<p>I totally love everyone here; now all i need is that elusive acceptance letter....:p</p>
<ol>
<li>dream career: Pediatric Oncologist/Tabloid Editor/Soccer Commentator for the EPL</li>
<li>intended major/academic interests? History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine :) Anybody else doing this?</li>
<li>favorite book? The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath</li>
<li>nerdiness on a scale of 1-10? 7 sounds about right :)</li>
<li>guilty pleasure? Perez Hilton and Gossip Girl >_<</li>
<li>favorite music genre? I'll go for artists: Muse, Maroon 5, Band of Horses, Mika, Kaiser Chiefs, Cake, MGMT, The Feeling, The Faint, The Frames, A Fine Frenzy, The Hush Sound, Rachel Yamagata, Vienna Teng, Adele, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Raconteurs, The Smashing Pumpkins, Innerpartysystem, Richard Clayderman, The Arcade Fire, Coldplay, DAMIEN RICE(Favourite movie : CLOSER), Dido, Ghostland Observatory, Matisyahu, Cold War Kids, Jem, Making April, Santogold and Nancy Sinatra :)</li>
<li>greatest accomplishment? Becoming valedictorian my first year in the States (2005)</li>
<li>greatest failure? Not finishing my ABRSM piano till Grade 8 :(</li>
<li>how high is chicago ranked on your list? So high in the sky, Kanye West couldn't touch it.
(ok that was lame - support for my nerdiness in number 4)</li>
</ol>
<p>ecksfactor: I completely agree with your assessment of Nick as an upper-class outsider, but I think that it adds another dimension to the social commentary, on many levels. First of all, the 20's, as an artistic/literary period, were all about being disillusioned, I think it was Fitzgerald who described his generation as the one who "had grown up to find all wars fought, all Gods dead, and all faiths in mankind shaken" (or something to that effect), and The Great Gatsby is, after all, about the fall of the American Dream. In this sense, I think that Fitzgerald is attempting to portray also the decay of the upper-class, but from the point of view of an outsider "priviledged" (please note my use of parentheses here) enough to see/experience how the other half lives, so to speak lol. But the fact that Nick is an arrogant moron seems to be cautioning Fitzgerald's largest audience, the "outsiders", to not be too arrogant themselves, or they too will be caught up in the fall/decay of the American Dream themselves -- or have they already? (times like this, I so wish I had a long beard to thoughfully stroke, but as a female, I don't think that would work too well lol)</p>
<p>Also, with F. Scott Fitzgerald you have to keep in mind that although he's one of my favorite authors, he has pretty much zero creativity in coming up with plots, because EVERY SINGLE book/short story he writes is largely autobiographical, plot-wise. So keeping in mind the way that The Great Gatsby is autobiographical to Fitzgerald, there are many elements that make it so but significant to my point here (and yes, I do have one..somewhere, lol) is that Fitzgerald himself was a poor boy who entered upper-class society, and remained there for most of his life, but the entire time he would somewhat be seeing everything from the perspective of an outsider. So what does that mean in terms of relating Nick to Fitzgerald? Gatsby to Fitzgerald?...what about Nick to Gatsby?</p>
<p>Um, sorry that was way longer than I intended it to be lol, but The Great Gatsby gets me excited! It's one of my favorite books! By one of my favorite authors!</p>
<ol>
<li>dream career, if money were irrelevant?</li>
<li>intended major/academic interests?</li>
<li>favorite book?</li>
<li>nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?</li>
<li>guilty pleasure?</li>
<li>favorite music genre?</li>
<li>greatest accomplishment?</li>
<li>greatest failure?
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.</li>
</ol>
<p>1) Cartographer/ Explorer (I know they don't exist anymore),
2)International ________
3) Les Miserables, Once and Future King
4) 8?
