3.07 free choice blog

The narrator of The Great Gatsby is a young man from Minnesota named Nick Carraway. He not only narrates the story but casts himself as the book’s author. He begins by commenting on himself, stating that he learned from his father to reserve judgment about other people, because if he holds them up to his own moral standards, he will misunderstand them. He characterizes himself as both highly moral and highly tolerant. He briefly mentions the hero of his story, Gatsby, saying that Gatsby represented everything he scorns, but that he exempts Gatsby completely from his usual judgments. Gatsby’s personality was nothing short of “gorgeous.” In the summer of 1922, Nick writes, he had just arrived in New York, where he moved to work in the bond business, and rented a house on a part of Long Island called West Egg. Unlike the conservative, aristocratic East Egg, West Egg is home to the “new rich,” those who, having made their fortunes recently, have neither the social connections nor the refinement to move among the East Egg set. West Egg is characterized by lavish displays of wealth and garish poor taste. Nick’s comparatively modest West Egg house is next door to Gatsby’s mansion, a sprawling Gothic monstrosity. Nick is unlike his West Egg neighbors; whereas they lack social connections and aristocratic pedigrees, Nick graduated from Yale and has many connections on East Egg. One night, he drives out to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan, a former member of Nick’s social club at Yale. Tom, a powerful figure dressed in riding clothes, greets Nick on the porch. Inside, Daisy lounges on a couch with her friend Jordan Baker, a competitive golfer who yawns as though bored by her surroundings. Tom tries to interest the others in a book called The Rise of the Colored Empires by a man named Goddard. The book espouses racist, white-supremacist attitudes that Tom seems to find convincing. Daisy teases Tom about the book but is interrupted when Tom leaves the room to take a phone call. Daisy follows him hurriedly, and Jordan tells Nick that the call is from Tom’s lover in New York. After an awkward dinner, the party breaks up. Jordan wants to go to bed because she has a golf tournament the next day. As Nick leaves, Tom and Daisy hint that they would like for him to take a romantic interest in Jordan. When Nick arrives home, he sees Gatsby for the first time, a handsome young man standing on the lawn with his arms reaching out toward the dark water. Nick looks out at the water, but all he can see is a distant green light that might mark the end of a dock. “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

2.07 free choice blog

In How to Kill a Mocking Bird the two main characters Jem and Scout go on their final and longest adventure together. It is Halloween night and Scout is in the schools play as a ham. Her teacher decided to give her the most important part because she views Scout as a very responsiblee and intelligent young woman. After a great and eventful night at the school, the night takes a turn for the worst on their way home. As Jem and Scout are walking together home, they start to hear a rustling in the bushes behind them. When they stop walking they cant hear it anymore. Soon they become alarmed because they now know that a stranger is behind them. Earlier, on their way to the school play their friend Cecil Jacobs scares both Scout and Jem, since he is a mischievous kid and like to start trouble. However, when Scout turns around to yell out to Cecil and call him names, telling him that he cannot scare Jem and Scout this time, there is no response and no Cecil Jacobs to be found. Their hearts are now racing and they are worried about what will happen next. Moments after calling for Cecil Jacobs, Jem gets tugged back by something, and falls to the ground. There is a strange voice surrounding them and Scout tries to see through the darkness in her ham costume as Jem is pushed around by a shadow. Soon Scout was grabbed from behind and felt something trying to mangle up her costume. Then, their is another strange voice and Scout is set free. There is a commotion for a few minutes, then all of the sudden; silence. Something falls, scout is alone is silence, scared, calling out for her brother but there is no answer still. She looks off towards some light down in the distance and sees a unfamiliar man carrying what looks like to be her brother. When she gets her bearings she gets up and runs for home. Her  father, Atticus, is runs out of the front door to her and asks what has happened, she grabs him tightly and the go inside.

I have been reading an auto mechanics book for a class I am taking.  I enjoy it because it's interesting to me.  I plan on working on cars my whole life. I find it to be useful and helpful in many different ways.

My result on the "What Kind of  Reader Are You?" quiz and got the genre "Fantasy" I think that this is true. I like fantasy because of the adventure and the good vs evil aspects of the stories.