Every great piece of writing must go through a revision process. Deleting your own words can be hard to do, but many times is a necessary part of achieving an intended vision. Read the article "The Best Gatsby" on the Gatsby Page and then comment on some of the changes that were made.
Carl A.
2/4/2014 11:51:28 pm
The revisions made on "The Great Gatsby" are all necessary to maintain the flow and secrecy of the main parts of the novel. One of the changes that intrigued me was the one about the Buchanans moving to the East. In the original Nick said, "Why they came East I don't know - perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war. Everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course, east and west, and they had lived almost everywhere…” (Fitzgerald). Here, Tom Buchanan is included. Although, in the published version, it removes Tom from the quote. I think this is significant because Fitzgerald is being secretive of who Tom really is. As we find out later in the story, his character is revealed, especially his escapades with another woman. Another change, albeit minor, that was interesting was the change from shadow to silhouette. Shadow is straight to the point. Changing it to silhouette allows for intrigue because there is a mystery element and makes the reader think of something great that is hidden.
Tyler S
2/5/2014 12:56:51 am
Most of the changes that Fitzgerald has made are mostly to preserve the mystery of the story and also to allow readers to make their own assumptions about characters and symbols. For example, at the end of chapter 1 Fitzgerald previously did not bring up the green light. In the current version of the book Fitzgerald, brings up the green light but tells readers nothing about it. This adds to the mystery that Fitzgerald is trying to create. Also this draws readers in and interests them.
Conrad
2/5/2014 01:13:07 am
Interesting idea Tyler, have you considered how the changes affect Nick and how we as readers understand him?
Tyler S
2/5/2014 09:04:56 am
Yes, the changes do greatly affect Nick. When Fitzgerald first writes the part where Nick wonders why Tom and Daisy have come east he includes the part of Nick being in the war. He says, "Why they came East I don't know - perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war". Fitzgerald includes this on purpose to show to readers that Nick has been in the war and it possibly shows that he is a bit arrogant. Taking this away takes away any possibility of Nick being arrogant. Also Fitzgerald completely removes a paragraph about how Nick loves to drive with the top down in his car. In this omitted paragraph he explains how he gets odd looks from other drivers and when he is friendly they look away immediately. This also has the same affect as the first revision. Nick driving with his top down may show his potential upper-class status. By taking this paragraph at all, we can not assume that Nick does belong to the upper class. Due to these two revisions, we see Nick as more of a simple average person that we as readers may possibly be able to connect to.
Daisy O.
2/5/2014 02:33:04 am
“Why they came East I don’t know. They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together” (Fitzgerald 10). This was the third and final change to one of the very first descriptions of the Buchanans. Fitzgerald’s first copy of this section did not fit the way he tried to describe the Buchanans because it left no uncertainty about their move to New York, no mystery or even interest to the readers. By simply stating that they went “wherever people played polo and were rich together” shows how people lived during the time period. Readers are able to make their own inferences about the Buchanans with this description, and even get some insight on the usual behaviors of society during the roaring 20s.
Mackenzie K.
2/6/2014 10:22:28 am
I agree with what you said about how it leaves no mystery or interest. If Fitzgerald kept in all of the little details that he originally intended, the book would be so predictable and boring. In keeping the book and descriptions vague, the readers get to add their own opinion and I believe that it allows them to connect more with the story. Instead of just coming out and telling us what the characters are like Fitzgerald gives the reader leeway to understand the book in his own way.
Julia C.
2/8/2014 06:11:31 am
I also agree that the original had no element of mystery, but the edited version added this and it enhances the beginning of the book. This adds the ability for the readers to analyze the literature in their own way, and not just give them all of the information right off the bat. By describing the characters in a new way it can make it so that the readers can analyze and this then creates the sense of mystery and interest that keeps people reading.
Maddy.B
2/9/2014 08:06:02 am
I agree to disagree. I do agree that Fitzgerald's quote "Why they came East I don't know. They had spend a year in France for no particular reason, and they drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together. " (Fitzgerald 10) leaves it pretty flat for his readers. It's blunt and uninteresting without mystery but i disagree that people moved around on the roaring twenties. It was that tuner period when all new things roused to the surface like Gatsby's extravagant parties.
Justin C
2/9/2014 01:21:59 pm
I agree with you 100%. The original line that was created, left no mystery to it, there was no room for self interpretation. They new line created helps us understand soft of a specific lifestyle.
Kyra J.
2/5/2014 05:11:43 am
The changes Fitzgerald made to the story, I feel, perfects the beginning story line. Without the revisions, there are too many details at the beginning of the story. If Fitzgerald were to keep all those tiny details, then too many main ideas would be revealed too soon leaving an unbalance of ideas for the rest of the book. I also feel that without the revisions, his writing style would not have made the same effect on the reader. His sentence fluency has a distinct flow, and too many details could falter it.
Jordan T.
2/5/2014 08:55:16 am
I totally agree with you Kyra, if Fitzgerald were to add about how everyone knew Tom it would be to much. That's something to add later, having so much in the first chapter would give us no room to create our own ideas or images. I think Fitzgerald gives us just enough to get by for the first chapter which is great because then we are not stuck with unnecessary details either. I do think you have a great point on how to many details would falter his sentence flow too. I feel like the chapter would be boring with so much detail and no movement toward the actual story.
Conrad
2/5/2014 12:07:55 pm
Interesting.
Bailey F
2/5/2014 05:44:41 am
The changes that Fitzgerald made to The Great Gatsby help the novel as a whole. I think that his original writings were almost too detailed and confusing for someone to read. The revisions he made were more matter of fact and to the point. With broader descriptions and ideas, readers are able to make inferences and unique connections based on their own experiences. By making his statements less detailed, Fitzgerald is also making people think about what could happen next without giving it all away. By creating this sense of urgency to know what happens next, the reader is drawn in and cannot put the book down.
Amber H.
2/5/2014 10:26:29 am
I completely agree with you Bailey. If Fitzgerald left the novel the way it was, the reader would have to think too much and the reader wouldn't be able to enjoy the novel and the mystery does give off the feeling that you absolutely cannot put this novel down.
Dong L.
2/6/2014 06:03:28 am
I also agree with you Amber, since having the reader think too much would overstress the readers and they can not interpret the main point of the story in their own way. Having a bit of mystery in the story helps the reader pause and think about what is going on in the story and helps deepen their analysis of the story instead of too much specific details.
Chris Bishop
2/9/2014 11:04:36 am
I disagree while I See how to many details make the book harder to read i also think that less details make the book a harder read because not everything is obvious at first. However that is Fitzgeralds point! He wants you to dive deeper into the text not just surface read.
Emily F
2/6/2014 11:07:12 pm
I agree with you. I think that if the book had all those details it would not only make the book harder too read, it would also give too much away to the reader too early. I think the reader should have to read and find out things for themselves. It's better to have the reader learn about the characters through their actions and dialouge than just from Fitzgereeld telling them. It adds more depth to the chacters and the story.
Miranda L
2/9/2014 11:16:00 am
I agree with Bailey in the sense that Fitzgerald made revisions that were straight to the point. Before he edited the book it seemed very confusing and it had too much detail. The revisions he added helped give the book a better meaning without wordy distractions.
Kevin T
2/5/2014 06:00:29 am
Fitzgerald's changes impacted his novel as a whole. The change he made to the Buchanan's introduction in chapter 1 shortened it, but by doing so he also removed much of the unneeded details, that made it long and drawn out. Shortening simplified the message and added small hints of ambiguity for why they kept moving.
Kelsey J
2/5/2014 08:10:40 am
While I partially agree with you that Fitzgerald wanted to keep his writing concise and on point, I don't believe that Fitzgerald's original objective was wanting to simplify the message. If anything, he wanted to make it more interesting. For example, Fitzgerald's original words were " The sense of being in a strange an unfamiliar place deepened on me" which he then changed to "I was alone again in the unquiet darkness." The first text explains an almost scary place that he is suddenly being engulfed by once again. The second text explains that is was perhaps dark, but it was not quiet. The scene is still filled yet with life and it therefore describes the scene in more detail. Therefore, he did not simplify his text, but made it more bold.
Stephanie B
2/6/2014 10:17:04 am
You make a valid point by saying that Fitzgerald wanted to focus on being ambiguous, which is why he cut so much of his original text. However, that does not mean that he did not keep this in mind while he was cutting out portions of the text. Many of the original text has a lot of detail. Especially when the text follows Nick's train of thought, it comes across as rambling and distracts the readers from the focus or the significance of what he says. Unfortunately, this is likely to happen when one is writing in the first person because the writer becomes so caught up in what he is saying that he forgets to keep in mind the reader may not be able to follow because of all the detail surrounding his overall point. While we do not know for sure what Fitzgerald was thinking when he was revising the novel, the deleted portions were cut so craftily that it is unlikely a coincidence that the overall message is simpler and easier for the reader to understand. I do agree that some of the revisions made the plot more dramatic, but that does not mean that he did not keep simplifying the message in mind. And since Fitzgerald did not say directly why he cut specific portions out, none of us know for sure why he did what he did. He likely had different reasons for revising different portions of the text.
Nadim K
2/6/2014 06:37:55 am
I agree with you Kevin because by removing all the unnecessary details that drew the reader away from the main points, he helped readers understand the messages and ideas explain within the book.
Tyler K
2/6/2014 07:00:09 am
I agree with Kevin on the point that the change Fitzgerald made to the Buchanans removed much unneeded details, but I also agree with Kelsey that Fitzgerald did not make the changes to simplify the message. For Example, Fitzgerald orginally wrote "Why they came East I don't know - perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war. Everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course, east and west, and they had lived almost everywhere for a while, at least everywhere horses are ridden and polo is played in a fashionable sense. And for a little while for no particular reason, except perhaps the recurrent fascination of the war, they [Line drawn through italicized words in original]"(Fitzgerald).
Fitzgerald would publish the statement, "Why they came East I don't know. They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together". While Fitzgerald takes out many details in the statement, the statement's importance deepens due to its plain yet focal message about the Buchanans and their lifestyle.
Matt R
2/6/2014 09:34:34 am
I agree with you Kevin but Im not sure if the edits were only designed to simplify the text. I think a key reason was to allow characters to develop off their dialogue rather than descriptions. I think this might one of the reasons that this is the best american novel ever written. Characters develop off of how they act and speak, which portrays an american life style as it truly is, without unneeded descriptions.
Alyssa Z.
2/8/2014 03:25:39 am
I agree with your idea of Fitzgerald's attempt of simplicity. I think that not only was he trying to shorten the descriptions but also simplify his word choice. As expressed in the article, Fitzgerald changes his description of his home from using a broad word choice making his home seem like an important aspect to the novel, to a simple description that made it seem unimportant. I think he did this to add more emphasis on the important things only.
Dong L.
2/5/2014 06:08:16 am
With the changes to the story, I think that it is reasonable Fitzgerald made changes to the story. It keeps the story short while keeping the main ideas of the plot as a whole. At the end of chapter 1, "the revised chapter closes on just the right note of quiet mystery" (Schulberg).This explain why he change some words in the story in order to not spoil anything and let the readers think and continue reading.
Corey J
2/9/2014 03:16:13 am
I agree with your comment Dong. Fitzgerald tries to keep things short and get to the point, yet at the same time he tells us as the readers a lot of things just through dialogue and interaction between characters. He does a great job of doing this all through the opening chapters.
