Gatsby Experience/Chapter 1

For the second Discussion Board for the week in English 1A, please briefly explain what your experience with The Great Gatsby has been.  Have you been taught the book before in college?  In high school?  Did you read it on your own?  Did you see any of the film versions at any point? (There are three film adaptations out there that you may have run across…the most recent was the one with Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, but another famous one came in the late 1970s with Robert Redford as Gatsby, and there was a made for TV version a few years back with Ant-Man…oops…I mean Paul Rudd, as Nick Carraway.)  What has been your attitude toward/experience with the book?  And please, by all means, if you have had a negative association with the book, please feel free to say so.  Just make sure to explain your reasons why you feel the way you do about the book, whether good or bad.  Saying “it sucks” or “it’s stupid” may be your opinion, and a valid one for you, but make sure to explain to others why you did or did not like the book in your previous exposure to it.  (I am NOT one of those instructors who insists that you are going to LOOOOOOVE a book or an article, and who gets bent out of shape if you do not!  If you loathe Gatsby and when you saw that it was the literary portion of this course your heart sank in utter despair and hatred, by all means, please say so!)

Also, when you have completed Chapter 1 of the book, whether or not you have read it before, what is your impression of the first chapter?  Does anything stand out to you in any particular way?  What questions do you have about the chapter?  Was it confusing to you?  In what ways?  Simply briefly discuss your impression of this section of the novel, quoting from the pages if needed, or at least bringing up specific points about it.