lot, but $9,000 dollars in a day seems a wee bit much, don't you think? 
        It's not just the characters' money, but also their open entitledness that makes this book so infuriating to read. Again, please keep in mind I'm only on chapter two out of nine, literally not even halfway through. The setting of The Great Gatsby is in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment was in full effect. The law stating that alcohol consumption and production was illegal is in no way threatening to the questionable individuals in the story, where they lavishly spend money on alcohol and get drunk. But not even that, it's their boldness about their illegal acts that really does it all. It seems like they have no fear of the law, as if they have protection, and in many ways, they do. As previously mentioned, these characters are rich, and with the addition of being white in a racist, white-uplifting society, they only have nothing to lose. Their "I'm better than everyone else" mindset is apparent and downright a turnoff for readers. All in all, this book is about to be the death of me. Wish me luck.

Comments

  1. Vandya NedleOctober 7, 2023 at 10:07 AM

    I really liked reading your post because of its conversational tone and the humor you used. But... I actually like reading the Great Gatsby! Even though I also find it super irritating how carefree all of the characters are, I think its an interesting book because of all of its underlying symbolism.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Janav SalujaOctober 8, 2023 at 8:30 AM

    I like your use of images in the blogs. The images, which are not mentioned in the writing, still connect to the writing very well. The images also create a humorous tone that connects with the reader. You also did a good analysis of the book with many details included. Overall, yout blog did a good job of entertaining the reader and explaining the book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mithun NandhakumarOctober 8, 2023 at 10:31 AM

    I really like your first impressions on the book and the humor in your post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ana Sofia H. G.October 8, 2023 at 11:43 AM

    I liked your judgmental and dramatic tone and found it very funny. Saying you wanted to "gauge (your) eyes out" reading the book is a great way of using hyperbole. I'm surprised you didn't mention the sexist tone that was also prominent in the first two chapters; did you pick up on that?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Angelina KOctober 8, 2023 at 1:06 PM

    I loved the way you made it so relatable, especially by using informal language.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DikshaaOctober 8, 2023 at 4:35 PM

    I like how you were honest when you were writing the post. I also like how the memes connected to the book.

    ReplyDelete

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