Julia C.
2/5/2014 06:27:09 am
The changes that Fitzgerald made to the book helped it overall. I think that his original ideas were too detailed for the start of a book. "The sense of being in a strange an unfamiliar place deepened on me and as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away until I was aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors eyes - a fresh green breast of the new world" (Schulberg). This part of the original ending to chapter one is very detailed, and does not leave the reader to really ponder anything about what happened. The edited ending leaves room for the reader to wonder what happened and wanting to continue to read.
Daisy O
2/6/2014 12:47:43 pm
I totally agree with you Julia! After reading the article, you seem to appreciate the mystery of it all. It leaves readers with more questions, and allows them to think more about Fitzgerald’s overall purpose for writing Gatsby. As you said, the last scene was revised to leave readers wondering about Gatsby, since he is not yet introduced in the book. The green light pops up as a symbol of some sort, but without further explanation Fitzgerald allows readers to think about this detail throughout the entire book. All he leaves with his readers is the “single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (9).
Bailey F
2/9/2014 06:01:22 am
I completely agree with you Julia. If Fitzgerald would have left all of the details in his novel, it would have been very hard to understand and follow. Also, some ideas of the book would have been given away too fast. This would cause the reader would lose interest in reading. Since the book has a sense of mystery to it, it keeps the readers engaged and interested to know what happens next.
Rachel VB
2/9/2014 12:00:05 pm
I agree with you, Julia. I think the revision was very benificial to the novel. It allows the reader to create their own image in their head. The choice Fitzgerald made of taking details out makes people want to keep reading to find out more. If he gave the audience what they wanted right away, there would be less interest to continue reading.
Giancarlo G.
2/5/2014 06:54:28 am
The changes Fitzgerald made to “The Great Gatsby” seem to add mystery to the beginning of the story. Without the revisions, there are too many details given away. If Fitzgerald were to keep all those tiny details about the Buchanans, there would be no mystery or explanation to find throughout the whole piece of the novel; too many main ideas would be revealed. Also, I feel if Fitzgerald went without the revisions, his words, ideas, and image would have been weakened. He wanted to keep his readers interested and keep them guessing.
Taylor D.
2/6/2014 12:47:11 pm
I think that Giancarlo is completely correct in saying that without the revisions, the entire secrecy to the novel is ruined. The small details given about Nick in the beginning and the Buchanans give the reader something to read for and helps them infer on what is going to happen next. It gives the novel literary depth and helps further the meaning behind the creation of the novel.
TJ A.
2/9/2014 12:02:03 pm
I agree but feel it is for more than just not giving away plot points. Other completely unnoticed, but decent books that contain plenty of details but don't ruin the story as a whole. I think the purpose to making things more ambiguous was to capture a bigger image.By taking the description of Buchanan origin and making it more mysterious, Fitzgerald adds a layer of critical meaning to his book by making Tom as a characterization, general enough to apply to people at the time.
Andrea C.
2/7/2014 12:45:25 am
I agree with you because Fitzgerald purposely takes out details about the Buchanans to add mystery. He did want his readers to make their own assumptions based on the details that are includd in the text.
Tyler K
2/5/2014 07:15:25 am
The details and sentences taken out of The Great Gatsby were appropriate and better displayed the novels meaning when they were moved. The line, "as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away” (Fitzgerald), a statement that was directed to be used at the end of the first chapter was moved to the ending pages of the finished novel. This is important because the line could represent the American Dream’s fading nature due to the excessive lives of the rich, the unessential houses, continued to own the American Dream until the moon, the inevitable collapse of the American Dream, melted away the once known American Dream. Such a statement would be found as foreshadowing, but is overall inappropriate at the beginning because it would spoil the overall message of the story.
Rachel VW
2/9/2014 08:49:04 am
This is a very interesting connection from the houses referenced in, "as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away" to the symbolism of the american dream. I didn't catch that before. With this being said it makes it a lot easier to see why it was moved. I definitely agree with your statement about it being inappropriate where it was originally meant to be. I think that moving it to way later in the book lets people try to realize the theme for them selves and start to form there own opinions and try to make connections on their own.
Emma S.
2/5/2014 07:42:22 am
In the article, it talks about how Fitzgerald keeps his dialect short and almost to the point. He made many changes when describing his house, which is smaller than Gatsby's. In the article, Schulberg says "my wretched lovely house at West Egg" (changed to "my estate at West Egg". Fitzgerald changing the description from wretched to estate makes him his house sound nicer and elegant. He states "My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore..." (Fitzgerald 5). He had a nice house, being in the part of the island that has newer houses, but it is not as expensive as the ones around him. For eighty dollars a month, he got a nice house with a beautiful view.
Conrad
2/5/2014 12:14:09 pm
Nice job picking out some of those particular details; keep working on understanding why the changes were made. Also, remember that Fitzgerald is not Nick. Many of the changes may have been made because of that.
Kelsey J
2/5/2014 07:54:43 am
The revisions that Fitzgerald made to the end of chapter one changes the mood completely. The first writing that explains that Gatsby was to "stretch out both his arms hands toward the sky and in a curious way - far as I was from him I could have sworn they were he was trembling. Involuntarily I looked up. When I lowered my eyes looked down again he was gone." This section seems almost to much too the point. Everything is given to the reader, and it gives the reader a sense of confusion as to why Gatsby was trembling, rather than what he was looking at. The revision details that "he
stretched his arms out toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished." Instead of mere confusion, the reader now gains a sense of mystery, a yearning for more information. The fact that "the green light" was added, also gives an important detail that will continue to show itself throughout the story.
Rachel H.
2/5/2014 08:06:31 am
I feel like the revisions that Fitzgerald made helped make the novel better. They add more of a mysterious mood to the novel, in which allows us to make inferences on what is going on. I think that if he did not make these revisions, the novel would be almost to simple, not allowing us, as the readers, to make our own predictions and descriptions within our minds. I know that with these revisions, I am able to infer different things. If the different wordings were used, it would be to plain, without any real meaning behind it, and giving us a completely different outlook on the novel.
Carl A.
2/5/2014 08:34:55 am
While I agree with your main points about keeping the mysterious mood in the novel, I don't agree that the unrevised parts were plain and don't have any real meaning. The unrevised parts of "The Great Gatsby" I believe still hold great meaning, just in a different way. For example, ""Why they came East I don't know - perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war. Everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course, east and west, and they had lived almost everywhere for a while, at least everywhere horses are ridden and polo is played in a fashionable sense" (Fitzgerald). This quote still reveals a great amount of detail about the move of the family and has meaning, although is not secretive enough as mentioned previously.
Rachel H.
2/6/2014 08:41:18 am
I can see where you are coming from when you say that they don't have any real meaning. I do think that they do have a meaning, like you had said, however, I feel like it changes the text if he were to approach it in the way that he did. With this, I think that there is a more specific image that Fitzgerald had wanted us to see, but he changed it in order for us to be able to envision it ourselves, in order for us to view a different perception of what is to come later in the novel.
Monica E
2/5/2014 08:11:04 am
Fitzgerald made revisions in Gatsby in order to provide a different tone.If the author had kept some details, there would be no mystery as well as no interest. The author also did not want to reveal too much about Nick's character, so he took out some of the personal statements that he originally wrote for Nick. I found it very interesting that the green light was put in as a symbol after revision; the fact that Fitzgerald was going to end the first chapter with only a couple of thoughts.
Tyler Kol.
2/6/2014 10:45:54 am
I also found it extremely interesting that the green light appears in the novel only after its revision. I believe that this not only adds mystery, but strengthens the symbolic value of the green light. Readers end chapter one asking the question of the meaning of the green light, and must read the entire book in order to see the symbol reoccur in a pattern, proving its symbolic value. I believe this is exactly what Fitzgerald wanted readers to feel, drawing them in for the remainder of the novel.
Mary K.
2/6/2014 12:07:23 pm
I definitely agree with Monica. For the book to be interesting, Fitzgerald did have to take out some details. I could tell from just reading the first chapter that less is more for Fitzgerald's case. I think he uses the tactic of letting the reader kind of make their own inferences in their heads, so the possibilities will be endless.
Trevor K
2/9/2014 01:02:54 pm
I do agree that Fitzgerald does not want to reveal too much about Nick's character right away. The green light does add a mysterious feel to the end of the chapter. I agree that the tone is changed with the revisions made by Fitzgerald. Instead of coming out and saying all of this information, Fitzgerald makes sure that he keeps the mysterious tone and doesn't give too much out. He wants to keep readers inferring instead of just knowing.
Andrea C.
2/5/2014 08:38:59 am
I think Fitzgerald felt as though the revisions were necessary to capture the mystery of the novel. He uses secrecy to his advantage by omitting portions of descriptions that could reveal later themes. In the revisions, Fitzgerald limits his descriptions for dramatic effect and to protect the characters. The tone is changed and Fitzgerald gets to the point quickly to leave mystery.
Imani B.
2/6/2014 01:41:29 pm
I agree with you Andrea! I think that the the revisions brings back some of the mystery to the novel that the author needs in order to be captured into the story from the beginning. I don't think that what Fitzgerald originally wrote was necessarily boring, but the mystery does add an extra dramatic effect to allow the reader to question more, and know less.
Giancarlo G.
2/9/2014 04:05:52 am
I agree with you, Andrea. I really do think the changes Fitzgerald made to “The Great Gatsby” add mystery to the beginning of the story, and throughout the whole novel. Without the revisions, there are too many details given away. I would have never have guessed that Tom "[has] some woman in New York" (Fitzgerald 15). I feel that just allows the reader to be surprised with any details regarding Daisy and Tom's marriage, and especially their roles that they will play throughout the novel.
Jordan T.
2/5/2014 08:47:05 am
To me it seems like he didn't want to give away what was to come next but rather have us think for ourselves. By taking the paragraph about why Tom and Daisy came to east down to about two sentences I feel like it gives us just enough information to make our own thoughts about it while not giving away to much about them. What Fitzgerald gave us is just enough to set us up to meet them and give us the chance to get an idea of who they are and then build on it.
Elizabeth Z
2/8/2014 01:50:19 am
That's a good point that I didn't really think about. On top of Fitzgerald simply giving the reader a moderate understanding of who they are, I think it adds another layer to the story where the reader gets to go on the adventure with Nick. As the audience is not allowed to know anything more, and sometimes even less, than Nick does, Fitzgerald is able to give the reader a different perspective. It is almost as if they are a friend of Nick'swho follows him through his time in New York, or simply a bystander to the whole situation. Either way, the ambiguity and mystery that Fitzgerald presents almost places the reader into the story as opposed to just sitting down to read the book.
Carissa C.
2/5/2014 08:48:03 am
The changes Fitzgerald made to the novel were very beneficial. For example, if he kept his original statement about the Buchanan's move, the mystery surrounding them would vanish. I believe that Fitzgerald desired the readers to speculate and wanted them to assume they knew about what was next in the plot through his blunt details. I think that the revisions made would entail some sort of plot twist or details that would be significant to future chapters. He uses the revisions to catch the readers off guard and to play with their emotions.
