The Great Gatsby

As is true in most cases, I feel that the book was better than the movie. I understand how nearly impossible it must have been to try to capture Fitzgerald's unique style of writing on screen, but the director went over the top -- too much light, too much color, too loud and too fast and too hectic to properly portray the feel of the book. Fitzgerald wrote most of the story in a slower, more laid-back way. The director did a decent job of capturing Nick's quiet, easy-going personality, but the movie failed to show how his calm nature affected the people around him. In the book, many of the group conversations, especially at the beginning, were less strained than the movie made them seem.

I did feel that the director did a great job towards the end of the film, though, when Gatsby's fantasy world was finally collapsing and he was beginning to unravel. It was made clear to the audience that something big had to happen soon in order to release the building pressure. I thought the actors were very good too -- especially Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. He was excellent at showing how Gatsby was trying and failing to keep it together while the life he had built fell through his fingers.

I loved the opening of the movie, when the audience was introduced to the scene by an old, 1920's style black and white design that stretched forward until it centered on the symbolic green light Gatsby was reaching toward. I was also impressed by the amount of word-for-word dialogue taken straight from the book. The movie did a nice job with Nick's voice-overs, which didn't distract from the story (a problem many other movies have) but rather added to it just enough to help the audience understand what was going on.

The music in the film was also interesting. I liked the director's use of current music remade into the style of the 20's for most of the scenes, but it distracted me from the story in others. The dubstep while everyone got drunk was effective, as was the 20's version of Lana Del Ray's song playing during the movie's first view of one of Gatsby's parties. There were other scenes throughout the move that, in my opinion, would have been better with different music.

The American Dream

"The American Dream" has been sought after by countless people throughout history. Inevitably, the circumstances the American Dream was based on have changed over time for the general American public, yet the American Dream remains the same.

The gap between test scores of the rich and poor has grown by 30-40%, according to Source B. Source A argues that this is an issue of money, but Source B argues that the gap is the fault of the disproportionate amount of money and resources showered upon the intellectual elite. It's an interesting argument, that the smartest and most talented among us are too successful, but an argument can also be made that the intelligent children of the rich are given an unfair amount of opportunities, education and resources from the start. Furthermore, according to a study by Harvard political scientist Robert D. Putnam, the rich-poor gap also affects participation in sports, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and church attendance. Too many talented, intelligent children are too poor to make their way up the social ladder.

Nicole Done (Source C) thinks differently: "For me the American dream is working hard for something you want. It's not about having money. My dream is to get an education that I can't get in the Dominican Republic, to live comfortably." Yasmina Shaush (Source D) also believes in this optimistic interpretation of the American dream. In her opinion, "Anything is possible in America, anything." She views the United States as "one of a few countries that can boast the successful by-products of hard work." In my opinion, this view of America is unrealistic. Admittedly, Mitchell Hartman (Source E) says that "Now, there is more chance of upward mobility in the broad middle class." But Hartman also states that "more than 50% of people raised here stay at the same income level as their parents or fall back. Also, "Americans who started in the top and the bottom of the economic ladder tend to remain stuck there themselves as adults."

It is an incontrovertible truth that the American Dream needs some serious renovation if it's to become attainable to all. Social mobility does still exist, but it's not nearly as prevalent as it used to be. This is alright for the rich and for the upper-middle class, but for those in our society with less, this needs to change.

Social Class

The Christian Science Monitor quiz was impressive; the quiz itself asked unexpected questions that didn't have anything to do with money, and my results were accurate. It labeled me as a "middling:" basically just middle class. It didn't tell me anything I didn't already know (except that people in lower classes are better at reading people's emotions, which is awesome), but I thought the way it defined my class was interesting and valid.

