Sir-Frederick-the-Great

Beginning - Controlling - doesn't provide for family - Worried about Laura - Lives Laura's life for her - Trying to do better for Laura

Middle - Argument with Tom - Breaks down - Admits what true intentions are and fears for Laura - Maybe hiding a fear of losing security if Tom leaves unless Laura has a husband - Admits she wants the best for her children

I had an idea of what the book was going to be about, but I still wasn't prepared for it. It is... shocking/amazing/pushes the envelope/and makes you think while you are laughing. Slaughter-House-Five is so different than any other book I have read before. The first chapter was written in first person, and the author talks directly to the reader and is able to give his personal opinion about the war. He clearly comes out and states his opinion about the war, and how he is against it and war in general. He along with Mrs. O'Hare both share a view of war being skewed when portrayed to a younger audience as something it really isn't. At the end of the first chapter he states that his "war book is over" but the book is note done. I think I understand what he means.

He is going to tell the story about Billy, I'm not sure if Billy represents himself I have only finished chapter two, but it is clear that Billy is unstuck in time. The order of the book goes, "Listen, Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time, ends with Poo-tee-weet? Listen is the story he has to tell and the second chapter literally starts with listen. Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time, is a chance for the author to jump around in time to tell different stories with in the war story about Billy but that still add meaning to main story. I haven't finished the book but I'm guessing the ending being Poo-tee-weet, is really up to the reader. Poo-tee-weet is what the birds have to say about a massacre, because after a massacre everyone is supposed to be dead, so no one can say anything but the birds, but some people do survive and they are like the birds in that the well what they see. So when Vonnegut, says the book ends with "Poo-tee-weet?" note the question mark. I think what he is trying to get across is will the massacre just be talked about and forgotten or will people look back at it and learn from it so it doesn't happen again. At the end of the first chapter he also says how he loves Mrs. O'Hare for looking back, even though sometimes others do not.

Throughout chapter two the life and story of Billy is told. His is constantly becoming unstuck in time in which he experiences different things, he travels to the past and future, and is abducted by aliens. From the aliens he learns of a fourth demission. Billy is in the army and is with three other men, two scouts who are killed, and Weary an anti-tank gunner and a classic John Wayne American war hero. Throughout chapter two I picked up on something, when ever some one dies or death is mentioned, the author ends it not with gory details, but simply "so it goes". He explains that when he was with the aliens and learned of the fourth demission, that death is not what we humans see it as. Death is a temporary state that, that person is in. You can go back in time and he is ok and in a better state, or into the future but I didn't really understand that part.

Overall I have enjoyed the book so far. It is a hard book to explain because there are so many things going on at once within the story. Everything links together and everything the author mentions has a purpose.

"He was profoundly affected by the fact that Tom was there." (108)

 We are now starting to see the true Gatsby. The quote I picked shows how his love for Daisy is so strong that it makes him nervous when Tom comes to his house. We also find out the truth about Gatsby and how he came to all of his money. He never did attend Oxford, but did attend a college which he dropped out of. He met a man that took him in and introduced Gatsby to the upper class life which he fell in love with. It was once that man died that Gatsby decided to work and obtain his own money on his own even thought the man had left him some money.

Now that we are seeing more of Gatsby we are also seeing more of Daisy. It is becoming more and more aparent that Daisy has no love for Tom anymore, but a love for the luxurious life. It is more and more evident that she does not feel comfortable around Tom. The only ting i wonder though is how is she going to react to Gatsby and how he wants everything to go back to how it was in the past. 

bleared (89) V. - To blur, or redden

His vision was bleared after being run over by a raindeer. 

Nebulous (100) Adj.  -  hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused

He talked in a nebulous manner concerning the event's past. 

"Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this in mine: I am one of the few honest people that i have ever known." (64)

I don't know if this can be considered vain or not? In a way he is barking up his own tree, but he claims to be an honest man, no one is perfectly honest, and if you claim to be honest man you wouldn't lie about being an honest man??? Either way, i picked this quote because it shows the reader a part of Nick's character. I think from this you can draw that he may not trust many people besides himself. Seeing how he is now interrested in Jordan and he knows that she is not a very honest person, i wonder how this will affect their relationship? Nick already knows that Jordan cheated to win her first golf match. 

In other news, we are finally learning more about this mysterious Mr. Gatsby.  It turns out that he did serve in WWI, but not as a German spy, rather in the same company as Nick. We also learn, or so Mr. Gatsby tells us, that he came from San Fransico, a wealthy family, and attended oxford. More importantly we learn about a conversation that took place between Jordan and Mr. Gatsby at his party.Mr. Gatsby is in love with Daisy, and they were lovers before he left for the war, however before he returned home she married Tom. Now Mr. Gatsby would like Nick and Jordan's help in reuniting them. 

I am interrested to see how Daisy will react to this. It is clear that Tom does not treat her how she should be, so will she take this oppertunity for a possible better life, or stay with Tom? 

Crescendo (60)- N- the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak

                The party was interrupted during it's crescendo by the police. 

Labyrinth (68)- N- an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.

                Edward was the best at drawing large labyrinth mazes. 

When i first started to read the book it was confusing for me to find out who the narrator was. I was not sure if it was first or third person, but what i have now realized is that the story is narratored by the main charater, Nick, tells the story from a first person point of veiw. Nick had served in "the war" and returned east, first to Chicago for a short visit, and now he has moved to New York, Long Island, in West Egg. He lives next door to a Mr. Gatsby who he seems to admire. My impression is that West Egg is not as much of a richy community as East Egg, however he does know a couple that lives in East Egg that he goes and parties with.

 Anyway, for my quote i picked, "'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone... just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'" (5)

I picked this quote because i think it tells us a lot about Nick in the beginning of the story and that he would not mention it unless it had some purpose for later in the book. It is quote that Nick's father said to him, and i think the quote will and has affected Nick and the way he enteracts with people. While he is at the party, he does not seem to feel very comfortable and he admits that it was only the second time he had gotten drunk ever. Another thing i notice throughout the book is how Fitzgerald mentions different classes of people. Mainly being rich and poor. He seems to be comparing the both and the different situations that live in and work through. 

 vocab words

peremptory (25) - Putting an end to all debate or action

Fractiousness (11) -  readily angered; peevish; irritable

       You could call Tom a very Fractious man.

 Mark Twain

Jack London

The Italian front in World War I 

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