Lizzy K
2/6/2014 09:38:43 am
Carissa, I think Fitzgerald intentionally added the details of the final change on purpose as well. In the final passage, we are told that the Buchanans constantly travel to places where the people in the area can “be rich together”. This idea correlates to the one we discussed in class concerning Tom Buchanan and how he is hiding insecurities in his demeanor. I think the Buchanans travel to create a social standing wherever they can to keep their insecurities hidden.
Jack M.
2/5/2014 09:05:05 am
Fitzgerald was an excellent author with plenty of past writing experience before he wrote Gatsby. All of the editing he did to the book like his phrasing and word choice was for a reason, whether it was to keep a reader interested, or to go along better with the story's mood and timing, like switching the quote "...as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away," to the very end instead of having it in the beginning. All of the changes he made bettered the story in one way or another.
Gillian C.
2/5/2014 09:13:26 am
I believe that the more detail and description a writer adds to their novel will more than likely take away from the story rather than contribute to its overall purpose. For example, Fitzgerald begins his description of the Buchanan's by including several unnecessary wordy details, along with the mention of Tom Buchanan. In his final revision he only reveals 3 main details (they moved east, they lived in France for a year, and they are rich) that give just enough information for the reader to create their own inferences about who the Buchanan's are and what is potentially to come of them.
Carissa C.
2/8/2014 09:57:03 am
I agree with you Gillian. If Fitzgerald kept his original details, such as the description of Tom and the move of the Buchanans, the reader will start to overthink about what is going on in the novel. The revisions keep the reader interested in trying to find out about the reasoning behind character actions.
Riley S.
2/5/2014 09:24:22 am
The revisions Fitzgerald made to his novel were not only to edit its artistic merit,but to establish a sense of mystery that did not exists in the lengthier paragraghs. The end of Chapter One ends with Gatsby stretching his trembling arms to the heavens. Why? The reader shares Nick's cofusion and fascination with Gatsby. The original edition gave too many details too quickly. Fitzgerald eliminated character descriptions and "long passages of lovely writing surgically removed because they interfere with the narrative flow or because they tell too much too soon about the Buchanans instead of allowing them to define themselves in dialogue and action". The ending of the chapter is the introduction of the infamous green light to the reader, leaving one with the same sense of mystery and questioning that Nick Carraway does himself.
Morganne J
2/9/2014 12:52:39 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more Riley. If the longer more descriptive passages had been included in the novel, Fitzgerald would never have been able to, “Let the story unfold, let it create its own myth”. However the mysteries within the discrete passages allow the reader’s mind to think of conclusions.
Paulette D.
2/5/2014 09:36:40 am
I think the revisions benefit the mystery/suspense that will develop more in-depth later on in the novel. If Fitzgerald were to include all that information in the final print, it would give away the mystery. The unnecessary information might cause readers to interpret the novel in another way in which the author did not intend for them to see it. Also the unnecessary details could bore readers, especially so early on in the story. So I think Fitzgerald was right to revise his novel to benefit the message he is displaying.
Matt R
2/5/2014 09:51:21 am
Fitzgerald's revisions are purposely made to leave the reader to find out the events of the plot by themself. The reader would be able to infer Gatsby's regrets about his house if he added that the island had "tree that made his house." Fitzgerald purposely leaves this as a mystery to allow the plot to develop. Throughout the introduction, other instances are also simplified to create the mood he desired.
Rose
2/6/2014 12:17:21 pm
I agree with you Matt. I also believe that Fitzgerald left this as a mystery to allow the reader to infer or even predict what is to happen as the plot develops. Just like the poems we've been reading in this modernist unit, everything is to be inferred differently by each person leaving a more powerful plot for the reader to experience emotionally and spiritually.
Jen M
2/5/2014 10:17:55 am
When Fitzgerald changed his more telling lines explaining why the Buchanans moved East, his replacement- "And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends that I scarcely knew at all"- is still revealing in its own way. The line develops Nick's character. He claims he is a friend to Tom and Daisy, and yet hardly knows anything about them. It endows a sense of sarcastic thoughtfulness within him. Though the first rendition reveals something about both him and the Buchanans, I feel it gives too much away. With the published lines, we learn only what we need to for the moment, and are given just a bit more to think about throughout the course of the story.
Amber H.
2/5/2014 10:22:00 am
I believe that Fitzgerald made these changes in order to let the reader's imagination help form the book and so that the readers can be able to visualize the characters better than if Fitzgerald have everything at once, and the characters take form in the reader's mind as the book goes on. I believe this version allows more emotion to be invested in the novel by the reader because we can choose who is the 'hero' and who is the 'villain' so to say. This version gives the reader more room to interpret what he means instead of giving us facts, just like the poetry we were reading in class, especially Ezra Pound's "In A Station at the Metro."
Brittany D.
2/9/2014 12:18:34 pm
This all makes sense but can't the same be said about most pieces of literature? That the author wants the reader to interpret the writing?I think Fitzgerald is a very unique writer who fits perfectly in the idea that modern literature has to be different. What I found to be different in the reason that he revised so much is that he did it so that the writing itself and how it was written portrays Nick' s almost reserved personality. As if Nick actually did write this and not Fitzgerald. Well, I is just an idea to be considered. And kind of my opinion so it is ok if you disagree.
Chris Q.
2/5/2014 10:22:03 am
The revisions Fitzgerald made added a new depth to the novel. The revisions left more up to interpretation than the original text. The new text helped to create a better sense of the mood and tone. These revisions also helped to eliminate wordiness, helping the story flow.
Megan J
2/5/2014 10:36:28 am
Fitzgerald's decision to cut down the details given in the beginning paragraphs was a smart one because it gives the reader excitement to keep reading due to the mystery it creates. The longer, unedited paragraphs hinted at possible reasons as to why the Buchanans came East or why Gatsby was reaching for the green light. By taking away these hints, the readers will have to figure out the character's motives on their own through their words and actions instead of being fed the reasons by Fitzgerald. This gives readers a more active role and adds suspense, which makes the novel more successful.
Haley M
2/9/2014 09:03:49 am
I agree with you Megan because I do believe that the edited paragraphs will leave a a sense of suspense for the readers. The suspense will allow the readers to want to keep reading and it will keep them intrigued. Also the longer and more detail would allow the readers to not have to think or infer which are both great components to reading a novel.
Lyssa L
2/9/2014 01:05:54 pm
I also agree with you in saying that Fitzgerald creates more of a mystery for the reader by making the revisions, but I think it goes further than just instigating excitement for the reader. The purpose of the mystery is to allow the plot to develop with dialog in need of being interpreted by the reader and to also set the tone Fitzgerald desired for his novel.
Jen M
2/5/2014 10:40:19 am
Though I agree that the changes Fitzgerald made to the novel were necessary in keeping a sense of mystery about the book, I do not feel the previous renditions would exactly make it more "simple". The lines were long and detailed, to the point of being overly informative, but it was information that could potentially leave the reader confused. The excess knowledge leads to more questions that could detract from the here and now, and a reader could miss other information that might be important later on. The whole experience thereafter would be quite confusingly complex.
Riley S.
2/6/2014 11:28:49 am
I entirely agree with you, Jen. The original edition contained far too many details with far too many words. It gave away too much, leaving little for the reader to infer. When we all know that the best books do just that, make us infer what is happening. The details leave the reader to believe one thing when a shortened version could steer them in the right direction. The slicing of large passages lets the book speak for itself and allows the words to keep hold of the reader's attention
Katelyn B
2/5/2014 10:48:31 am
Fitzgerald's revised sections seem to be of a benefit to the novel. The unedited versions were almost too detailed and wordy, overwhelming the reader with so much unnecessary information, making the main point unclear and overpowered by the description. For example, Fitzgerald over described the first appearance of Gatsby in the original draft, not really leaving any appropriate room for a mysteriousness of the man to be developed. However by eliminating the elaborate details in multiple parts of the first chapter, just enough information is left for readers to form their own ideas of character development and future theme inferences. The edited Gatsby scene reveals a green light to the reader, leaving one with the sense of wonder and fascination of the mysterious Gatsby, allowing for the reader to figure out his secrecy on their own.
Ryan C.
2/5/2014 10:58:41 am
I feel that all of the changes made add to the novel by making it easier to follow. Also, I think that some parts were intentionally left vague by the author, as he thought too much detail would ruin the integrity and overall experience of the novel. In my opinion, the changes resulted in a novel that leaves some things open for interpretation, which allows for many different ways to see the same thing, which also makes it more relatable to each individual reader.
Jordan C.
2/7/2014 09:46:21 am
I partially agree with you Ryan that yes the changes made do add to making the novel easier to follow, but then without all the details it's not as some details such as the Buchanans purpose for constantly moving around and finally settling East, is not easy to understand purposely so readers find it within the novel and can lead in someway a more difficult plot to comprehend. I also agree that yes Fitzgerald does take out necessary details about possibly Gatsby or even the Buchanans to not ruin his overall plan for the novel, but doing so does not open for multiple interpretations and makes the novel more relateable for each reader, it makes it so you as a reader will read the entire novel instead of only really having to read the first few chapters to completely get the entire novel.
Matt C
2/5/2014 11:00:32 am
The revisions made by Fitzgerald are necessary to create a mystery surrounding the themes, as well the many symbols throughout the novel. The lack of information given to the reader leaves a lot open to interpretation. Because of this, the reader can interpret the book in several different ways and connect the symbols to more themes. This gives a sense of depth in the novel. Also, because a lot of words were deleted, it makes the novel flow better and makes sure the information is not just given to the reader. It creates a sense of mystery surround the characters and the symbols throughout the novel.
Scott A.
2/9/2014 08:25:04 am
I agree with what you said Matt, Fitzgerald needed to revise some of his information to develop curosity and create a mystery for the reader. I personally love mysteries and do not like it when authors give information straight forward. I like to find out along the way and put pieces of the puzzle together to form an indicvidual statement about a character. I also agree with the statement of revisons make a passage flow better. When there is a lot of information given about a character it is sometimes difficult to take everything all in and process the information presented. Breaking information down helps the reader process information more accurately.
Bakari C.
2/9/2014 01:04:20 pm
I agree with you Scotty, that there doesn't need to be information given to readers giving out by the author. But what happens when there is too much information given? There is no sense of ambiguity that we as readers can take in. Also, with Fitzgerald making this book so accurate to the lives that were happening during the early twenties, who is to say that the information that he originally wrote was not completely accurate to the time? The details that we were originally getting out could have very well been what was intended during that time. How do we know that with the revisions that happened after the original writing, details to what exactly life was back then were left out? simply something to think about.
Melissa S.
2/5/2014 11:09:27 am
The revisions that Fitzgerald decided to make in Gatsby are very beneficial to the novel and the reader. The author originally went very in-depth on specific characters and their pasts, but that would take away from the reader's being able to infer and predict outcomes for those characters. If Fitzgerald were to explain everything about them, there is no sense of mystery or foreshadowing on what may happen next in the novel. Also, the way that some of the original parts were written would probably confuse the reader rather than catch their attention. They were rather long and would make the exposition of the novel too draggy. After all, the point of the exposition is to introduce the reader to the characters and setting. Going in deeper is better placed in the rising action building up to the climax.
Jordan C.