5) Nothing i'm really ashamed of but my friends make fun of my "terrible" music taste (I'm a straight male who apparently likes music that my friends's preteen sisters listen to)
6) Symphonic Rock, Piano Rock, J-pop
7) prolly getting the NCTE award (really didn't think i'd get it)
8) Not passing tennis team trials in 8th grade (I was on the team in 7th)
9) hmm 4 or 5 currently but moving higher as i read more of the letters they spam me with every other week</p>
<p>I think that Nick described himself as honest and nonjudgmental to contrast with the self-delusion of Gatsby and the judgmental nature of Tom and Daisy. Gatsby changed his name, fabricated his background, and made up mannerisms to make himself into a different man. Nick, on the other hand, doesn't really pretend to be someone he isn't. He also accepts Gatsby, even though Gatsby comes from a lower-class background and is a bootlegger. (I think? It's been a while since I read this book.)</p>
<p>It's possible that Fitzgerald was trying to say that like Gatsby's belief that he could ever win Daisy, the American dream itself is a delusion--an admirable one, but false nonetheless. The social structures are much more rigid than they seem. Nick is associated with honesty because he is the one who discovers this truth. I think that Nick describing himself as honest isn't an expression of arrogance so much as it is affirming that he doesn't believe in the mirage of the American dream. </p>
<p>Uh, I could have totally misinterpreted. Like I said, it's been a while.</p>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career- political journalist for CQ Politics or the Cook Political Report (super politics nerd)
2. intended major/academic interests- economis (Chicago's the best in the business) and political science; I'm pretty standard
3. favorite book- Noble House by James Clavell
4. nerdiness on a scale of 1-10- well, generally, I'd peg myself at around 8, but for politics specifically, definitely 10
5. guilty pleasure- HAHAHAHAHA!!! I still play Pokemon on Gameboy
6. favorite music genre- modern piano (Ryuichi Sakamoto/Joe Hisaishi)
7. greatest accomplishment- internship in Congress; got one finally after a dozen offices, including all of them in my home state, told me no high school students. When I finally got through to one office, I put forth a pretty solid effort to secure myself a spot and had an amazing time in Washington over the summer.
8. greatest failure- probably my Columbia ED app; turns out they really, really dislike receiving supplementary materials, and I sent in two supplementary letters and an overblown resume....life goes on I guess
9. how high is chicago ranked on your list?- 3rd behind Columbia and Stanford, but I'm not too bullish on my chances at either so here I come U of C! </p>
<p>See a lot of you this fall (presuming I'm accepted...)!</p>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career, if money were irrelevant?
hurricane hunter
2. intended major/academic interests?
economics
3. favorite book?
Frankenstein
4. nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
Usually around 6ish...but I definitely hit 8 or 9 at times
5. guilty pleasure?
I can spend hours reading the economist...guilty pleasure in teenage terms I guess
6. favorite music genre?
rock and pop I'd say. XM Flight 26 is [or was, now with the format change] my main station for the most part.
7. greatest accomplishment?
Being able to look back over the last 3 years and be generally happy with what I've been able to do...with plenty of help, of course.
8. greatest failure?
Making the same mistake more than once
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
1 if i decide to take an economics route</p>
<p>@insubvert:
Nick is honest? Come on, he is the most dishonest person out there. Remember how Jordan was like, "Yeah, well it was fine until I met another bad driver." She knows! He's as lying and deceitful as they come. He even lies to himself about his homosexuality.</p>
<p>insubvert: I'm not too sure where you're getting the "mirage" of the American Dream from. I never realized that the existence of the American Dream was in dispute; I thought it was fairly obvious that the American Dream did indeed exist; regardless of its brevity or falseness, it did exist at one point. After all, isn't the entire book supposed to be about the <em>fall</em> of the American Dream?
