Chapter 4 gives us a lot of insight that helps to understand the characters, especially Gatsby. Nick does this by getting the perspectives of Gatsby, Meyer Wolfshiem, and Jordan Baker. The chapter begins with Nick describing all the people that come to Gatsby’s parties. These people live extravagant lives, but there are so many that you don’t remember any of them. He then describes a day trip he took with Gatsby to New York. Gatsby calls for this outing because of a certain matter that Jordan will later talk to him about. On the way there, Gatsby once again starts talking about himself and how he was raised by a wealthy family in the Midwest, traveled around Europe collecting precious jewels, and went to Oxford. Nick is suspicions about whether Gatsby is telling the truth. When Gatsby is pulled over by a cop for speeding, he flashes a white card and the police lets him go and apologizes for stopping him. This goes to show how Gatsby and others of his wealth live in an elite society that has different rules than those of the regular community.

            When at lunch, Gatsby introduces Nick to Wolfshiem who is said to be responsible fixing the 1919 World Series by gambling. At this point, we can tell Nick is in the midst of rich men doing shady business. By the way Wolfshiem talks to Gatsby, Nick thinks that Gatsby may have something to do with some underground business. When Gatsby and Nick are finishing their meal, Nick sees Tom Buchanan and brings Gatsby over to meet him. When they shook hands, “a strained, unfamiliar look of embarrassment came over Gatsby’s face,” (74). Gatsby quickly leaves, which leaves us being confused and thinking that Gatsby must know Mr. Buchanan in some way. This is the only person whom Gatsby has put up a cold front to, which will be explained later in the chapter.

            When Nick meets up with Jordan later that day, Jordan explains Daisy Buchanan’s past, the same subject she was talking to Gatsby about at his party. She recounts to Nick that during the war Daisy fell in love with Gatsby, who was then a military officer and stationed near her home in Louisville, Kentucky. When he left to go overseas, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, but before her wedding Jordan found her “as drunk as a monkey” with a bottle of wine in one hand and a letter from Gatsby in the other. Ever since, Daisy has not seen nor heard of Gatsby until Nick brings him up in the first chapter. However, we learn that Gatsby bought the mansion he lives in to be near Daisy and has waited five years until he’s had the perfect moment to reconnect with her, which is available with the help of Nick. Gatsby’s desperation for Daisy is very unlike his professional and powerful appearance, and is very alike to F. Scott Fitzgerald in that he did everything to get the girl. Gatsby’s master plan is that Nick will invite Daisy over to his house while he is there in hope that they will reconnect. Some interesting topics from this chapter to discuss would be the new side of Gatsby we learn of, what Wolfshiem gives us insight to, and Jordan and Nick’s place in Gatsby’s plan to reconnect with Daisy.

Hamlet Act III Scenes 2-3

   Act III Scenes 2-3 are interesting, exposing, and quite hilarious if you ask me. Scene 2 begins with Hamlet preparing the performers for the play to put on in front of the court. Hamlet still does not know for sure whether his father's ghost is from heaven or hell so to find the truth, he gives Horatio the job of watching Claudius's reactions throughout the climatic moments of the play. It was so obvious the whole time how bitter Hamlet was about all of the terrible things going on in his life. He constantly made degrading and snappy marks to Ophelia and Gertrude such as saying that the prologue was as brief as a woman's love. I find it interesting how he is being so upfront about his anger and judgement as he says, "What should a man do but be merry? for look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died withins two hours" (110). The best part about this scene was how Hamlet pretended to not know what was to come of the play. I found myself laughing after the Player Queen said "None wed the second but who killed the first" and Hamlet says "That's bitter".  Hamlet even had the nerve to ask his mother after that scene if she liked the play....that was bold. I originally thought the play would hint at the idea of a man killing his brother and taking his wife, but I was shocked to see how literal and obvious everything was. The name Lucianus is incredibly similar to the name Claudius if you rearrange the letters. When Claudius asks Hamlet about the name of the play, he goes into a long overdue description and blatantly points out Claudius's guilt by saying, "Your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not" (220).
    It was nice to see Hamlet finally receive some truth about this situation when Claudius stormed out of the castle, revealing the honesty and goodness of the ghost. In scene 3, we are able to see the inside thoughts of Claudius as he confesses his sins. He does feel guilt but at the same time, he does not want to give up what he has gained and his prayer shows that he does not regret his actions. I really wish that Hamlet would have just struck him down at this moment, but I guess I can understand his reasoning.
   In class, I would like to discuss the reason behind Shakespeare making this Act so funny, Hamlet's overly blunt attitude, and the conversation he has with Guilderstern and Rosencrantz because I was quite confused. I am excited to keep reading.