2/5/2014 11:10:33 am
Fitzgerald's edits and revisions in the beginning paragraphs was a smart idea for success for this novel. This novel would probably not be the same if he did not take out the details originally put in about certain character such as the Buchanans or Gatsby. If all details were given in the first few chapters then most of the information would already be understood or interpreted so the success of a novel like this would not occur. The reason why the Buchanans moved East or even the connection between Gatsby and the green light, two of the main mysteries of the story, would be given away to early. Fitzgerald's novel to be successful needed to have as little detail as possible to create the suspense and continue to influence the reader to continue reading to find out the clues to fill the holes. Making one successful novel.
Zak D
2/9/2014 12:04:32 pm
I agree with you Jordan. With these revisions, Fitzgerald creates mystery in the plot and each person's thoughts on the plot will be different because of the details that Fitzgerald purposely left out.
Tyler K
2/5/2014 11:13:04 am
The revisions done to The Great Gatsby were necessary in order to maintain understanding within the book, as well as to not force specific ideas upon the readers. By mentioning the green light during the introduction, readers question its meaning and are forced to create ideas of what the light is a symbol of. Without this detail, the green light would not be as reoccurring, not only taking away from its symbolic value, but from the mystery of the book as well.
Joe S
2/5/2014 11:23:03 am
I think the revisions made allowed Fitzgerald to get to the point of many things. He cut out information that could give big hints about the future of the story. It adds a mystery to the story, allowing the reader to assume something. He creates a motivation to keep the reader hinged and to find out if the reader's assumption is correct. In my opinion the structure of the simple messages keeps the reader thinking and connecting.
Corey K.
2/6/2014 10:43:13 am
His revisions are extremely important when motivating the reader to continue to think and make connections. The part that I slightly disagree is your statement that the revisions help him get to the point. In my opinion I believe he made these edits to do the exact opposite. In order to develop the plot, the story has to unfold at a natural pass in which the reader can understand. Other than that, I agree because the revisions do keep people interested and always wondering.
Emylee F.
2/5/2014 11:39:38 am
I believe the revisions made within Fitzgerald's novel was necessary. Although, in a general sense, description and details helps place a reader in the book more prominently. I feel as though for The Great Gatsby's case, without the edits, it was too wordy. In fact, reading the unrevised quote, "stretch out
both his arms hands toward the sky and in a curious way..." (Fitzgerald) I almost got too lost in his words, I caught myself rereading the quote over because I could not catch the exact point of what Nick was trying to express. However, in the revise version, the point is across, yet there is still a since of mystery, in which is a great way to keep the readers hooked. With the revisions that Fitzgerald made, it allowed him to keep his wonderful detail but at the same time respect simplicity.
Renick W.
2/5/2014 11:40:26 am
The Changes made by Fitzgerald were very smart decisions. He cut portions that dragged on and had a lot of words for a more simple meaning. When Nick is talking about seeing Gatsby stretching his arms, he does need to tell about the whole island and the history of it, just about how Gatsby was trembling and how he disappeared. Not only did he cut out lengthy details, but he left out details about the characters, that could possible give away the future events. Also, the changes left the reader wanting more. More details and more explanations that can only be found if the reader continues on reading the novel. Fitzgerald was smart with his revisions because it hooks the reader into reading the whole book.
Costa D.
2/6/2014 12:50:53 am
I agree that certain changes were made in order to highlight the meanings; however, they are much more complex in the sense that they will remain constant throughout the story. Nick makes it very clear to us that he does not judge the characters at first hand. He adds certain aspects about them that hint their character. This is important later on in order to see character development. Nick also stated that he examines character developement in the long term of characters.
Justin Chang
2/6/2014 12:44:57 pm
For the most part I agree with you Costa. I agree that Nick shows us through out his descriptions that he is an open person and does not judge a book by its cover. About add aspects about the character to hint their own traits, I think certain details are actually left out in order for us to try and interpret the characters traits for ourselves.
Andrea B.
2/9/2014 01:16:14 pm
I agree with Renick. I feel as though a lot of the extra information in the unedited version dragged and were unnecessary. It gave away too much and didn't let readers interpret what they wanted to from the story. And with all the details that were given about Gatsby and the other characters, it's easy to interpret what is going to happen next. It's no fun reading a book if you know a lot of it just by the first part of it.
Bri D.
2/5/2014 11:42:54 am
I feel as if that the revisions that were made are necessary to the book because it creates mystery and makes the reader want to continue the book. If he gave away all of his key information, readers would be less included to read on, making the novel predictable. Removing those details to the book made it easier to read and more enjoyable.
Conrad
2/6/2014 10:01:52 am
What is the key information that was omitted? And do you really think Fitzgerald's purpose was to make it "easier to read?"
Vasudha P
2/5/2014 11:43:23 am
When Fitzgerald edited “The Great Gatsby”, two chapters were completely rewritten for the published novel, and the rest of the book was heavily revised. Characterization is different, the narrative voice of Nick Carraway is altered and, most importantly, the revelation of Jay Gatsby's past is handled in a completely different way. Fitzgerald is trying to get his readers to follow the principle of continuity and fill in the gaps so they can comprehend the novel.
Ryan F
2/5/2014 11:46:19 am
I found it very interesting how many times it took Fitzgerald to get the line regarding the Buchanans to fit. He had two trials in which the quote was much too revealing and lengthy, possibly losing the reader's attention because it was such a long description. Narrowing it down to "Why they came East I don't know. They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich
together" (Fitzgerald 19). What he does by cutting it down is leaves the extra details out and makes the reader decide the extra little pieces for themselves, which is a much better way to go about doing things.
Megan J
2/9/2014 02:19:16 am
I agree with you Ryan that the longer passages would have caused readers to lose attention, and in turn, not grasp the message of a passage, such as the Buchanan one you referenced, as a whole. By simplifying the passages, chapter one becomes what it should be: a introduction to the concepts and characters that will be addressed later in the book without giving away too much information. The shorter passages grab the reader's attention while allowing them to come to their own conclusions as to their meanings.
DM
2/5/2014 11:50:22 am
The revisions made to this book are necessary as they leave more room for interpretation. Similar to the modernist poets, he is able to leave parts of his novel to be more vague such as the shortening of the green light's description. Instead of elaborating on it's presence he simply states that is there, it may be small and hard to make out but it's there. As this is to be a recurring symbol throughout the novel and Gatsby seems to fear it, one might say it is a symbol of the looming depression. A valid assumption as Gatsby would fear losing his wealth and comfortable living style by drowning in the water of the bay, the struggle to stay afloat economical as his wealth is gone, as the green light approaches, the oncoming depression.
Costa D.
2/5/2014 11:53:41 am
The book does try to uphold a significant mystery with its vagueness, making it necessary to delete certain meanings and understandings. Fitzgerald attempted to write a story that can be interpreted many different ways; we see the similar motives in the elements of Modernism in the sense that the reader should ultimately build connections and meanings, if there are any(LOL Williams). In the example about the Green light, little information was told about it in order to enable us as readers to generate our own thought process for the book. Fitzgerald purposely emphasizes vagueness in the beginning because it sets the tone, mood and purpose for the rest of the book and the generalization we make about it, it is a very critical time in this point in the novel.
hannah c
2/5/2014 12:07:08 pm
The changes made in The Great Gatsby were necessary in order to allow the audience to interpret the book in their own way. Before, too many details were written straight out. This made it much less interesting to read and didn't allow the reader to ask questions or want to continue reading.
Conrad
2/6/2014 02:53:56 am
Examples?
Andrea B.
2/5/2014 12:24:51 pm
With the new changes, it gives readers an opportunity to interpret and decide what they think is going to happen next in the novel. With the longer, unedited paragraphs, more hints are dropped to us than necessary, giving us too much information about what we are to expect to happen. With the extra details left out, it creates a sense of mystery for the readers, and lets us try to figure out what is going to happen or what we believe these clues are going to lead up to. With this state of mystery, we want to keep reading the book.
Ali D.
2/9/2014 10:59:54 am
I agree with you Andrea. By Fitzgerald editing his writing he kept the first chapter ambiguous and the reader questioning why things are the way they are and what will happen in the future. The reader wants to know why Nick has moved from the mid west to the east and back again, and with the revisions made by Fitzgerald the first chapter is kept with a lot of ambiguity.
Emily F.
2/5/2014 12:28:19 pm
Many of the revisions in 'The Great Gatsby' were necessary to allow the readers to decipher the important parts of the book and the personalities of the characters. Many parts were taken out because they gave away details too soon. By keeping the details saved for later it can allow the reader to figure things out themselves and preserve some ambiguity throughout the course of the novel. Leaving other parts of the book out was necessary to maintain the flow of the story. Rather than just being told certain traits of the characters, the reader can read the story and learn about the characters through their dialogue and actions, which adds more meaning and depth to them.
Imani B.
2/5/2014 12:30:03 pm
The revisions that were made to the book makes it a more interesting read for the author. Since the way the narrations were changed and the way some of the wording was revised, it captures the readers attention more. For instance, when Fitzgerald omits the line about gracefully describing Nick's eccentricity in
driving with the top down, how people in passing cars stare at him, how he smiles encouragingly back, how they look alarmed and turn away, he instead adjusts the readers attention back to why they came from East which was inportant for the tone of the message.
Vasudha P.
2/6/2014 12:26:14 pm
Imani, I completely agree that it brings out more interests for the reader. But I also believe that he went through with making revisions to let the readers fill in parts of the story maybe what readers fill in can be different but in the end, I believe it all leads back to the same ending and significance. Therefore, readers are involved in the story not just witnesses.
Scott A.
2/5/2014 12:31:56 pm
The revisions in the Great Gatsby are necessary to leave room for the reader to interpret freely. If there is an excessive amount of information given about a character, then there are no wild cards to play. The passage would become almost predictable with everything given early on. Instead, if an author gives bits and pieces of information at seperate times, it keeps the reader interested and at the edge of their seat, waiting for the next piece in the puzzle. Fitzgerald originally wrote, "everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course, east and west, and they had lived almost everywhere for a while, at least everywhere horses are ridden and polo is played in a fashionable sense." He later revised it to give the impression that Tom was like Nick in a way, he was unsure of his new surroundings. Revisions to broaden a book increase the amount of interpretations a reader can take.
Brenda N.
2/5/2014 12:32:19 pm
I think the changes Gatsby did, help focus his point more. When he changed, ""Why they came east I don't know - perhaps they too were searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of war. They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason and they drifted here and there unrestfully wherever horses were ridden in the fashionable sense and polo was played and people were rich together" to a more shorter version with less details it made me wonder why. This quote itself seemed like it had plentiful of imagery and details whereas the final change seemed less important. I feel like, even though the quote shrank and contained less imagery, I think it helped the story more by focusing on the subject at hand. Not the specifics.
Paulette D
2/9/2014 03:11:49 am
I agree with you, Brenda, on the revisions that Fitzgerald made did help focus readers on what he is trying to tell the readers. I think the reason why Fitzgerald removed some details is, because he wanted readers to understand only what is needed to comprehend to story and the events to come. If Fitzgerald were to keep “’ wherever horses were ridden in the fashionable sense,’” it would lose the effect the statement is supposed to have on the readers (qtd. in Fitzgerald). Though it may not important to readers, it helps display the way Nick feels towards others.