When I was little, we lived in a nice neighborhood. That's probably the closest I've ever gotten to rich, posh people. The people who lived there weren't even rich, necessarily; they just acted like it. The woman who lived two doors down from me acted a lot like the rich, conceited, entitled guy in the video. She was disliked by everyone, and she sometimes wouldn't let her hateful little brat of a daughter play with us because we weren't doing everything she wanted to do, so we were therefore treating her unfairly. I know all rich people aren't like this, but there's something to be said for the unmistakable similarities between that woman and the posh man in the video. At that same time in my life, I had a babysitter named Margaret. She ran a daycare out of her home a few miles away in the middle of her apple orchard. She wasn't rich by any means, but she wasn't nearly as bad off as that poor family in the video. Still, she's the closest thing I have to compare to those poor people. She was similar to them in many ways: she had questionable grammar (as did her husband and two sons), her family wore cheap clothes and owned cheap toys. We entertained ourselves by playing make-believe or building with legos and lincoln logs. It wasn't fancy, but we were satisfied. I think that's the biggest difference between (very) rich and poor people. Those with less learn to be satisfied with less, and those who have never had to live with less tend to only be satisfied with more.

"Talk of the Town"

The essays by Susan Sontag and John Updike are dramatically different from each other. Susan's writes of the cowardice of the media and politicians and the way they "infantilize" the public by talking around the problem, telling us that everything is going to be okay. Susan angrily writes that they are "unworthy of a mature democracy," and that the politics of a democracy "has been replaced by psychotherapy." Throughout the entire essay, Susan boldly voices her negative opinions on the actions of the government and media. The only break from this negativity is in the last few sentences of the paper: "'Our country is strong,' we are told again and again. Who doubts that America is strong? But that's not all America has to be." The hopefulness of her conclusion somewhat softens the harsh words in the rest of the essay while remaining refreshingly honest.

It was also very interesting to read about the horrors of 9/11 from John Updike's unique perspective. There is beauty in the way he describes what he witnessed that day. When he first saw the twin towers, "smoke speckled with bits of paper curled into the cloudless sky." Shortly after, the second tower "burst into ballooning flame." He isn't dismissing the death and sorrow of 9/11, but he isn't completely focusing on them either. At one point, he mentions the "remarkably calm and loving" last-minute cellphone calls and says that television's repeated footage of the tragedy was like a "nightmare ballet." Though both he and Susan conclude their essays with words of strength and hope, John Updike's conclusion (and the rest of his paper) gave the overall impression that he had deep respect for those who had lost their lives and that he truly believed that America would pull through. Susan Sontag wrote her entire essay with words of anger and contempt. Her conclusion sounded sincere, but it wasn't nearly as encouraging and hopeful as John's.

Personal Intro

Hello everyone! There isn't much to say about me, but I'll try to make this as interesting as possible. First off, I'll be a senior this year, which I find exciting mostly because it's one step closer to college (in case you were wondering, I'm not sure what my major will be, but I'm thinking of someday becoming a physical therapist). I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and moved to McFarland when I was 9 years old. I have two sisters: Sophia, who is 15, and Mia, who is 9. My family adopted Mia from Wuhan, China about 3 years ago. Alright, so that was the basics; now I'll get into the rest.

I guess one of my favorite things in life is art. All forms of it. I love photography, music, dance, paintings, drawings, movies, sculptures, books, and a bunch of other art forms that aren't coming to mind right now. I've attempted painting/drawing, but that hasn't worked out as well as I'd like it to. My attempt at dance about 12 years ago (ballet class) didn't work out either, so now I mostly bounce up and down and wave my arms around. I'm decent at photography and writing, and so far I've just stuck with those. I've learned stand back and appreciate the rest. I also love travel. I love learning about other cultures, but actually being there and experiencing those cultures is entirely different. I love the idea of being in a place where I know absolutely no one else, and not knowing how to speak their language (well) means that I don't have to talk to anyone unless it's absolutely  necessary (not that I hate talking to all of you, but I'm sure it wasn't hard to guess right from the beginning that I prefer to observe away from the spotlight).

I also consider family a big part of my life. The two halves of my family, my mom's side and my dad's side, are almost complete opposites. I mostly take after my mom's side, physically and mentally. The people on her side of the family are all interested in art and travel (though I'm pretty sure my lack of dancing talent came from them), and we all share the same weird sense of humor. The people on my dad's side are much less... loose, I guess. I'm not even sure what their sense of humor is. But both sides have definitely affected my life and my personality in different ways, so I thought they were worth mentioning on here.

Anyway, this hopefully gave you at least an idea of what I'm like. I look forward to enjoying the rest of summer vacation and getting to know all of you better in AP Comp.