Tag: FScottFitzgerald

Dream Dilemma: Gatsby’s American Dream

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, then you know that I have a tendency to use quotes from F Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby. I really like the book because of the glimpse it provides into the history of the 1920s (Fitzgerald did a great job of intermingling fact worth fiction) and the attitudes of society’s elite during this time. I equate it to a 1920s version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. When that show first came on TV, I must admit that I was intrigued because I hadn’t heard of them (I remembered Johnny Cochran from the OJ Simpson trial not Robert Kardashian), and I wanted to know why the entertainment industry thought I should want to know about the lives of a rich family that seemed to be 50% train wreck and 50% fashion entrepreneurs. For the record, after so many years of them being in the media, I don’t understand why they still draw so much attention. However, it seems to work for them, so I don’t judge (like Nick Carraway).

In addition to the insight into 1920s, I also love the hope that Gatsby embodies. I find it quite admirable (even though his intentions were EXTREMELY questionable) that he never gives up hope even when so many others would’ve thrown in the towel. (Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Gatsby may have something to do with the obsession as well.) However, a quote from the character of Lucy in the Netflix movie Moxie brings up a great question: “I think the real question is, why are we still reading this book? It’s written by some rich white guy about some rich white guy.” As an avid reader and high school English teacher, I think Lucy raises a great question. Why are we still teaching something that seems so archaic in content? As I was teaching Gatsby today (chapter 7 for those who like exact context), I realized that the reason we teach Gatsby still is to illustrate the dilemma with the American Dream and how it has remained broken all these years.

From the onset Gatsby’s dream is broken. His dream – which is based on lies that he fabricated about his persona – revolves around the desire to shatter a marriage (Tom and Daisy) and take the piece he wants for himself (Daisy) with no regard for how it will impact those involved (cough…the daughter…cough…her name is Pammy since people tend to forget it). Gatsby’s dream is so deeply rooted in the past that at times Gatsby seems unable to comprehend that five years have gone by since his month of love with Daisy. He legitimately does not seem to understand why Daisy can’t just say she never loved Tom because he cannot fathom that she’s had an enjoyable life without him.

Beyond this inability to comprehend the five years since they were together, Gatsby’s dream of Daisy is corrupted by money. Knowing how much Daisy loves money (her voice is full of it after all), Gatsby equates having boat loads of money with happiness. I get that for many people having money is part of the American Dream, but there is also a big difference in having enough money to live without worry and having so much money that opulence seems to be a requirement and not optional. This money being equivalent to happiness adds more to Gatsby’s dilemma as it blurs the line between his love for Daisy and her materialism. Love might be part of the American Dream, but is materialism really a dream or a burden?

Having deep roots in the past and equating money with love aren’t the only broken aspects of the American Dream in Gatsby. The character of Tom Buchanan represents some of the most broken aspects of the American Dream. On the surface, he seems to have it all: a wife, a child, a mansion, millions of dollars, and athleticism. However, while he seems to be living the American Dream on the surface, Tom is actually a racist, sexist, classist, womanizer who is abusive to his wife and his girlfriend. Nothing about these personality traits are what I would consider to be aspects of the American Dream!!!!

So why do we still teach The Great Gatsby? My theory (besides having a reason to show a DiCapio film) is to provide the youth of today with a cautionary tale. I feel like teaching this novel helps to show that things associated with “the dream life” are morally questionable and can create more dilemmas than dreams. I also believe that the novel serves as a great reminder that societal problems we have today have actually been plaguing our country for a long time (Gatsby did come out almost 100 years ago). It provides a great reminder that until people change, then dreams will continue to be broken. My hope, when I teach Gatsby, is that kids will see it as a model of what not to do and encourage them to go about their dreams the right way. Much like Gatsby, I do believe in the green light only my green light is a lot more moral! In fact, I believe in hope so much (and have such a big desire to write my own great American novel) that I chose to be The Great Kaysby! My personal response to the novel is to never give up hope and never stop dreaming!