Paula R
2/5/2014 12:34:08 pm
Fitzgerald's original version, I believe shows too much contrast between the East and West. For example when Nick was written as driving with the top down, politely greeting people only to be ignored shows two things. If he were still driving in the West Egg, it would show that the people residing kept to themselves and did not like to interact with other from the West. If Nick was driving in the East, it would illustrate the separation between the two Eggs and illustrates that those from East do not wish to associate themselves with people from the West. I also found it interesting how Fitzgerald first omitted the green light only to write it into the story later on. The green light is something that I definitely have follow and keep an eye out for in the book.
Emylee F.
2/6/2014 11:25:04 am
I don't completely agree that the original version told too much about the East and the West. I believe when Fitzgerald first wrote the scene about Nick driving, it was more of a way to have the audience see that Nick was sort of an outcast. However, I would love to see what quotes brought you to that idea as to why it showed the contrast between the East and West.
James J
2/5/2014 12:35:11 pm
The changes that Fitzgerald made in his novel were necessary in order to keep the right flow, and keep the reader from learning too much about the characters. An example of this is the edit of the 16 line paragraph that describes Carraway's drive to East Egg. Carraway's thoughts and actions within that paragraph would have revealed too much of his personality. The edit is better because it leaves Carraway to be as much of a mystery as the other characters in the novel I feel the best edit was the one made at the end of chapter 1. Because Fitzgerald provided less detail in the scene where Carraway sees Gatsby for the first time, the reader is more easily able to make a connection between Gatsby and green light, one of the most important symbols in the novel.
Conrad
2/6/2014 02:57:00 am
As far as Carraway being a mystery, don't we get enough in the first ten paragraphs to have a good idea what kind of person Nick is? So what could another reason for the omission of the car scene be?
James J
2/6/2014 12:30:04 pm
Another reason for the omission of the car scene would be that it characterized the people from East Egg too early. Because the people in the other cars, are surprised by Tom's friendly greeting and turn away, the reader may infer that people from East Egg are not very friendly and (agreeing with Paula) may have a certain amount of resentment towards those living on West Egg. I think that instead of that excerpt, Fitzgerald wanted the readers to first see the characterization of people from East Egg through Carraway's encounter with Tom, Daisy and Jordan.
Paula R.
2/6/2014 10:29:18 am
I think that Fitzgerald has already taken away the mystery of Nick in Chapter 1 and solidifies that he is a kind, open-minded person. If Fitzgerald were to keep the driving scene in the book, I think that it would further show how polite and kind Nick is by greeting people as he drove past. In my opinion, I think that Fitzgerald omitted the passage because it would have caused too much focus on why those from the East Egg were alarmed at Nick's greeting. This would have readers thinking that the East and West Egg don't get along when Fitzgerald established that the only difference between the Eggs is that the West is "less fashionable" than the East (Fitzgerald 5).
Zak D
2/5/2014 12:36:11 pm
The revisions that Fitzgerald made were necessary in order to make the novel more interesting and entertaining to the reader. It developed a mystery as to what would happen next. It made the reader think and imagine what could happen next. This style of writing is similar to that of William Carlos Williams because they both allow the reader to be imaginative and do not give a clear and structural way of thinking when reading.
Josh S
2/5/2014 12:37:52 pm
The changes made by Fitzgerald to The Great Gatsby are necessary in making the story more of an interesting read. Fitzgerald took out parts so specific details would not have to be forced upon the reader. For example, instead of a 16-line paragraph that Fitzgerald had previously used to describe Nick’s character, he just started the next paragraph with "And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all." This allows for the reader to be able to make his/her own assumptions of Nick later on in the story.
Kathryn P
2/9/2014 12:53:37 pm
Josh, I completely agree with you. I also believe that these extra-detailed pieces were summarized and changed so that the readers could make more inferences about how Nick is viewed throughout the rest of the story. Not just how Nick is viewed, but how other characters (Daisy, Tom, Gatsby possibly) change and progress throughout the story, as well.
Renick W.
2/9/2014 01:38:21 pm
Though I agree with you, I also think it's more broad than just Nick and the other characters. I think that he made those changes to also allow us to inference on the setting, and possibly even the plot later on. He did not make those changes just to allow us out own thoughts on Nick and Gatsby but by taking out the portions about Gatsby trembling while looking out towards the bay, Fitzgerald lets us as readers to start to assume why he was trembling, or how he disappeared so quickly. Instead of how it was with describing the whole scene, now it really does seem that Gatsby disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Jordan Chenoweth
2/5/2014 12:45:39 pm
The changes made to "The Great Gatsby" are ultimately to cut off the intriguing details in one sitting. Similar to eating a buffet, in order to enjoy all the food, someone can only take in so much at a time. For instance, Budd Schulberg points out Nick Carraway as he describes his house in the beginning as "My estate in West Egg," as opposed to "My lovely house in West Egg". The purpose is to not give away anything more than an introduction. By slowly revealing details about the characters, it keeps the readers intrigued, and with such literary skills as Fitzgerald has, it's very easy for a writer of his caliber to do just that. Therefore, as Schulberg explains, the novel has a "flawless" feel with just the right amount of description at just the right times.
Anna W.
2/5/2014 12:45:45 pm
I like, and find all of the changes that Fitzgerald went back and made to this piece intelligent and necessary. Like the article mentions, "The telling of this short, intensive novel through the eyes of Nick
Carraway is flawless because Fitzgerald is always on guard against the self-indulgence of first-person narration." He figured out his purpose and what he wanted the readers to obtain when reading his novel and he went back to make sure everything he wrote was significant. Personally I think it was essential that he took out all of the words he had after "Why they came East I don't know...", it forces the reader to look deeper into the Buchanans and figure out why this wealthy family that could live anywhere else, and with higher status, chose to live there.
Amanna V
2/6/2014 12:05:58 pm
I agree with what you are implying Anna. Most of the things Fitzgerald writes (as displayed in Chapter 1) has a significance to it and I agree that he purposely creates a mysterious background surrounding the characters so that the reader is forced to infer.
Jesse S.
2/5/2014 12:46:31 pm
Nick is vigillente, he states that "the intamte relevations of young men or at least the terms in wich they express them are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions". It's evident that Nick is mindful of the restrictions of expressins within the society he lives in. In a way, Nick is somewhat optimistic, and realisitc. He acknowleges mans flaws and imperfections, but maintains his beilefs, regardless of the constant effort it demands.
Amanna V.
2/5/2014 12:47:06 pm
The revisions that Fitzgerald made were necessary in order to stimulate the reader's mind more. A mysterious aura surrounds many of the characters introduced in the first chapter. Without adding the revisions, the old draft gave too much of the character away and prevented the reader from forming their own opinions and suspicions regarding the characters. For example, in the original draft, the character Tom was too detailed. In his draft he stated, "everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course, east and west, and they had lived almost everywhere for a while...why they came east I don't know-perhaps they too were searching among unfamiliar surrounding for that vague lost stimulus of war." This is a lot of added information about Tom that makes the reader think that Tom is a rich man who travels to search for purpose and direction in life. That right there prevents the reader from actually forming their own opinions on Tom based on the limited information Fitzgerald gives in the actual text.
Angel,A
2/6/2014 07:37:37 am
I agree with you Amanna, I think that if Fitzgerald introduced the characters like he did before the revisions, it would take away the readers ability to create inferences about the characters. Using Amanna's example of Tom, we are pretty much told who Tom is and his purpose, I prefer the revisions where I have to think a little and come up with my own interpretations on who the characters are.
Justin Chang
2/5/2014 12:47:44 pm
Nick introduces the other characters by using his word choice and sort of keeping their real personality a secret. Although Nick tells us some small ad very general details about the other characters, I believe he left out important traits because he wants us to interpret some of their personality traits for ourselves. For instance it says, " Daisy was my second cousin once removed, and I'd known Tom I college. And just after the war I spent two days with them in Chicago"( Fitzgerald 5). This Quote give us small basic details on how Nick knows them, yet if you look deeper into it, the quote can lead you to interpret that Tom and Daisy are pleasant people. Nick just got back from a war. Now normally you would think he would of missed his family and want to go see them, but instead he goes to see Tom and Daisy. You can infer that since Nick went to see them right away, Tom and Daisy bring him joy. They both mean well to him and that they are apart of his life.
Lyssa L.
2/5/2014 12:55:22 pm
I think the revisions were necessary for the same reason any revision of writing is made, to make it easier to understand. Before the revisions, it was seen as too wordy and gave too many details that left no room for interpretation. In the original draft, Fitzgerald over explains the introduction of Gatsby, and most readers would receive the same image of Gatsby. But from the revised copy, there is tons of ambiguity in who Gatsby is, and all readers are able to come up with multiple views of who Gatsby is.
Becca K
2/10/2014 08:23:27 am
I like how you mention that the revised copy provides "ton of ambiguity in who Gatsby is". Along with that I agree that editing out some bits of information allows us to have multiple views on who Gatsby is, but I also think it creates a deeper sense of mystery by not giving away to much. I think it is important to this novel to only give away bits and pieces of information at a time, so the characters can develop throughout the novel. If Fitzgerald hadn't shortened some of the scenes, like at the end of chapter 3 where he reaches out for the green light, he wouldn't have had the same mysterious and thought provoking effect.
Mary K
2/5/2014 12:58:21 pm
I think the details made the book what it is. If the details were to be very clear, the book, I think, wouldn't be as great as it is, and wouldn't get the credit it is getting. The blurry details will ravel into something greater as the book continues. The revisions, in my opinion, made it difficult to understand, but gave the readers a chance to cast their own opinion.
Ambreen M.
2/5/2014 01:00:35 pm
With the changes that were made to the story, it was a pretty sensible idea in my opinion for Fitzgerald to do because it shortens up the story and clarifies the ideas and concepts as well while keeping the main ideas of the plot in tact. It is also giving the reader a little more to think about.
Jennifer C.
2/6/2014 06:27:37 am
I do somewhat agree with you, Ambreen. I do believe that some of Fitzgerald's revisions to his novel are made in order to simplify and leave for the reader to interpret, however I also believe that his revisions are made to reveal character or plot information at a certain time. When the Buchanans are introduced In the unaltered version, Nick states that Tom was very well-known and the couple lived in places for the wealthy. Fitzgerald changes it so Nick can describe him as "a national figure" and "his family [was] enormously wealthy" (6). This way, the ideas move smoother and details of the Buchanans are revealed beforehand.
Ambreen M.
2/6/2014 10:40:41 am
After having a discussion in class today, I have also changed my views as to whether the changes and revisions where necessarily a good idea now. The little details and descriptions of the Buchanan's reveal the true personalities of the both of them which is important for the story to continue.
Trevor K
2/5/2014 01:06:39 pm
The revisions left us with a vague explanation of the characters, leaving the reader with much to learn. It gave the story a more mysterious tone to it. Fitzgerald changed the wretched lovely house at west egg to, estate at west egg because Fitzgerald doesn't want Nick to show self indulgence and instead wants him to show a more subjective view on the story. Fitzgerald takes out the possible reasons why the Buchanans moved east so that the story is more mysterious. It doesn't provide answers, instead Fitzgerald leaves the answers to the reader.
