Lovely Literature

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages you've had. " (page 1)

This quote starts off The Great Gatsby with an immediate theme and tone. The protagonist and narrator, Nick Carraday, is told this quote by his father. As the first couple paragraphs continue on, we find out that our narrator believes his father to have been quite snobbish but still had great advice every once in a while and this is some of that advice. He taught Nick how to listen and reserve all judgments, but mostly to be a gentleman in a world full of people who are rich and poor. One of the themes of The Great Gatsby definitely revolves around the lifestyles of the rich and famous [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-jC3H_8Dk4 <-- yeah that's a clever little Good Charlotte video Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous :]. The story takes place back in the "Roaring '20s" when the rich were richer than ever and the poor weren't getting anywhere. Leading up to the Great Depression, this story focuses on people like Carraday, his cousin Daisy, and of course the infamous Jay Gatsby who seem to have no problems because they are born from money and basically made of money. As I am currently only halfway through the book, I am curious to see more action take place and see how their social statuses are going to evade their lives.

Othello is definitely the protagonist in the play named after him. He is the hero type who has everything going for him-- the woman, the job, the fancy lifestyle. Unfortunately he has the fatal flaw of jealousy and he begins to distrust people because of word of mouth. On the other hand, Iago is the antagonist who is trying to bring down Othello and his wife because he believes Othello once slept with his wife Emilia and he is upset because Othello chose Cassio as his lieutenant instead of Iago who has more experience (I.i.35-37). Iago is the bad guy, the person that no one likes because he goes to great lengths to make life terrible and screwed up for Othello even though there is no proof that he ever slept with Emilia. Iago also suffers from the same jealousy problem as Othello. When it comes to foil characters, Iago and Cassio foil one another. Iago's planning and deceit show how terrible of a man he is and that he would do anything to get his way. Cassio on the other hand is simple a victim in this story. He is pressured to drink by Iago even though he claims he is not a drinker and then he ends up getting in a fight with Roderigo (II.iii.129-134). Then Iago tells Montano that "drink rocks his cradle" and he gets like this every night in order to get to sleep even thought this is a complete lie (II.iii.110-113). Finally, the minor characters move this story along because they are the messengers or accomplices of Iago even if they do not realize it. They do his will and his bidding because they believe him to be an honest man, but he is actually so deceiving that they do not notice his treachery.

When I read the first chapter, I believed the protagonist to be Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Much to my surprise as I read on, I realized that Tim O'Brien was the true main character. He is the "hero" of the story who has good times, bad times, weaknesses, strengths, and confused feelings in this novel. I believe that O'Brien wrote this character based on himself and his war background with more truth than exaggeration on the things character O'Brien goes through.

"Twenty-one years old, an ordinary kid with all the ordinary dreams and ambitions, and all I wanted was to live the life I was born to-- a mainstream life..." [page 48]

O'Brien recounts on how he didn't want to have to turn into an adult until he absolutely had to. He was forced into making difficult decisions before he felt like he was ready. He was simply searching for himself in a world that was requiring him to stand up and fight for his liberty. O'Brien's flaw, that I'm hoping will not be fatal, is that he is afraid of war. Basically, he's a human with feelings.