Langston Hughes' Verisimilitude

In Langston Hughes literature one theme he continuously touches upon is heritage. Hughes illustrates how our ancestry has a connection to our character and experiences. This viewpoint is especially prevalent within “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Within this poem, Hughes depicts the connection African Americans have to rivers. This parallelism throughout the piece shows how heritage follows you. In a way he is stating that we can not run away from our ancestral past.  In “I, Too” Hughes shows a different side to heritage, and how even if someone is of different ethnicity or religion, they are still American. Receiving this name does not eliminate the past, but adds to our identity. Langston Hughes' poems depict the use  of verisimilitude. Past events within each generation depict the truth. No matter what, we can not hide from our origins; they define us in some way or another. I think that Langston Hughes does an noteworthy job of portraying pride in different aspects of our heritage, and finding new ways to add on for future generations.

Christmas vs Fitzgerald Writing

With the Christmas spirit arising these past few weeks, I have thought about how Christmas-or holidays in general- relate to the stories we have been discussing in class. A large majority of Fitzgerald literature is circled around the theme of materialism and our race towards the American Dream. We all want to believe that having "things" is the key to achieving happiness. With coming up holidays, we have lost the real meaning behind much of our celebrations. For example, during Christmas everything surrounds the excitement for receiving gifts, although after presents are collected everyone still carries a sense of emptiness. We all want more. With The Great Gatsby, all Gatsby ever wanted was to become extraordinarily wealthy, and once he obtains his riches he wants Daisy. After he reacquires Daisy’s love, he wants her to confess her sole love for him and that she never loved Tom. He continuously wants extra material. This also carries into "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" and "Winter Dreams", with Johns similar obsession with riches and Dexter's chase after Judy Jones. I think Fitzgerald does an exceptional job in portraying human-natures lack of appreciation, and how unnecessary it is for us to stay significantly selfish. 

Gatsby's Roaring 20s

An aspect that really stood out to me within The Great Gatsby was the unusual pace. I felt like Fitzgerald did an outstanding job in capturing the fast paced hustle and bustle of the 1920s. With the parties and care free atmosphere, it was easy to be consumed by the aroma of the era and truly feel as if you were a bystander. Also, I felt like the shorter length of the book may have had a contribution to the pace and aspect of the story. In some ways I feel like the consequence-concerning his lose of Daisy- and materialistic aspect of Gatsby was an example of a common aspect. Fitzgerald made it seem like all people were consumed, and Gatsby's story served as a slightly unusual example, paired with a romantic love affair. But, overall i genuinely felt the Roaring Twenties were truly illuminated throughout many aspects of the novel.

A Material World

After reading the Great Gatsby I am forced to make a conclusive comparison with the recently released movie (with Leonardo DiCaprio). To start off, i did notice a bit more of a flamboyant and modern twist to the movie, especially with the music selection taken into consideration. Also, there were a few scenes from the end of the book that were eliminated. Although, I do feel there was an overall impressive accuracy to the book, but I may have that outlook because I watched the movie beforehand. The largest aspect that was enormously present throughout the book and film, was the materialistic value with in the 1920s. Although Jay Gatsby had an intense love for Daisy, the largest way he planned to gain back her love was through his wealth and societal power. For example, the only way he would propose tea with Daisy was if she would be in close proximity to his enormous mansion, so he could-in a way- bribe her into falling in love all over again. With the background information concerning their original break up, I feel like all of Gatsby's efforts really emphasis the flaky consumer side of Daisy. But, overall I think Fitzgerald does an impressive job on highlighting the human connection and consequences with concrete materials.