Harshita.K
2/5/2014 11:53:50 pm
I believe that Fitzgerald made these revisions to allow the reader to expand their imagination and make the best out of this book. It was necessary to make these revisions, because if he hadn't then the reader would have been exposed to too much detail about the characters. This would have denied the reader to make their own interpretations of the story and its characters. " Daisy was my second cousin once removed, and I'd known Tom I college. And just after the war I spent two days with them in Chicago"( Fitzgerald 5). Not only does it provide a simple description of who these people are it allows the reader to make assumptions and add on about their inner personalities.
Alyssa Z.
2/6/2014 03:22:15 am
After reading, "The Best Gastby," after the novel, "The Great Gastby," and analyzing the change in word choice that Fitzgerald made in certain passages of the novel, I saw these changes as his way of aiming for simplicity. One of the changes that caught my eye was in the article, "The Best Gastby," as Fitzgerald's first unchanged passage of describing Tom mentioned that, "Everybody knew Tom Bechanan.." but later decides to take that part out. I think that Fitzgerald chose to take this part of the passage out as a way to simplify his word choice, therefore causing the story to create an interpretation of Tom rather than him giving away too much information too soon.
Kristen C.
2/6/2014 06:03:32 am
Some of the changes Fitzgerald made in his manuscripts I felt could have maybe given more detail to some scenes in chapter 1, although they could have been removed to keep the mysterious aspect. The original ending for chapter 1 that was in the manuscript seemed very wordy and the details seemed relevant. As Fitzgerald spoke about the first explorers to America, it went completely off topic. No where is it ever really stated that the book is about America being founded, but how the people live their lives. I quite enjoyed the mention of the green light, as it gives the reader a little push to keep reading to find out exactly what it is, and who Gatsby is.
Jennifer C.
2/6/2014 06:09:30 am
I found the revisions Fitzgerald made to be very interesting. Along with the idea to make his ideas sound simple and be able to flow together, I believe that many of those revisions were made in order to introduce his characters or reveal new information in a way that he seemed fit. Compared to the long paragraph, Fitzgerald revised Nick's statement about Tom and Daisy and "why they came East..." (6) to be only two sentences long. Before revisions, Nick talks about how the Bushanans came looking for something new and where they previously lived, however Fitzgerald changes the words around so that they can be written or revealed later in the chapter.
Richard W.
2/6/2014 07:25:15 am
I think that Fitzgerald made those to revisions in the novel to increase sentence fluency thought the story, while cutting down on wordiness. The revisions he made allows his ideas flow nicely together without creating any significant gaps in the story. His revisions also allow him to spark readers' curiosities. Omitting the reasons that Nick gave as to why the Buchanans moved east allows the readers to speculate and infer for themselves.
Angel,A
2/6/2014 07:49:34 am
I felt that the changes were necessary not only to preserve some mystery but to also keep the readers thinking. Before revisions, Fitzgerald did not include the green light. Before revisions, Gatsby was seen with his arms stretched out toward the sky, trembling. For me, the only question that arose to me is way are his hands raised to the sky? However, with that green light, you cant help but ponder the limitless number of possibilities that the light can be. Also, the fact that Gatsby was trembling( I understand he was trembling before the revisions but the green light is more mysterious) at that green light creates this mystery. Is he afraid? Does he see something that Nick doesn't or does he understand something that no one else has yet to understand? all the revisions add to this sense of mystery in the novel.
Yousuf A
2/9/2014 12:37:05 pm
I completely agree with you. I think that Fitzgerald did a great job of eliminating useless information while also creating the aspect of mystery. I like how you made that connection between the green light and Nick's thoughts in terms of the ending of the first chapter. It was a very insightful inference about Fitzgerald's train of thought. It really ends the chapter on an ambiguous note, keeping the audience engaged.
Elizabeth Z
2/6/2014 07:55:55 am
In my opinion, mystery is the best part if a novel. It keeps the reader interested and gives their reading of it a purpose. Before all of his revisions and omissions, Fitzgerald did give the reader a little too much information. The fact that he remove things like Tom's reputation of being well known also gives the read more room for inference while it eliminates any unnecessary repetition.
It also adds a lot to the novel how he changed even the small words like "joy" and "quickly". Each of the words he changed affected the specific characterization of Nick because of the use of a first person narrator.
Stephanie B
2/6/2014 09:17:04 am
As we discussed earlier in class today, Fitzgerald does a nice job of writing chapter one because it properly sets up the book while creating a bit of mystery for the reader. I feel the changes Fitzgerald had made were good decisions because as, we are not overwhelmed with loads of information and Fitzgerald revisions leave us with only information that is vital to understanding the plot and information that is significant. For example, when Fitzgerald had Nick saying “Why they came East I don't know - perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war. Everybody knew Tom Buchanan, of course…” it takes readers from the main focus. While it is useful information to have, it is unnecessary for us to know exactly why they moved to the East; the point is that they did and now Nick is going to visit them. Otherwise, we as readers would be drowning in the information, and therefore would lose some key points. Again, as mentioned in class, Fitzgerald creates mystery by not explaining everything. For example, at the end of chapter one, Nick originally says, “The sense of being in a strange an unfamiliar place deepened on me and as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away until I was aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors eyes…enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired…” In the original text, Nick reveals too much of his own train of thought and his outlook on things, leaving less room for the mystery of seeing Gatsby and wondering exactly who Gatsby is. Nick’s contemplation is almost distracting. Just from the first page of the book, we as the reader can tell that Nick is an insightful person because he still thinks about something his father told him years ago, which is enough for the reader to know in the first chapter because it lets the reader know that we can trust Nick and how he is able to look deeper into peoples’ characters. The characters in the story trust him and open up to him, allowing us as readers to see both sides of the story and have a deeper understanding of who the characters are. Nick says just enough for the readers to get the gist of the plot while creating an air of mystery. In Fitzgerald's case, less is more.
Conrad
2/6/2014 10:07:24 am
Very thorough. Nice job and a good understanding of the text and the author's intent.
Lizzy K
2/6/2014 09:27:29 am
When Fitzgerald changes Nick’s passage on why the Buchanans moved west from “Why they came East I don’t know – perhaps for the same reason I did, searching among unfamiliar surroundings for that vague lost stimulus of the war,” he takes out Nick’s emotional connection to some extent. In the original passage, Nick displays a vulnerability that gives hints as to why he moved east. Perhaps this vulnerability is telling the reader that there are underlying issues in the narrator’s mind.
Shivam P
2/6/2014 10:08:00 am
I feel like the revised version of the The Great Gatsby adds a level of mystery to the characters and tone of the novel. It leaves some ambiguity for the reader to interpret. For example, in the revision Fitzgerald mentions the green light but says nothing else on the topic, leaving the reader with some mystery and the want to read more. I also feel like Fitzgerald does the revisions to make the novel a more interesting read.
Josh S
2/9/2014 01:28:57 pm
Shivam, I agree with what you are saying with the very intentional ambiguity. However, I don't know if that is a proper example to use. I believe that the light was never went into depth in the first place without revisions. I also believe that the revisions were also to reduce wordiness and be more clear cut, adding on to your previous point.
Mackenzie K.
2/6/2014 10:13:24 am
I liked the changes that Fitzgerald made to the story because it gave less detail. The book is right to the point with no fluff. But it also gives readers the ability to make their own opinions on the characters. For example, when Nick describes Daisy and Tom's traveling, he tells us just enough so that we realize that they have more money than they can imagine but we are able to make our own opinions on them. He tells us what he wants us to know while giving us a little freedom to make our own conclusions. At the end of the article, it talks about how the revisions add mystery. I feel that this is true and also adds to the story. With the vague descriptions of the characters in the beginning leads to the readers questioning a lot in the novel. The unknown grasps the readers attention and makes them wanting to read more.
Casey D
2/6/2014 10:17:52 am
The revisions Fitzgerald made are great examples of how modernist sought to use the more "exact word". Fitzgerald edited out much of his earlier writing in order to provide the reader with a clearer and more accurate image of the events that take place and the ideas and themes of the novel. One example is when Fitzgerald changed a 16 line paragraph describing Nick's trip to the East Egg to simply, "so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all." By reducing the paragraph the reader is able to understand Nick's distant relationship with his "friends".
Corey J
2/6/2014 10:18:44 am
I think one of the bigger reasons for making the changes Fitzgerald did was so instead of his characters developing with the description Nick gives them, they can develop off of the dialogue he gives them. Also, it cuts down a lot of the details that don't add a ton to the story, they are just sort of there. They wouldn't really affect anything at all.
Katelyn B
2/9/2014 03:10:48 am
I would have to disagree with your statement that the original details would not affect anything at all. Instead, the original details would tell the reader too much and cause them to not focus on the main ideas behind Fitzgerald's writing. For example, Fitzgerald originally had this portion in the novel for the introduction of Nick's character: "Nick's eccentricity in driving with the top down, how people in passing cars stare at him, how he smiles encouragingly back, how they look alarmed and turn away." I feel that Fitzgerald omitted the passage because it would have caused too much focus on why those from the East Egg were alarmed at Nick's greeting, having the reader assume that their is a tension between the East Egg residents and the people who reside in the West Egg. Fitzgerald's goal at first was to most likely just show the readers the type of person Nick truly is, an open-minded, caring individual.
Eric F
2/6/2014 10:34:59 am
Fitzgerald's revisions are included, I think, for two primary reasons. First of all, this goes with the element of Modernism of being short and sweet, much like William Carlos Williams and Erza Pound. This uninflated writing creates a sense of realism, or "telling it like it is." It increases realism and also may have been a response to the Great War, which disillusioned people with romanticism and comforting ideas of hope and joy, which is reflected in writing from the period. The second reason is simple. The word revision is literally "re-vision", and his adjustments were also an attempt to create a book truer to the image or feeling he say in his mind's eye.
Casey D
2/9/2014 09:38:28 am
I agree with you that Fitzgerald revised his novel in order to increase the realism and real life imagery of the novel. However I think that you are incorrect in stating that Romanticism was solely about love and joy. Both Modernism and Romanticism sought inspiration from the imagination and both delve into the dark side of humanity. The difference is that Romanticism sought inspiration from nature, while Modernist, in a growing age of technology and mass media, sought to define the human spirit.
Corey K.
2/6/2014 10:38:28 am
Fitzgerald's revisions are extraordinary when helping to set up the suspense and confusion within the story. It is a feat in itself to write a novel off this magnitude. But what goes with little to no notice is Fitzgerald's ability to precisely pick at his own writing in order to better develop the story. At the end of chapter one for example, he vaguely mentions the green light giving the read something to look for. Instead of coming out right away, he allows the story to create its own sense of myth and leaves the reader wondering. His meticulous work allows the novel to unfold at a constant pass and in doing so, never losses the readers attention.
Chandler S
2/6/2014 10:53:27 am
There is not a single revision that Fitzgerald made that does not benefit the novel. Probably one of the hardest and most delicate things to do is take a sentence that creates such vison and move it from the beginning of a novel to the very end. He did this by removing the passage "as the moon rose higher the
unessential houses seemed to melt away". Such a phrase can be used to direct the reader to te emotional state of a character and by taking that out it creates some kind of eloping idea to the reader. Fitzgerald was quite the genius for taking that out so early in the novel because it opens so many more doors for the character (in this case Nick) to go through and that is a challangeing thing for an author to do to his own novel.
