My Impression of the "Great Gatsby"

I think my impression of the Great Gatsby is pretty much biased, since I've already read this book and absolutely hated it. I despised the story, didn't like the characters, and didn't like the turn of events that had happened. The story didn't appeal to me at all. Though it did struck a chord since it's deeply psychological at points - when it reflects on how the American dream has been reduced to a mere pursuit of wealth - the story as a whole didn't appeal to me at all.

For me, the Great Gatsby was simply a drama book filled with entangled relationships and with self-destructive and selfish characters. Tom, for example, though he is unfaithful to his wife Daisy, is still enraged when he discovers that she is, in turn, having an extramarital affair. Nick and Jordan's relationship is meaningless - just another wealthy boy expected to have a romantic entanglement with a beautiful girl his age. However the theme's main book - money - is very intriguing. Gatsby's use of money to throw over-the-top parties in an attempt to impress his love, Daisy, shows what the author tries to communicate through the whole novel. The fact that money has been too deeply ingrained in the American life. Money shouldn't be the way to a girl's heart - money shouldn't be at the center of anything really - but apparently that's what the American dream has been reduced to.

"The Roaring Twenties" Game

From the game, my impression of the twenties was that etiquette was one of the most important things to people. What you said, how you dressed, your behavior in certain occasions - they all counted. People paid close attention to you, so that you were always watching yourself. Appearances seemed to me to be of the utmost importance. In the twenties, women still had to fight for gender equality and so, it was really hard for them to go to college and pursue superior studies - they had to prove to everyone that they had what it took to get a degree. What I also noticed was that appearances didn't only count for the public opinion - it also determined whether a woman would have a good marriage. Marrying well seemed like one of the main focuses of women back in the twenties. The twenties, in my opinion, were when people started giving importance to frivolities.

My Parting Opinion

I can't say that I was satisfied with the way Frankenstein ended. Though the book was beautiful, I didn't like the fact that almost all the characters had died - the monster included. I think the death I pitied the most was that of the monster. His life was summed up to being rejected for who he was, and his thirst of revenge towards the one that brought him to this world as a hideous creature. Earlier along, I had predicted that Frankenstein would have a 'doomed' future and, this revealed to be correct. Death is, after all, the most doom someone can get (if that makes sense).

Some of the themes did seem to be universal, as they were what drove the characters throughout the novel. For example, the theme of revenge was recurring throughout the story. The monster was driven and blinded by his want of revenge, destroying his creator's life because he was so sure that Frankenstein had destroyed his (by giving him one in the first place). The themes of death and horror were also present throughout the novel. Death was omnipresent - people always died. Horror and death went hand-in-hand in this novel because the way some of the characters died (at the hand of the monster) was horrific and awful. The fact that the monster killed Elizabeth instead of Frankenstein was horrific in the sense that he knew that Frankenstein would suffer more if his loved one was killed than if he was.

My final thoughts, would be that the book is really something. People should read it - it's beautifully written and thoughtful. It explores so many aspects of human nature and it left me perplexed and wondering. It's a really good read, one that's worth every minute you spend on the book. The characters are wonderful and realistic too - you can feel the pain and the anguish the monster feels, and you can relate to Frankenstein - despite his twisted mind. I'd recommend this book to anyone, it's really that good.

Sources: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print.

"Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Major Characters Book Notes Summary | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More. Web. 15 Aug. 2010. .

My First Impression of Frankenstein

When I was reading Frankenstein, my first impression was that it wasn't a classic for nothing.
I loved it as soon as I started it. Robert Walton - who seemed to me to be the main character - was likable. He's the kind of character that you can't help but feel sympathy for; what with the way he describes his desperate need for a friend.

My second impression - and here I was only roughly through the first few chapters - was that all the cartoons had it wrong. Frankenstein wasn't a monster; he was a man.
Right at the beginning, I knew Victor Frankenstein was a man to pitied. The way he told his story to Robert Walton left no room for speculation - he kept hinting at his imminent doom so much that there wasn't a doubt that he'd suffered something major and disastrous. What it was, however, was the big mystery, and I think that's what kept me reading.
As the novel progresses, I see immediately that I was right in the fact that Victor Frankenstein was a man to be pitied. The way he removes himself from the people that care about him (Elizabeth for instance) and drowns in his frantic pursuit of knowledge is heartbreaking. He even proclaims that he "The agony of my feelings allowed me no respite; no incident occurred from which my rage and misery could not extract its food..."And when he creates the monster...I don't think I can describe this as catharsis as it only is applicable to plays, but the core definition of catharsis - a mixture of pity and fear generated by an occurrence - was exactly what I was feeling up until this point - for both Victor and the monster whose hunger for love and friendship stirs up sympathy.

Some of the themes I've spotted as I went along my reading were love, the yearning for friendship, horror (in relation to the monster), and acceptance. For now, I have no trouble understanding the book, and have encountered no roadblocks. I think it is mostly due to the way the author wrote the book - she explains so well, but leaves just enough suspense to make her reading agreeable.

Really, it isn't a book that disappoints.

Citation: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print.

Mary Shelley: Biography of a Classic's Author

Mary Shelley, born in the year 1797 was a British novelist, story writer, and dramatist, famous for her novel Frankenstein. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, was a poet and philosopher who often sought his wife's help when editing his work. Both of her parents were philosophers, and her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was a feminist whose works are still read to this day. Her father, William Godwin, always encouraged Shelley to expand her horizons, and educated her in a rather liberal lifestyle. Her book Frankenstein is known to be thought-provoking, and this stems from the liberty her father gave her as a child in the way of voicing her opinions. Mary Shelley died in the year 1851.

My Book of Choice

I picked Frankenstein by Mary Shelley mainly because - with no intent to brag - I'd read most of the books on the list already, and that it was one of the few books that I had not read. I also chose it because, let's face it, everyone knows about the monstrous Frankenstein, and I was curious to know the real story behind it all. It's also an all-time classic, which is good, but that also means my expectations for it are high. I hope I'll enjoy reading it, and that it's as thrilling and romantic (not in the falling-in-love sense of course) as it's all cracked up to be. I'm scared that the book will disappoint me, however, seeing as it's a classic, I doubt it will. It's a well-deserved honor for book to be dubbed classics, so I'm sure it'll be interesting. Frankenstein is around 280 pages long, so it's reasonably length. Long, but not long enough to be scary.

Sara's Summer

Sara's summer is fun in the way that we're going to be spending it together. We're both going to Miami for two weeks and - like I said before - is going to be awesome! I can't wait, I have a feeling it is going to be one unforgettable summer.

Bouteina's Summer

Bouteina's summer is fun in the way that she's going to relax...that's what summer is for really! The trip to Spain is an added bonus, as Spain is a country full of fun and interesting things to visit. Ramadan is just another excuse to over-sleep - plenty of time to do that for sure!

Summer

This summer, I'll be going to Montreal for the first week of July - though it's still not for sure - and then me and Sara are going to a sort-of camp in Miami, Florida. We'll be coming back to Casablanca around the end of July or the beginning of August.

I still don't know how I'll be working, considering that I'm not sure if I'll be having an internet connection at all times. What I'm planning however, is to dedicate most of August to work; it's going to be Ramadan, and so I won't be having the opportunity to go to the beach or swim or all the other fun stuff. So I'll be working then.