MIKE: Here is a fun fact I just learned as I begin to teach The Great Gatsby. At the beginning of Gatsby there is an excerpt from a poem by the poet, Thomas Parke D'Invilliers. Recognize the name? I didn't either until I saw something online mentioning the reference. Thomas Parke D'Invilliers is TSoP's Tom. His full name is only used twice in TSoP when the characters first meet at the diner/restaurant in chapter two. I guess this is also a pen-name Fitzgerald sometimes used himself. So there you go.
Chapter four threw me for a loop. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was surprised to see so much Burne included. I think it's interesting that you said Burne is perhaps the ghost of Dick. I hadn't made that connection but I think you could be on to something and maybe Fitzgerald meant that as well. When Burne is earlier introduced he is described as thus:
What does Amory long for? Great question. Ultimately, we're watching the development of a deeply flawed character. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge the man. But what is Amory after? Does he really love his cousin Clara? At times it does feel like he might. He says, "I think that if I lost faith in you I'd lose faith in God." That's pretty intense. It actually sounds a little too polished. And five other dudes (duds?) have said that to her as well. Amory then begins to ask Clara, "...if I come back in two years in a position to marry you--". Using my third-grade mental math, I figure we've got one more year until we reach the 'three years after the ghost' stuff and one more year until he might come back to pursue Clara. Surely that indicates some major change is on the horizon.
I'm not really sure what to make of this chapter as as whole. A bunch of stuff happens but it doesn't seem like it all matters to Amory. I find the title of the chapter, "Narcissus off Duty" to be interesting. I guess this is an brief pause? Will we see a self-actualized Amory? He's off to war so that's got to wake a person up. He'll be an officer, though. I don't know if he'll really be in the trench warfare we learned in high school.
Interlude is only a few pages and is largely a letter. I'm going to read it and the chapter The Debutante together. I hope that's okay.
Chapter four threw me for a loop. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was surprised to see so much Burne included. I think it's interesting that you said Burne is perhaps the ghost of Dick. I hadn't made that connection but I think you could be on to something and maybe Fitzgerald meant that as well. When Burne is earlier introduced he is described as thus:
"Burne, fair haired, silent, and intent, appeared in the house only as a busy apparition gliding in quietly at night and off again in the early morning to get up his work in the library..."Isn't that a strange description in light of your comment? Ten points for Gryffindor! I really like Burne and I'm kind of on board with bucking the Princeton system. He comes to the conclusion that I thought Amory was going to reach. I was sure Amory would write off society but that doesn't seem the case. Burne appears to be more interested in learning than advancing up the social ladder. But maybe that's what Amory needs. I don't know that he's a free or independent thinker. Or rather, maybe he's just afraid to take a leap into the great unknown.
What does Amory long for? Great question. Ultimately, we're watching the development of a deeply flawed character. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge the man. But what is Amory after? Does he really love his cousin Clara? At times it does feel like he might. He says, "I think that if I lost faith in you I'd lose faith in God." That's pretty intense. It actually sounds a little too polished. And five other dudes (duds?) have said that to her as well. Amory then begins to ask Clara, "...if I come back in two years in a position to marry you--". Using my third-grade mental math, I figure we've got one more year until we reach the 'three years after the ghost' stuff and one more year until he might come back to pursue Clara. Surely that indicates some major change is on the horizon.
I'm not really sure what to make of this chapter as as whole. A bunch of stuff happens but it doesn't seem like it all matters to Amory. I find the title of the chapter, "Narcissus off Duty" to be interesting. I guess this is an brief pause? Will we see a self-actualized Amory? He's off to war so that's got to wake a person up. He'll be an officer, though. I don't know if he'll really be in the trench warfare we learned in high school.
Interlude is only a few pages and is largely a letter. I'm going to read it and the chapter The Debutante together. I hope that's okay.
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