Also, I would argue that Nick is really just as judgmental as Tom or Daisy or Jordan by the end of the book, and that Nick lies worse than Gatsby does; while Gatsby at least admits to himself that he's telling all of these lies, and only lies to those around him, Nick continues his presumption of being so holy compared to everyone around him, and will not admit to himself the extent of his lying.</p>
<p>drownergurl29: I agree that Nick lies to himself, and therefore espouses the worst type of lying, but I'll have to disagree about the homosexuality. While I personally think that Nick is in fact homosexual, I also believe that it is a highly debatable matter; that scene is so abstract and ambiguous that a very reasonable, non-homosexual interpretation could be given for it, and many have. Also, even if he were homosexual and lying to himself about it, I wouldn't really hold it against him, because homosexuality was much more stigmatic in the 1920's than it is now, and now we still are having huge cultural and political wars (i.e. prop 8) over the issue; depending on your surroundings, homosexuality may still be just as full of stigma as it was nearly a century ago, sadly. That said, I do think that Nick is actually homosexual, but that Fitzgerald purposely downplayed all potentially sexual aspects of the novel because needed a somewhat sexually detached narrator in order to not have romance be the focus of the novel, as it very well could have been with the Tom-Daisy-Gatsby triangle and whatnot. Or, I guess you could also analyze the whole novel from a sexual standpoint, which could be interesting...hmmm...</p>
<p>I would argue that the scene is not ambiguous, simply obscured--probably he didn't want to draw uproar, but given the end of that chapter, it seems pretty unambiguous to me.</p>
<p>However, that isn't the main point here. Ignoring ambiguity, we agree that he is a homosexual. Why would Fitzgerald put that in? He could have put it in because he felt like it, but I don't think Fitzgerald ever did anything in that book for no reason, especially something important like the protagonist's sexual orientation. Yes, there was a negative stigma associated with homosexuality, but Fitzgerald was a man of the world, he lived in France for several years--to be frank, this was the world of Wild. I think that Fitzgerald was focusing less on the inherent evilness or insanity of homosexuals (if I remember correctly, one of "Leopold and Loeb" was counseled to plead innocent by reason of insanity by Clarence Darrow because of his homosexuality), and more the way that nearly all homosexuals lived in the United States, that is, in the closet. I think that it sort of went along with the theme that Nick was self-deceiving and that his claim of honesty was the worst claim of all.</p>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career, if money were irrelevant?
molecular gastronomy, haute cuisine chef
2. intended major/academic interests?
economics
3. favorite book?
dubliners
4. nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
1
5. guilty pleasure?
managing my financial portfolio
6. favorite music genre?
hip-hop/rap
7. greatest accomplishment?
learning tech analysis of the financial markets
8. greatest failure?
swimming
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
1</p>
<ol>
<li>China's president</li>
<li>Economics</li>
<li>Three Kingdoms, Capitalism and Freedom</li>
<li>1.5 with 1 the highest</li>
<li>gangsta rap</li>
<li>switches from time to time but never death metal</li>
<li>walked 50 miles nonstop in 22hours/wrote a prize-winning research essay on economics</li>
<li>got a B in A2 economics</li>
<li>#1</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>soccer player</li>
<li>applied math</li>
<li>to kill a mockingbird</li>
<li>3</li>
<li>food!!!</li>
<li>jazz</li>
<li>gap year</li>
<li>not being able to ride a bike</li>
<li>#1 yay!!!!!!!!!!</li>
</ol>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career, if money were irrelevant?
--Professor, I think.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>intended major/academic interests?
--Romance Languages and ...something else. IR or NELC or econ, maybe.</p></li>
<li><p>favorite book?
The Turn of the Screw. Or The Count of Monte Cristo.</p></li>
<li><p>nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
If 10's the most nerdy, maybe a 7.</p></li>
<li><p>guilty pleasure?
Sleeping? I do it far too little...also, dancing to really bad pop music :)</p></li>
<li><p>favorite music genre?
post-punk.</p></li>
<li><p>greatest accomplishment?
Hopefully, it is yet to come. Test scores? XD</p></li>
<li><p>greatest failure?
