31 Reading Journal: The Great Gatsby chapters 1-3

I will be reflecting on pages 31-32, where Nick meets Gatsby, while at a party hosted by Gatsby. Nick had spent some time searching for Gatsby, but had been unable to find him, eventually giving up, and going to a table to eat. While at the table, he has his first encounter with Gatsby, but is unaware of this until later.

The writing style of the author and the book greatly fit into this extract, as the author goes into much detail about Gatsby, focusing on his personality and his mannerisms over the general appearance. While I have not found that, throughout the book, this style has helped much with moving along the story, it worked really well with the introduction to Gatsby. It allows the audience to feel like we know Gatsby personally.

Through the use of dialogue, we learn more about his friendliness and general personality, and how he handles himself around people. It is clear that Gatsby is the kind of person who views everyone as a friend, and feels comfortable in large crowds. This is a characteristic that I feel I share with Gatsby, as I tend to be very comfortable and relaxed in large crowds, and tend to view people as a friend until I have good reasons not too. The author shows this in his dialogue as him being capable of carrying out a conversation with Nick, without knowing who he is, and about more personal matters such as his service in the Great War.

I feel like, through the author’s writing style in the book, as well as the general view of Gatsby so far in the novel, that the purpose of Gatsby’s character is to visualize life in the East, being very posh and lavish, but still having a good time, untroubled by anything. His character does a great job at reflecting the time that the book takes place in, as well as life for the richer people in the East.