Hamlet Act III, Scene 1

Act III, scene 1 contains some of the most iconic Hamlet moments and is painful to read, and the plot becomes tumultuous from multiple perspectives. The act opens with Claudius discussing Hamlet’s strange behavior with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who aren’t able to conclude the source behind Hamlet’s strange actions. They realize that Hamlet is enthusiastic about the actors and theater, so they tell the king and queen about this. They decide to see the play that evening, but are still perplexed as to why Hamlet has been acting in such a disheveled and odd manor. Polonius and Claudius make plans to spy on Hamlet in secret, their mischievous intentions shining through. They want to see if Hamlet’s love, or lack thereof, for Ophelia has driven him mad. Claudius shows guilt in this moment, reflecting on the murder of King Hamlet in an aside: “Oh, tis too true/ How smart a lash that speech that speech doth give my conscience!/ The harlot’s check, beautied with plastering art/ Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it/ Than is my deed to my most painted word/ O heavy burden!” (3.1.49-54).

              As Hamlet enters, he delivers his famous “To be or not to be” speech. He grapples with the idea of committing suicide, wondering if he should fight through his struggles or end his life. Through his words, the reader is able to get a glimpse of how dark Hamlet's mind truly is at this point in the story. He makes points about death and the fact that as people, we ultimately have a will to live because we fear what comes after death. This idea made me wonder about Shakespeare’s late son, Hamnet, who died before the play was written, and how Hamlet’s character was inspired by Shakespeare’s life events. I wonder if Hamlet’s iconic speech was influenced by Shakespeare’s own uncertainty about what comes after death, since the sadness and agonizing tone of the speech is reflective of what Shakespeare must’ve been feeling at the time.

              Ophelia enters as Hamlet is still deep in thought, attempting to return Hamlet’s gifts to her. Hamlet angrily denies giving her the gifts and claims to have loved her, then denying it almost immediately, causing an argumentative tone to emerge from their conversation. Hamlet’s behavior escalades as he criticizes all women before storming out. Claudius and Polonius then emerge, saying that Hamlet’s behavior is a result of insanity, not just love for Ophelia. They make plans to send Hamlet to England in hopes that the vacation will help him act normally again.

Hamlet Act I Scenes 3-5

Throughout Act I scenes 3-5 the reader gains a better sense of the purpose and personalities behind the characters. Scene 3 begins with Laertes boarding the ship before he embarks on his travels. A personal conversation between Laertes and Ophelia about the the fling and flirtation between her and Hamlet follows this. Laertes offers his concerns and disproving remarks as he is skeptical of where Hamlet’s loyalties truly lie, even though he may provide Ophelia with a sense of emotional security with his reassuring thoughts. One thing that I found interesting about this interaction was Ophelia’s response to Laertes. Ophelia expresses that she will listen to his advice and remarks, although he should be wary of his words if they contradict with his actions. I also found the dynamic between Laertes and Ophelia interesting as on one hand I saw him being a caring brother who was trying to protect his sister, although on the other hand, his tone seems slightly condescending. I am interested to see how the relationship between Laertes and Ophelia is represented throughout the rest of the play. The scene concludes with Ophelia and her father Polonius sharing a similar conversation about Hamlet.

Scenes 4 and 5 follow Hamlet along with Horatio and Marcellus on night watch waiting for the ghost to appear. When the ghost finally does make an appearance, Hamlet is summoned and by the ghost to converse in private and Hamlet begs his friends to not follow him, although that is the complete opposite of what they do. I found this interesting and also slightly ironic as at the end of the scene they are repeatedly sworn to secrecy and bound by Hamlets wishes, although they had broken his one request just minutes before. I am curious to see if events like this become a trend throughout the play, because I feel as though eventually something like this could turn into a real problem. I am also interested to explore the idea of whether the spirit that visits Hamlet is good or evil. To Hamlet, the prospect of a good versus evil ghost is almost irrelevant to him as he feels as though it would have no impact on his spirit. Although whether he is aware or not, I feel that the ghost could possibly bring out a negative side of Hamlet if the revenge consumes him. Connecting back to earlier scenes, I feel as though there is a motif of skewed communication and hearing, because as we saw through the conversations between Ophelia and Laertes and Ophelia and Polonius, there seemed to be an air of manipulation. This motif also ties into the fact that the King was poisoned through his ear, yet everyone was told that he was killed by a snake bite. I am curious to see the ways in which this motif and other motifs and symbols occur again throughout the play.