Doing things on time. Anything. Everything.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
Pretty high. I was there this summer and LOVED it. But I'm trying to avoid having a definitive top choice so if I don't get in, I won't be too upset.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don't know yet. I have so many things I'm interested in, I don't know if I'm interested in any single one of them. Being a philosopher would be pretty nice. Maybe a physicist. Or a Supreme Court Justice. Or a mathematician. Something academicy.</p></li>
<li><p>Basically those that relate to said careers above.</p></li>
<li><p>Oooh. I am going to force myself to pick one favorite. Despite my longings to put more. Ok no I'm not. They would be:
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Leguin
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger</p></li>
<li><p>Oh I don't know. I got voted "Most Unique" for the senior polls if that says anything. Depends on your definition of "nerdy". I'll go with my favorite number of 5 (though it's probably much higher). Choosing this number means I'm equally close to whatever the answer may be so there we go.</p></li>
<li><p>Hmmm. Someone else mentioned Pokemon and I'd agree with that one. Little kids music, like Disney Songs. And the song from Teletubbies. Ok and cartoons. Basically the only thing I like on TV is cartoons (older ones of course).</p></li>
<li><p>All forms of rock, classical, disney music, other random stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>Doing as well in high school as I have, even with all of my life difficulties (things I won't go into here).</p></li>
<li><p>Eh that has to do with the life difficulties mentioned above. Once again, something I won't post here.</p></li>
<li><p>Honestly number 1. It wasn't when I applied EA, but now it is :)</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>dream career, if money were irrelevant?
Actress. Which is my career choice anyhow, haha.</li>
<li>intended major/academic interests?
Theatre, English. </li>
<li>favorite book?
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expurey</li>
<li>nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
An 11. I know everyone probably says that, but I really don't think I can downplay it, haha.</li>
<li>guilty pleasure?
Really awful pop-punk and children's fantasy novels. </li>
<li>favorite music genre?
Indie, I guess.</li>
<li>greatest accomplishment?
Being Drum Major of my high school marching band.</li>
<li>greatest failure?
I try to turn my failures into accomplishments.
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
3rd. After NYU and Swat.</li>
</ol>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career, if money were irrelevant? The next Jon Meacham or James Wood...and one day taking over The Virginia Quarterly.
2. intended major/academic interests? English or political science.
3. favorite book? The Collected Poems of Allen Tate, Boyhood, Ah Q, or How Fiction Works once I finish it...and The Ballad of Billie Potts
4. nerdiness on a scale of 1-10? 8
5. guilty pleasure? Reading "The Nation."
6. favorite music genre? Alternative country/bluegrass.
7. greatest accomplishment? I climbed a 4000-foot mountain.
8. greatest failure? I almost fell off a 4000-foot mountain.
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest. I <em>heart</em> Chicago.</p>
<ol>
<li>dream career, if money were irrelevant?
--famous rock star</li>
<li>intended major/academic interests?
--music or international studies</li>
<li>favorite book?
--Anything by David Sedaris</li>
<li>nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
--3 or 4</li>
<li>guilty pleasure?
--eating cookie dough when i should be baking the actual cookies</li>
<li>favorite music genre?
--alternative/indie</li>
<li>greatest accomplishment?
--Playing in Carnegie Hall/the governor of PA</li>
<li>greatest failure?
--Too much to list</li>
<li>how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
--About 4th.</li>
</ol>
<p>what is your:
1. dream career, if money were irrelevant?
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence...
2. intended major/academic interests?
Anthropology/Linguistics
3. favorite book?
Hard... I don't think I could pick just one. I really like Vonnegut. Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer, Brave New World by Huxley, Franny and Zooey by Salinger...
4. nerdiness on a scale of 1-10?
Fluctuates between 6 and 9...
5. guilty pleasure?
Bad 80s music.
6. favorite music genre?
Punk (The Clash, The Damned, The New York Dolls), post-punk (Joy Division, Talking Heads, Young Marble Giants), cultural fusions (Gogol Bordello, Balkan Beat Box, Kultur Shock, Manu Chao), plus all things danceable.
7. greatest accomplishment?
School newspaper, I guess... Who knew I'd like journalism so much?
8. greatest failure?
The music I listened to in middle school.
and 9. how high is chicago ranked on your list? be honest.
Not sure. The more I hear about it the more I like it. Haven't visited yet, but if I get in (EA), I will. Could be first. Right now it's tied for first.</p>