Ryan D
2/6/2014 11:05:29 am
The revisions in "The Great Gatsby" were necessary in order to make the readers form their own opinions about the characters and to maintain the mysterious vibe the novel has. The majority of the changes used certain words to evoke a sense of mystery and challenged the reader to critique what exactly was being said. By changing the way Gatsby stretched his arms out, Fitzgerald could add a symbol with the green light, and add even more mystery to the novel.
Stefan C.
2/9/2014 09:50:18 am
I agree with Ryan in the fact that the revisions that were mad give more of a mysterious feel to the novel, but i think it is more than that. I think with what is taken away from the different passages especially the one that entails Nick describing Tom's moving habits throughout Europe and where it gives an example of Nick describing his house on the west egg and its revisions effects Nick as a character. It gives they reader the ability to still see Nick as they trustworthy narrator that we are looking for in this novel.
Ali D
2/6/2014 11:32:05 am
The revisions Fitzgerald made to The Great Gatsby were very necessary. He changed the text to be more vague and leave the reader wanting more. He went into enough detail that the audience could understand the setting and be introduced to a few characters but did not include all details which made it ambiguous. Fitzgerald made the necessary revisions to his story to only make it better and more interesting.
Jelani P
2/6/2014 12:24:01 pm
I agree with you. Although he could have left the original edit to create some possible foreshadowing, the changes he made really enhance the effect of the whole first chapter, which was not only to introduce some characters and the setting, but to set up the rest of the story. The changes also help the story flow better.
Becca K
2/6/2014 11:38:42 am
I believe the changes made greatly benefit the novel as a whole because the changes increase flow and mystery. From making a little change like “quickly to vigorously”, to altering the paragraph that describes the Buchanans move to just two sentences, each change was for the better. One of the best changes, I believe, was greatly shortening the scene were “Gatsby stretch[es] out both his hands towards the sky and in a curious way”. By leaving the reader with such a short moment, instead of Nick Carraway talking about the moment further, the reader is left with a feeling of heightened mystery towards Gatsby.
Shelby D
2/9/2014 04:38:43 am
Becca, I completely agree with you that many of the changes were made to heighten the mystery of the novel. However, I think that another major reason Fitzgerald revised “The Great Gatsby” was to eliminate the details that forced the readers to take a certain opinion of a character. In my opinion, he omitted the unnecessary details to allow for the readers to form their own opinions of the characters.
Bakari C.
2/6/2014 11:39:43 am
I believe that the Buchanan's moving to the East is extremely necessary to the novel as a whole. Now, I do believe that the revisions made to the book do benefit it, but taking less detail as to the moving part in particular takes out ambiguity that, I believe, makes the novel better. The sense of mystery and uncertainty in this book make it so relatable and one of the greatest books in American history because it makes the characters feel so real as if we can relate, when we may not be able to at all. Forming opinions about the characters is a beautiful thing, but, there is a sort of limit to the amount of details needed to be supplied by the author and cutting some of them out could possibly be a debate. I refuse to pick a side, yet I completely understand both. As for the complaint of, "too much detail in the beginning drags the book out", get over it. Try picking up a book full of Edgar Allan Poe and moving on.....:)
Rachel VB
2/6/2014 11:45:33 am
The changes Fitzgerald made to "The Great Gatsby" greatly benefited the novel. His decision to take away the many details leaves the reader intrigued to discover many things. By only briefly introducing a few characters, this allows the audience to make their own conclusions. It also leaves the reader wanting more! This was a good strategy to grab the attention of the reader right from the start.
Chandler S
2/9/2014 11:44:28 am
Rachel, I agree with you that Fitzgerald does leave a lot for the reader to make up on their own, however I would argue the fact that those were his intentions. By taking away the convertable from Nick and not giving him a specific car, I believe Fitzgerald leaves the reader to infer that he doesn't have as much money or as many cool things as the rest of the people on either West or East Egg. Gatsby has all these nice cars and Tom has nice cars and Nick is just driving a "car". It helps the reader understand that he is surrounded by all this beauty in houses and what my and Nick is just kind of there. I think that was Fitzgerald's purpose.
Nadim K
2/6/2014 11:45:50 am
In my opinion, it was very important that Fitzgerald had made revisions to The Great Gatsby because it helped the reader understand the books ideas and concepts. The revisions also helped the reader want more and keep on reading. The revisions also helped hold back specific details that could have been mentioned later on in the book. By making revisions to The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald helped the reader understand the books details better.
TJ A
2/6/2014 11:45:51 am
The revisions that Fitzgerald makes are interesting in that he seems to capture the image he wants the reader to portray more with less words. Similar to how Williams in "The Red Wheelbarrow" is able to capture wider ideas inside his simple imagery, Fitzgerald's revisions trim away the excess that clouds his purpose in order to not only add a layer of depth and mystery, but also correctly portray the true meaning of the words themselves. For example, his revision of the passage where Nick describes why Tom Buchanan moved to the East is essential as it was able to take what was originally going to be a drawn-out, intricate description into something that is simply, mysteriously, and surprisingly informative. The published version of the passage makes a statement on the behavior of the wealthy as well as giving another clue about Tom as a person, something that may have been lost in the original description.
Rachel VW
2/6/2014 11:47:22 am
The changes made to story by Fitzgerald were a way to let the reader form his or her own opinions. I remember us talking in class today about Nick as a character as well as his role as the narrator. We talked about the advise that his father gave him and how it allows Nick to have a certain tolerance level and not jump right to making judgments about people that aren't exactly like him. So I think that with some of the minor details being left out, it not only backs up the idea of Nick not concluding anything, but it also lets the reader decide how they feel about each character without the details persuading them one way or another. This idea also leads to the mystery present in the book.
Haley M
2/6/2014 11:49:06 am
I believe the changes that Fitzgerald made in the novel helped the development of the book. It allowed for the reader to be left questioning instead of knowing all the answers. If the reader knew all the answers the book could seem boring to them, but a mystery or question will keep the reader wanting to read. The removal of the small specifics that did not matter to the novel helped keep the novel to the point and helped keep the readers engaged.
Hannah B
2/6/2014 12:52:00 pm
I agree with you; as readers we feel inclined to figure out the relationships and conflicts between characters, similar to the way we are fascinated by the lives of celebrities today. However, the only way this is possible is by continuing to read the book so therefore Fitzgerald made the correct decision in his revisions.
Jelani P
2/6/2014 12:16:28 pm
Fitzgerald's changes to the story give the reader a sense of ambiguity. In the end of chapter 1 as he talks about watching Gatsby by the water, his first edit over-stresses the strangeness of the event. The revision is much better because it gets a little more to the point but leaves the reader asking questions and wanting to know more.
Mark M
2/6/2014 12:17:14 pm
Any piece that has ever been considered one of the best has gone through several major revisions. Fitzgerald's decision to omit the what he had written and make it more vague just added to the overall feeling of obscurity seen throughout the rest of chapter 1. I believe that it sets up the perfect tone for what Fitzgerald wanted, which is a mystery that unfurls for the reader.
Kathryn P
2/6/2014 12:18:44 pm
I believe that the changes made were for a good purpose. The purpose being that it gives the novel a certain mystery about it, leaving the reader to infer and formulate their opinions on how the characters should be, rather than being told. It also eliminates some of the extra details not needed in getting to the point of the novel. Such as when Nick is staring out at the sea and sees the light, Fitzgerald wanted to elaborate about this scene, but revised it to make it more straight forward and focus on the mystical green light.
Melissa S.
2/9/2014 11:37:30 am
I definitely agree with your argument about foreshadowing and allowing the reader to infer. Though the original version of the text could provide the reader with a clearer image of the scene, it could also give a little too much for the reader to comprehend. So I would agree that keeping it simple and going for the clear-cut picture was the best thing to do to help with the reader's comprehension.
Elainie K
2/6/2014 12:20:59 pm
Fitzgerald's decision to revise "The Great Gatsby" may seem like an average writing process, but it creates extraordinary results for the novel. By eliminating certain details and explanations, the story inherits a level of ambiguity that is essential in a novel where it's own narrator is known by his openmindedness and interpretations of life. The readers are left to see the characters and plot as they see best fitting through the information provided by Fitzgerald. Also, the revisions reiterate "the Great Gatsby" as a book of simplicity, which is an element of Modernism that we have discussed in class. Fitzgerald's revisions are highly advantageous to the success of his novel!
Shelby D
2/6/2014 12:28:56 pm
The changes made to “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald seem to be an eminent part of why the chapter one has such a prominent role in the introductions to many characters. In this article by Budd Schulberg there were examples given of omissions of overly detailed parts of the novel. One example of this is the shortening of the description of why Tom and Daisy came to live in East Egg as compared to where they had lived before. This elimination resolves the problem of the reader’s focus. It ensures that there is enough detail to understand why Nick questions the move, but at the same time puts no significant meaning into it. This allows the reader not to get so caught up in the details and focus more on the purpose. The article also tells that “Fitzgerald [was] always on guard against the self-indulgence of first-person narration” (Schulberg). This guarding is most likely a major reason for Fitzgerald’s major revisions of the novel. Overall the revised version of “The Great Gatsby” keeps the reader’s attention much easier and allows for the reader to not over think small unessential details.
Alayna D.
2/6/2014 12:29:55 pm
The changes that Fitzgerald made gave less detail and left it more open to interpret your own thoughts. When Nick describes Daisy and Tom's traveling, he gives us the information we need to understand that they have more money than we can imagine, while still leaving out details about them that way we can interpret the characters on our own. He tells us what we need to know about the characters while giving us a little freedom to make our own conclusions. In the article, it is explained how the changes made leaves a mystery for the reader, "Let the story unfold, let it create its own myth." I personally think the vagueness of the text pulls readers in because they get a part in the story, they get to interpret their own thoughts and opinions. Unlike other novels where the author may be straight forward and give you all the details.
Rose A
2/6/2014 12:31:06 pm
The revisions done to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby were necessary in order to get the point of several things. It gives the story a sense of mystery making the reader sustainable to think out everything that's going on. His revisions cut out parts that were too wordy and hard to understand to make his ideas closer to the point he was aiming for. He Also edited parts about character descriptions to not give away anything that could possibly happen in future. Wish his new edits, readers are able to interpret possible plots rather them be handed to them, therefore making his edited version (aka what it is now) a more interesting piece to read.
Brittany D
2/6/2014 12:35:23 pm
There are obvious reasons why Fitzgerald changed his work such as to maintain the flow of the piece and to keep some type of parallelism in his work. But the revision that stood out to me more and was by far more interesting to me, was the recharacterization (that's probably not a word but I think you know what I mean) of Nick. In the article it states that " The next, 16-line paragraph - gracefully describing Nick's eccentricity in
driving with the top down, how people in passing cars stare at him, how he
smiles encouragingly back, how they look alarmed and turn away - is omitted." To me, Fitzgerald did the right thing by omitting this. Based on what I know about the characters, and without giving anything away, this action seems more like something Gatsby would do. Nick always struck me as the type of person who wanted to do different, obscure things like this but never really had the courage. To me, Nick appreciates and admires individuality, that's one of the reasons he likes Gatsby so much, but can never seem to summon his own. So, in short, Fitzgerald does the right thing by changing the unusual drive to a more bleak one.