18-20

In chapters eighteen through twenty, the climax of Janie’s story occurs. Finally, when she has everything that she wants, the hands of God take it all away from her. When reading, I felt most frustrated by Tea Cake and Janie’s refusal to leave the muck despite watching other people and animals seek safety for many days. To the reader, it seems obvious that Janie and Tea Cake should leave. Then, when a rabid dog bites Tea Cake, the fate of the storm and the couple’s decision not to escape is sealed.

Although it’s an emotional and violent scene, my favorite part of the chapters was the final fight between Janie and Tea Cake when she is forced to shoot him. Hurston’s description maps out every second of the event so that Janie’s feelings are palpable even to the reader. Then, in the aftermath, Janie must come to terms with the ending of her dream and learn to appreciate life without having Tea Cake by her side. I believe that because of her conversation with Phoeby she is finally able to have closure with Tea Cake; Janie decides that despite their premature end, she lived for herself and “pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (193). Janie ends her story-telling with words that she preaches to Phoeby, but I believe she is truly saying them to herself: “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves” (192). These final words struck me because they connect not only to the title, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” but they also remain true to Janie’s beliefs and the themes of the novel.

Although I wish that Janie didn’t have to go through losing Tea Cake, Hurston ties up her most prevalent themes with his death. Not only does Janie get to live her pear blossom dream, but she moves on knowing the love lasted until Tea Cake’s dying moment. The words spoken between the couple during Tea Cake’s last bit of sanity reveal to Janie once again that their love is unique to all others’ in the world. Knowing this, she puts Tea Cake to rest and begins her next dream, just as she has done before.

Chapters 14-17

In Chapters 14-17, Janie and Tea Cake move to the fertile fields of the Everglades and begin their new life in the muck. Soon after they settle their house becomes the center of the community where people hang out and listen to Tea Cake play his guitar. There seems to be a parallel between Tea Cake’s house and Joe Starks’s store. Both provided a place for people to play games and chat, showing a connection between Joe Starks and Tea Cake that may not have been there before.

For the first time, Janie makes her own decision to work, a change from her previous life. Tea Cake begins to stop by the house during work hours, claiming he was lonely. After suggesting that Janie should join him in the fields, Janie decides to fulfill his request. Since working in Logan Killicks’s fields, Janie finally works out of her own jurisdiction. This shows a new freedom of which Janie was deprived, contributing to her increase of individuality that she finds with Tea Cake.

During the offseason, Janie spends time with Mrs. Turner, a black woman who despises black people. Mrs. Turner’s perspective on race proposes an interesting take on racism. For the first time in the novel, racism is presented. However, Mrs. Turner’s racism is blurry and confusing, as she is a black woman. Mrs. Turner worships whiteness, respecting Janie more for her white characteristics than who she is. The significance of this type of racism emphasizes the strength of racism and how it can even seduce African-Americans. I believe that Hurston was intentional about presenting racism for the first time in the novel in this way; to stress the fear that all people have and how it can manifest itself into hatred and shame.

Ch. 7-10 of Their Eyes Were Watching God

While reading chapters 7-10 of Their Eyes Were Watching God, I noticed how much Janie’s character develops. At first, Janie is depicted almost ghost-like and lacks any emotion. Her entire life has been living for Joe and his demands. But, as Joe continues to throw verbal attacks at her about her appearance, she undergoes a change. When Janie has had enough of his insults, she finally fires back. Joe feels as if his entire manhood has been robbed from him, and we see his subsequent descent from health and ultimately his death. I believe that this scene completely changes the dynamic between the couple.

In the conversation on Joe's deathbed, Janie is finally speaking her mind to Joe. It feels as if she has reached some sort of clarity and regained her strength. She tells Joe that the years with him have ruined her mind and he still knows nothing about her. I found this scene very powerful not only because of her conviction but also because to the very moment he dies, Joe still clings onto a strand of superiority by not listening to what she's saying. After he dies, Janie feels pity and like a weight has been lifted off of her chest. Even though he was terrible to her, Janie still acknowledges how life has mistreated Joe which I found to show the strength of her character.

After that, Janie lets down her hair for the first time in years and sees a handsome woman in the mirror. From this moment on, Janie is a free woman. Her character undergoes a huge shift from the obedient, silent wife to an independent woman. I believe that Janie’s denying of suitors also shows how she is relishing in her new life. It is also important to note how desperate the town is for her to marry because they are uncomfortable with a female business owner.

Also in these chapters, we are introduced to Tea Cake. Tea Cake’s approach to her was opposite of other men, especially Joe. They speak to each other as equals and play checkers, which Joe always forbade. Janie and Tea Cake immediately hit it off and she feels comfortable and safe around him.

Overall, these chapters were a huge turning point for Janie and her dreams. But, the theme of female inferiority is still present through the town’s reaction to an independent woman.