What do you think of dreams and Gatsby?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Hope

A bloom in my phlox! 3/20/2020

“…it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person…” F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Since the beginning of self-isolation and social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, I’ve been wanting to write; however, I’ve not been sure of what to write. Then, Friday it was nice out, and we went for a family walk. Before we came back in the house, I checked the rear of the house for storm damage from the previous night. That’s when I passed my flowerbed and saw the tiny bloom on my phlox. In that moment, I knew what to write about: hope.

As we are in the midst of a global pandemic, the media is full of gloom and doom. Yet if you look for it, there are signs of hope in the media. Here are some that I think need to be shared:

  • Two of the elderly at the nursing home in Washington where so many have died fully recovered.
  • Two of the people diagnosed in Kentucky have fully recovered (perhaps more by now)
  • People are doing the kindest things for the elderly in assisted living and nursing homes like putting up bird feeders outside their windows
  • People are finding alternate ways to visit while maintaining social distance
  • Andy Beshear is leading our state by showing how much he cares for the people
  • China (as of yesterday) has had no new mainland cases for 3 days
  • Last week, our local school district delivered 26,911 meals to school age children and elderly/at risk communities members
  • Government is coming together to help those facing unemployment, loss of health care, etc.
  • Groups of people are coming together to raise funds and deliver meals to those in need.

All of these example have helped me to have hope during this pandemic. I not only have hope for health, I also have hope that we will come out of this stronger. I have hope that we will come out of this as better people who are generally more caring. I have hope that our planet will come out in better shape because people are using less resources. I have hope that everyone else can see the silver lining in this cloud!

I’d love to know how you are seeing hope! Share in the comments!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Hope

A bloom in my phlox! 3/20/2020

“…it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person…” F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Since the beginning of self-isolation and social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, I’ve been wanting to write; however, I’ve not been sure of what to write. Then, Friday it was nice out, and we went for a family walk. Before we came back in the house, I checked the rear of the house for storm damage from the previous night. That’s when I passed my flowerbed and saw the tiny bloom on my phlox. In that moment, I knew what to write about: hope.

As we are in the midst of a global pandemic, the media is full of gloom and doom. Yet if you look for it, there are signs of hope in the media. Here are some that I think need to be shared:

  • Two of the elderly at the nursing home in Washington where so many have died fully recovered.
  • Two of the people diagnosed in Kentucky have fully recovered (perhaps more by now)
  • People are doing the kindest things for the elderly in assisted living and nursing homes like putting up bird feeders outside their windows
  • People are finding alternate ways to visit while maintaining social distance
  • Andy Beshear is leading our state by showing how much he cares for the people
  • China (as of yesterday) has had no new mainland cases for 3 days
  • Last week, our local school district delivered 26,911 meals to school age children and elderly/at risk communities members
  • Government is coming together to help those facing unemployment, loss of health care, etc.
  • Groups of people are coming together to raise funds and deliver meals to those in need.

All of these example have helped me to have hope during this pandemic. I not only have hope for health, I also have hope that we will come out of this stronger. I have hope that we will come out of this as better people who are generally more caring. I have hope that our planet will come out in better shape because people are using less resources. I have hope that everyone else can see the silver lining in this cloud!

I’d love to know how you are seeing hope! Share in the comments!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Dinghy Day

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

-F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Today, I feel like a boat. I’m like one of those dinghy boats in a hurricane getting flung around.

The day started well enough for a day when there is no school. However, it’s Election Day, and there is some underlying dread about how the results are going to turn out. Perhaps that is the true catalyst for the way the day has played out.

It started with breakfast. As I reached for my hash browns, I knocked my drink onto the floor getting liquid all over the floor and bottom of my recliner. Then we (me and LilKsby) took an unexpected two hour nap which was fine, but led to not accomplishing anything. Our nap was followed by what I can only describe as a pumping rodeo in which I was trying to pump fresh milk for tomorrow while I’m at work as he ate previous pumped milk from a bottle. LilKsby was determined to hold his bottle and pull the pump tubing out at the same time. I was determined to hold him in my right arm and pump with my left hand. Given how naturally stubborn we both are, the situation was rather comical.