Hannah B
2/6/2014 12:43:45 pm
I believe the revisions to the novel were necessary in order to suck the audience into the plot. If Fitzgerald would have given away every detail, there would be nothing left for the reader to interpret and infer. By leaving ideas open-ended, the audience feels obliged to keep reading because it would only be natural to find out if one was correct or not in predicting. The original version gave away too much information pertaining to Nick’s home and the island’s history; the information overload personally bores me and I prefer to analyze the mysterious writing. By shortening the text and incorporating sarcasm/jokes, Fitzgerald successfully grabs the reader’s attention within the first chapter.
Stefan C.
2/6/2014 12:47:40 pm
I believe the changes that where made greatly effect Nick as a character. I think the little details about Tom and his habit of moving all over the place and the way Nick describes his house on the west egg were changed because of the character Nick is supposed to be through out the story, the honest character that doesn't make any harsh judgements. This all ties back to the quote that was given by Nicks father right at the opening of the novel. These details were omitted because of the role Nick needs to play though out the novel. We as readers need to be able to trust Nick because of his role as the narrator and this details that were removed may have put some doubt in the readers mind of the reliability of Nicks opinions.
Taylor D.
2/6/2014 12:52:33 pm
Small details are what complete book and make the very beginning so crucial for readers to throughly understand the characters and what they stand for. Also, in the beginning are the things to look for later in the novel. Little hints dropped at the beginning that lead to a big plot twist are what make books so enjoyable. Giving away all the details to the characters in the beginning of the book would be extremely foolish and make readers put the book down. Fitzgerald is very smart for revising it and making it more mysterious for the reader. The small details are what keep the book going and keep it interetsing.
Yousuf A
2/6/2014 12:53:01 pm
Fitzgerald revisions create a new tone. If the author he had kept some details, there plot would be oversaturated with useless information. Fitzgerald did not want to reveal too much about Nick's character, so he took out some of the personal statements that he originally included. This added a degree of mystery regarding his character and true motives. Fitzgerald then went on to add the ambiguous green light to conclude the chapter. The vagueness of this distant green light ends the chapter well because it provides a break from Nick’s thoughts and perceptions on society.
Richard W.
2/9/2014 10:10:22 am
Yousuf, I completely agree with you. I think that Fitzgerald did a great job of eliminating useless information while also creating the aspect of mystery. I like how you made that connection between the green light and Nick's thoughts in terms of the ending of the first chapter. It was a very insightful inference about Fitzgerald's train of thought. How do you think the chapter would have been different if Fitzgerald had decided to cut out the green light ending during revisions?
Justin Chang
2/6/2014 12:55:32 pm
I think changes that Fitzgerald made were to keep the story a mystery or almost keep the view of the story broad. Fitzgerald alters certain texts and phrases through out the book in order for us as the readers to be able to try and figure things out for ourselves. I believe that Fitzgerald does not us to look at the story the way he is telling it, but he wants us to tell the story to ourselves. He wants to give us small detail and let us try to infer the story for ourselves.
Hailey A
2/9/2014 08:02:47 am
I totally agree with you that Fitzgerald is trying to give us small details about the story and is letting us think about the story, having us tell our own story using the details already given to help guide it. however, do you think that he had an over all view about the book and what it should say to a reader that he is trying to developed in the first few chapters?
Caleb S
2/6/2014 01:03:37 pm
When Fitzgerald changes "my wretched lovely house at West Egg" to "my estate at West Egg" he changes the view point that the readers get of the house. Using the word "wretched" paints a picture for reader that the house is less of the house then it actually is. Using "my estate" gives it more of a meaning and gives the reader the thought that the house is pretty nice. When Nick says "My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked " supports the changing of the words. The new words remind the reader that the house is nice but just smaller but at the same time still in a nicer area but not as nice as East Egg.
Jimmy M
2/6/2014 01:06:30 pm
I think the changes that Fitzgerald made to the book helped make it more interesing. His original ideas went too in depth for just starting off. "The sense of being in a strange an unfamiliar place deepened on me and as the moon rose higher the unessential houses seemed to melt away until I was aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors eyes - a fresh green breast of the new world" (Schulberg). The ending of the first chapter answeres all of your questions. It doesn't make the reader want to continue. The edited version still leaves the reader with questions, so I think it was much better overall.
Kristen C.
2/9/2014 11:36:52 am
I agree with you, Jimmy. I also feel the detail added was almost too much and just throwing in random information. The revised version gives a better sense of mystery and gets more to the point rather than just rambling on.
Jesse S.
2/6/2014 01:07:47 pm
Revisions composd by Fitzgerald permit the reader to generate thier own theroies and conclusions regarding the characters, theme, and plot. The primary versions of Gatsby revoked the readers ability to have their own beliefs, where the reader is being told specfic charactreristics of the character. The sense of ambiguity in the revised pieces guides the reader in the direction the author desires with subtle cues, without being overly explicate.
Kevin H
2/6/2014 01:54:19 pm
I think in the part that Fitzgerald decided to change about the Buchanans moving east had a substantial effect on the perception of the Buchanans. Originally, it put too much emphasis on the fact that they were rich and famous and I think that having that characteristic too strongly imprinted into the reader's mind would not have allowed for the reader to pick up on some of the depth and deeper meaning of those characters, such as Tom's insecurities and Daisy's intelligence. When he made the edits however, it still gave off a sense that they were rich and famous, but it was not an overwhelming sense and it does not block the reader from seeing deeper into the characters.
Kevin H
2/9/2014 12:32:56 pm
Here are some quotes to back up that Fitzgerald is trying to display that Tom is insecure and that Daisy is intelligent:
When Daisy is on the porch with Nick, she is reflecting on her position in life and how she wishes that she were not smart enough to realize what was going on, and that her daughter will hopefully have the ignorance to be happy "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool" (Fitzgerald 16).
You can tell that Tom is insecure about himself when Daisy is poking fun of him at dinner "'I hate that word hulking,' objected Tom crossly, 'even in kidding'" (Fitzgerald 11).
Trevor B
2/6/2014 01:59:06 pm
Fitzgerald's changes in the final revision of the novel were not without purpose. He cut out portions with unneeded length and instead went for a simple meaning. Along with cutting out details that dragged on Fitzgerald also cut out details that could give away future events. With all these details cut it gives the readers more room to fill in the gaps, to wonder about what the truth really is, and to keep the reader asking question. If all the details were laid out in front of us, the novel wouldn't be exciting at all. The explanation spelled out gives the reader no reason to move forward. Fitzgerald wanted to hook the readers, and knew just what to revise to do that.
Hailey A.
2/7/2014 01:22:59 am
All of the revsions made to "The Great Gatsby" are nessisary to the understanding and development of the book. Fitzgerald kept the book with simple but detaisl that still made the book ejoyable to read and gave great depth to the story that makes a reader think. The details he added made the story interesting. Also, Fitzgerald, had to keep the readers interested in the entitre book and to do that he needed indepth, details that kept the reader on edge.
Chris B
2/9/2014 11:00:49 am
It is interesting to see the change in Fitzgerald's original text verses the current one. What Fitzgerald created at first was not the Greatest work of American Literature it he gave details, details and more details where someone could surface read and have an understand everything.a "16-line paragraph - gracefully describing Nick's eccentricity in driving with the top down, how people in passing cars stare at him, how he smiles encouragingly back, how they look alarmed and turn away - is omitted." we have to find our feelings of Tom on his behavior towards Nick not with a direct description of him.
Miranda L
2/9/2014 11:20:52 am
I feel like Fitzgerald's revisions to the original copy of the book are very good because he got rid of all the extra detail and created a novel that gets right to the point. The original copy seemed a little confusing because he overly described some scenes, but his revisions really helped bring the book to life without the distraction of too much detail.
Morganne J
2/9/2014 12:21:53 pm
The novel “The Great Gatsby” overall is a pretty short and to the point type of story. One of the main reasons why it is considered to be of the greatest books written in American literature is because of this very factor. The narration by Nick, the simplicity and innocence of the story, and finally the complex language all make it possible for the readers to think as if they were in the book too. Budd Schulberg explains that, “The telling of this short, intensive novel through the eyes of Nick Carraway is flawless because Fitzgerald is always on guard against the self-indulgence of first-person narration”. If there had been many long descriptions with in the published manuscript, the novel would lose the value that Nick’s perspectives gives us. He is telling the story from his memory, but makes it seem as though it is his first time experiencing everything that happens. He even makes it so that we feel like we are there experiencing with him.
Kevin H P.4
2/10/2014 12:02:55 pm
Morganne, I disagree with your first sentence about The Great Gatsby being short and to the point. Not only is there a lot of symbolism in this book, for example the East Egg and West Egg representing social class. Mr. Conrad even gave us a list of symbols to look out for such as the green light. So the fact that there is so much symbolism shows that it is in no way direct and to the point because it requires the reader to infer and think about what the symbols mean. However, even on a surface level, The Great Gatsby is not direct, because Fitzgerald likes to use very elaborate details to get his points across, for example when he is describing Gatsby's house, Nick says "Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York-- every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves. There was a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler" (Fitzgerald 39). While all of this detail is very important to the story, and to building an image of the lifestyle lead by Gatsby, it is not direct. Had his writing style been direct, Fitzgerald could have simply said "Gatsby had nearly infinite wealth, and threw extravagant and very expensive parties on a weekly basis!" and that would have cut out about twenty pages of having to describe Gatsby, but he also would have missed out on building this image within the readers mind of Gatsby's character had Fitzgerald written it the short and direct way.
Jake S
2/9/2014 01:59:05 pm
Fitzgerald cutting the fat off of his novel not only made the points that he was trying to make easier to find but also created a sense of vagueness that causes the reader to have to fill in the blanks with their imagination. For example, a passage that he included in his original writing, “Nick's eccentricity in driving with the top down, how people in passing cars stare at him, how he smiles encouragingly back, how they look alarmed and turn away” was omitted most likely because it put too much focus onto the tension between the Eggs, and takes away from Fitzgerald’s most likely real purpose of writing this line, which is to show the good nature of Nick.
Skyler P. Period 5
2/11/2014 02:02:11 pm
The cuts to the novel were necessary for the right image Fitzgerald wanted to get out to the audience. I feel that the book would feel very limited to the mind if the book and Fitzgerald were to give such straight forward visions of the scenes. This would make the book slightly uninteresting and probably would limit the amount of praise it gets from the critics. The over detailing of Tom Buchanan’s reason from going to the east would make the reader think that he is a set character, with no actual human traits to him. I am glad that the way Fitzgerald fixes the situation makes the character more of a character that is dynamic and not static. The reason for this is because of the strain of having a character that a reader cannot imagine the character as himself, a human who has feelings that are only exposed when put in specific situations. Fitzgerald instantly turned a labeled character to a dynamic character through this specific change.
Mahia P
2/24/2014 06:46:24 am
From the article, it seems that Fitzgerald made several changes and revisions to the novel. It appears that he was very self-critical, and was somewhat of a perfectionist. I think that the main reason why these revisions were made was to make the story flow better, as well as to not reveal too much information at one time. There is definitely an element of mystery in Fitzgerald's writing, and the story would not be the same without it. For example, at the end of chapter one, Nick says, "When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness" (Fitzgerald 21). Before the revisions, the ending of this chapter was much longer and very wordy. This ending is much more direct, and it leaves the reader in such a way that they are able to guess what happens next.
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