Quote to Ernest Hemingway

“Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.”
–Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway

"The Great Gatsby" is a book that portrays the views of society such as class and social standings. Money determined your worth as a human being and the way you were viewed in society. The narrator Nick was an individual that tried at aquire money, Tom was an individual that had money he didn't have to work for, and Gatsby had money through endeavors of his own. But what made Gatsby so "great" aside from his riches was his charcter. He left an impression that people often talked about, they took time out of their day to sit and ponder o about who Gatsby was. The amount of money he had only contributed to the mystery of who Gatsby the man was. Tom had wealth, money that was passed through family and not many people seem interested to know who the man Tom was. Gatsby had an aura about him that attracted people, made them ponder, want to get to kmow him, know him for HIM and not his money and without charm and elegance the riches that Gatsby had would all be in vain.

The Great Gatsby

The main character Nick begins chapter one with a saying his father told him while he was growing up. He was told that he shouldn't judge people because ot everyone was dealt with the same cards in life. Due to this Nick often kept to himself even in situations where his opinion should have been voiced. Gatsby is a mystery in the first three chapters, nobody really knows who is or the things he's accomplished in life. Yet he always makes sure that he is in the company of others. Daisy is a second cousin of Nick who is married to Tom. Tom lives a very wealthy life and begins to confide in Nick by introducing him to Tom's mistress.

Eldarado, Edgar Allan Poe

http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/poe--shadow.html

Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be a very important part of the American Romantic period. Born in Boston, MA on Jan.19,1908 he was taken in by John and Frances Allan after the death of his parents. He was baptized in the Episcopal Church in 1812. He attended school in Irvine, Scotland and then returned to his family back in London. Edgar Allan Poe lived in an era where many people died of Tuberculosis. Poe dropped out of school because John Allan could no longer fund is school. Poe then writes his first book entitled "Tamerlane and other Poems." Poe could no longer support himself so he joins the United States Army. Poe's hard life inspired him ti be the writer that he became, alot of his poems reflected things he saw or how he felt. In Eldarado written by Poe, he tells us that life is a journey where people search for wealth, fame, joy, God and many other aspects of life. The knight seems to represent everyone who travels the journey of life. Eldarado is the paradise and peace that everybody is in search for, the deep content and feeling of satisfaction people yearn to feel as they live day by day. The works of Poe in my opinion makes him distinctly American, he is a man with this ambition in many of his poems, a longing for something better, as many people, not only Americans wish to gain.