The Great Gatsby

I heard a lot about the book The Great Gatsby, people saying how great of a book it is. I personally did not love it. It appears to me that at the time, wealth was very important - not that it isn't now - but people urged to display it. The people who live in West Egg are all new rich - Gatsby among them. The parties he throws every weekend are an attempt to impress Daisy, the woman he loves. Furthermore, the wealthy people are not faithful. On the East Egg, Tom has a mistress with whom he cheats on his wife. Soon after that, Daisy meets Gatsby, and betrays Tom. The society seems to lack truthfulness and respect. This lack of truthfulness is also demonstrated when Tom claims that Gatsby was responsible for Myrtle's death, in order to protect Daisy.
Gatsby comes off mysterious at the beginning of the novel. Nick learns more about him through Jordan. (The author makes Jordan reveal all the secrets, such as Tom's affair with Myrtle.) Gatsby reveals his love for Daisy, but when Tom senses it, he goes mad although he himself is having an affair.
The society at the time also shows a great deal of violence. First, Tom breaks his mistress's nose when she brings up Daisy. Later, George shoots Gatsby, thinking Gatsby killed his wife. George ends up shooting himself as well.

The 1920's

By the year 1920's, change truly began. People went from old class, to a newly developed class. They greatly improved. Women's right began to increase, and education was vital and available to a larger variety of people. Fashion also came into session. Looks were very important too. Both men and women cared significantly about their looks and dressed for the occasion. Students who attended university usually wore darker clothes, and for outings, such as a walk in the park, colors were at best. Music was listened to frequently, playing a big role in people's lives. Jazz was one of the most well liked music style at the time. Men and women started dancing, clubbing, and having a good time.
Another change that occurred in the 1920's was the retail sales. Prices increased, economy along with it. Shopping became a common activity, from hats and shoes to kitchen utensils. It was also the year of the washing machine, as every women wanted one. In short, the 1920's was the beginning of a new life.

Was I satisfied with the book I chose?

I was not completely satisfied with the book I read. There was rarely a bright side to the invisble man's life, and that made the novel pretty much depressing. I was looking forward to something good happening in the narrator's life, but I did not turn out as I expected. I also hate the fact that the invisible man's name is never revealed! Although I did like how the author relates the narrator's invisibility to people's unwillingness to notice him and the stereotypes he is associated to. One of the main themes (also universal) in the novel is racism. Because of his dark color, the narrator is disregarded, and from there arouses his feeling of invisibility. The main character goes through a lot of mishaps throughout his lifetime. At the end of the novel, he looks back at his life and all the problems he had come across, and he decides to emerge back into life. He thinks that his invisibility during that whole time was useless, and therefore, decides to lead his own life and not change for anyone. By telling his story, the invisible man is able to express his feelings and thoughts. In other words, telling his story has enabled him to remove the veil he once wore. The story did not exactly end the way I expected it to, or wanted it to, but the invisible man does however become visible to his self.

How my reading has gone so far

So far, I've been enjoying the book I've been reading. It's different from what I expected, but it still has kept my interest. The main character is invisible, and he believes that this is not something that has happened supernaturally, but rather something that has happened due to people's refusal to take awareness of his existence, and this because of his color. This brings up one of the major themes in the book, racism. The invisibility the author goes through is triggered by the stereotypes assigned to him. People do not take the time to learn to know him for the person he is, instead, they believe his color defines him. My hope for the end of the book is that the invisible man meets a person who grows to know him for the man he really is, a person who will sense his existence, despite his color. At that point, that person might change the turn of the invisible man's life. The invisible man might become visible, not only to others, but to his own self as well. I think that at the end of the novel, the invisible man will end up noticed for the person he is, and not for his color and all the stereotypes that have grown to define his person.

The Invisible Man

The book I chose to read is The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Since I am not a big fan of reading, I decided to choose a book that would be both interesting and not very long. The Invisible Man is about 110 pages long, which is not a big deal. The novel earned Ralph Ellison the National Book Award in 1953. The author started writing the book in 1945, and it took him 5 years to complete it. The Invisible Man deals with social, individual, racial, and intellectual issues concerning African-Americans. I've always found African-Americans' lives to be captivating. I do fear however, that the vocabulary used by the author is hard and complex. I hope the book I chose is as interesting as I'm expecting it to be.

Shereen

This summer, Shereen will be traveling to Oualidia, like most summers. I like how she is enthusiastic about this particular summer, and how she wants to make it an amazing and memorable one. I also like the fact that she will be helping unfortunate children. She will be using her time wisely, and will make the most of her summer! Hopefully, I'll be able to travel to Oualidia in order to see her sometime during the summer. I wish her a great summer!