The Great Gatsby, A Literary Work

                    Unsure of what the specific definition of literary work could be, I decided to look it up. Aside from basically being a “written work” the other thing mentioned was a work of imaginative or creative thinking. Going off of this, I agree that Gatsby can be defined as a literary work. One of the things Fitzgerald does in Gatsby that makes him such an excellent writer is that he is able to lead us through the characters, and can manipulate how we feel about them at any different time. Throughout the novel, we never learn more than we need to about the characters, and are constantly only finding out small bits of information, just enough to give us an opinion on them and add somewhat of a backstory.   

                     The one character we learn the least about is Gatsby, and most everything what we’ve been told about him as been a lie, even by the end of the book we’re still unsure. This makes Gatsby the most complex of all the characters, because we aren’t able to tell if he’s good or bad. For example, we’re able to tell right off the bat that Tom Buchanan is a bad man, for cheating on his wife and constantly abusing the people around him. With this knowledge, we’re more unlikely to feel sorry for Tom. On the other hand, we never learn enough about Gatsby that towards the end of the story, we’re feeling sorry for him. We feel sorry that he’s up waiting for Daisy who doesn’t come, and for unsuspectingly getting shot by Wilson. Of course, we’re experiencing all of this through Nick, who we still don’t know too much about. 

                          Nick is constantly acting as if he doesn’t understand the lifestyle of the people on West and East Egg, but being Daisy’s cousin must mean he knows a thing or two about that way of living. The fact that Nick himself refuses to party, puts us in more of an understanding perspective, because us being the reader, cannot understand why all these characters would want to act as ridiculous as they do. And because we aren’t exposed to much about Nick, other than he is probably the only character the reader can somewhat relate to, by being not fabulously wealthy, and is a hard worker, we are able to go into the book with more of our own opinions, rather than having to constantly view through Nick’s feelings to help influence our thoughts. For example, when Tom is trying to get Nick to party, with Myrtle and her friends, I know that I certainly felt uncomfortable for Nick, and especially when Tom slaps Myrtle for bringing up Daisy. Fitzgerald was clever in making Nick such an average, working class man, because I think it really helped us as readers along when making opinions and having emotions for the characters. 

The Wizard of Oz and the Hunger Games

                   Although you wouldn’t exactly consider them twins when in comes to literature, the Wizard of Oz and the Hunger Games actually have similarities when we look at their written and movie forms. Both Katniss Everdeen and Dorothy Gale call home to some of the most dismal and unappealing places that could be described. When the movies start off in these homelands, the color palate is significantly greyed out and not pleasant to look at at all, but when their journeys take them to places more colorful and tasteful, there truly is no place like home for them.  For example, when Dorothy arrives in Oz there is instantly color overflowing from the screen, and you’re overwhelmed by how beautiful Oz is supposed to look, and when Katniss arrives in the Captiol, the buildings are shown much taller and brighter. However no matter how much better these foreign places look, we are constantly reminded of the homes they left behind, and how badly these characters wish to return home to them.
         Their ties to these depressing places lie in their families, for Katniss, it’s her sister, Prim, and for Dorothy it’s her Aunt Em. Because they were forced into places much different then their homes, they were instantly alienated in these huge, strange cities. Because they are not used to the lifestyles of the people of Oz and the Captiol, they must adapt, in order to avoid alienation. They are both able to adapt  and unwillingly have people from these cities dress them up to fit in.  The main characters of these stories are so unwilling to change their appearances because they aren’t ashamed of where they come from, and even though they don’t wear fancy costumes, they’re both proud to call District 12 and Kansas, home. For example, Katniss is constantly braiding her hair similar to how her mother would for her back in her District, and wearing the Mockingjay pin that was given to her by her sister Prim, as constant reminders and symbols of them. As for Dorothy, she always has ToTo with her, and proves in the book and movie that she’ll do anything to protect him by her side. 
   
ASSUMPTIONS:
A major assumption that I had prior to reading both of these books was that, of course Katniss would be victorious in the Hunger Games somehow, and that Dorothy would eventually find her way back to her home of Kansas. It was unclear to me yet how they'd manage these unlikely tasks, but in my mind, it was bound to happen. These assumptions are most likely based on being raised by Disney movies, where in the end, good always wins over evil. Also, while reading, Katniss had been so against the Capitol from the very beginning, I had the assumption that she would remain true to her morals, however in order to win the games and return to her home, she would have to play to the Capitol and win their sympathy. It was interesting to see how Katniss manipulated the people of the Capitol's emotions for her own benefit, and how she would win the games by doing so.

AS A READER:
As a reader, I am constantly pulling for the protagonist to succeed, especially when the characters, like in Oz and Hunger Games, are fighting for their way back home to their families. Unfortunately, what makes for a good story is if the antagonist starts to win, even if for a short period in the story. Also, as a reader, if I hear bad things about a book before I start reading, I go into with a closed mind usually. When this happens, I don't focus on getting to know the main characters more, or fight for them as much as I would if I were going into it blindly or with a positive opinion. However, in some cases, the characters will pull through and make me invest in them.