The afternoon seemed like it was going to improve, but it turned out our dinghy had just found a lull in the hurricane. Post lunch involved so much crankiness that running errands did not happen. We got home from lunch and a kitten had left stool all over the floor in front of the litter box, into the hallway, and on two of my shoes (two from different pairs I might add). I clean it up, go to feed baby, turn the TV on, and it starts acting like it is going to explode. I turn the TV off.

Then LilKsby has tummy time. Happily, he’s now rolling from tummy to back like a champ, and he’s starting to act like he wants to crawl. Unhappily, he HATES tummy time. He gets so worked up that the next 30-45 minutes are like watching a spit up volcano erupt. During the eruption there is also a diaper earthquake which means the new outfit he wore today now needs some special attention that only a washing machine can give.

I topped the evening off by messing up cooking a frozen pizza. Yes, I said messing up cooking a frozen pizza. I didn’t realize it, but when I cooked the pizza, I cooked it on the cardboard that the pizza came on. Fun fact, this makes the cardboard cook right into the pizza.

By 8 o’clock this boat was ready to return to the shore for the night (aka I was ready for bed). Tomorrow, I’ll set sail on another day’s journey with the hope of being like a yacht on calm waters.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

A Reflection on Change

“The south moves north, the north moves south. A star is born, a star burns out.
The only thing that stays the same is
Everything changes, everything changes.”

-Tracy Lawerence, Time Marches On

When I began this blog a little over a year ago, my goal was to write about either a travel spot or my love of food once a week. Well, obviously since I haven’t blogged since August that didn’t quite go as planned. Why? Because simply put, things change.

There is a plaque on my living room wall that says “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I need to be.” This is a quote that I think describes my life – and probably that of many others – beautifully. When I began the blog last year, I was going through a time of loss from which writing provided me a distraction. The distraction was intensified by dreaming and sharing about all of the places I’ve been or love to eat. At the time, I needed that distraction.

Today, I’m back to blogging not because I need a distraction, but because I want to share my reflections on life. Unlike Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, I know that today is my birthday. There’s no forgetting that one for me! Also, unlike Nick I’m not turning 30; I’m turning 36. But similarly to the character of Nick, I have been going through a period that has changed the shape of my life. You see, last September we found out that God was blessing us with a rainbow baby.

This has been one of the happiest yet most intimidating changes me and Mr. Kisby have ever faced. In fact, at times – especially during those early appointments before I could feel baby moving – the changes were downright scary. But then you realize that you’re going to get to see the world through an innocent, beautiful, all wondering pair of eyes and suddenly you feel overwhelmed by how blessed you truly are!

This change has also led my mind to take a different direction from the focus of travel and food that are me and Mr Kisby centered, to dreaming of things that revolve around us and LilKsby. There are so many things I want us to share with this bundle of love:

  • The breathtaking ocean
  • The majestic mountains
  • The beauty of our quaint, small country church
  • The awesomeness that is Derby Festival
  • The places I loved as a child
  • The greatness of true friendship
  • The wonder of waterfalls
  • The fact that there are great free things to do
  • The adventure of reading
  • The joy of writing
  • The simple things like a walk through nature that show us the Kingdom, Power, and Glory around us

If you’d have asked me when I turned 35 if I would ever have a mind shift like this, then I’d have probably told you no. At the time, my heart was still broken and healing especially with the close timing to Mother’s Day when I had to watch as mothers were put on pedestals while I wanted to scream, “What about me? My baby is in heaven!”

But as Robert Frost once said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” My road between May and September 2018 involved some amazing things that allowed me to be ready to be blessed by change. Me and Mr Kisby celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (though I did tell him happy 7th anniversary) with an amazing dinner at Jeff Ruby’s and another cruise! We even tried snuba diving where supposedly there was a shark swimming near me that I didn’t even notice! I walked across the big Mary Kay stage in Dallas as a part of the Princess Court of Sales! In a fabulous dress of course! We went to the State Fair! We saw Taylor Swift in concert in Nashville! We spent a lot of time with friends and family! And shazam! We were blessed with the biggest, best change in the world: the change of LilKsby.

With our change, I will continue to blog. They might be more reflective than informational, but I’m looking forward to that. Maybe I’ll help someone else that needs a change experience one.

In the meantime, be like Gatsby…

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.” – F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby