Id have to say that reading “The Great Gatsby has been a truly exciting experience and gives the class a break as far as the cowboy and Indians topics that we have been highlighting since day one. The beginning of the story takes the reader through the fine details of the surrounding settings. This gives the reader a better feel of what type environment and people were present during this time period. For example, the main character of the story by the name of Nick Carraway describes the details of his college friend by the name of Tom Buchannan and his wife Daisy’s Georgia style mansion when he decides to stop by for a visit. Nick also, takes the reader through an emotional roller coaster filled with multiple climaxes and turning points that the attention of the reader at an all time high. For instance the character by the name of Tom Buchanan seemed to be a happily married man whom was content with his relationship. Shortly after the introduction to tom’s wife we witness Tom committing acts of adultery with a woman by the name of Myrtle Wilson who is also married. The two are eventually involved in a domestic dispute which leave Myrtle with a broken nose. I noticed that the use of alcohol was seemed to be very avid during this event which probably led to the violent conclusion.

The character whom this book was named after made a shocking entry that surprised both the main character and the reader as well. Gerald Gatsby, seemed to be a well spoken, wealthy and mysterious man who has obtained multiple accomplishments through out his life. Few people seemed to know the truth about how Gatsby came to be even though they would frequently attend his house parties, drink his beverages, and spread rumors about him both good and bad. In short Gatsby was just a normal character that had weaknesses like every other human being that were eventually exposed through time. Later in the story we find that his riches were inherited instead of earned which resulted in the main character’s loss of some respect towards Gatsby. In addition we also find out that the love he has for Daisy is expressed as he and Tom have a temperamental debate on who she truly loves. Even though Gatsby was able to convince her to leave Tom she eventually comes back to him towards the end of the story. In actuality we find that Daisy is nothing but a gold digger that has no interest in a man unless it involved money.

Eventually Gatsby passed away leaving his mansion and memories behind. We were able to see both sides of emotion after Gatsby’s death from different perspectives of people who were personally involved with him. Some people such as Tom, viewed him as a murderer that got exactly what he deserved. Others such as his father Mr. Gatz viewed him as a trendsetter that had the potential of over coming great accomplishments. It just goes to show that no matter how great a person may appear to be, there is always a possibility that their mistakes made in the past could come back to haunt them.

Possible Website Plan

After the monotonous conversations about the American side of how the frontier was discovered by the Europeans, I think its time for the situation to switch gears in anther direction. I will avoid discussion of another American figure and try to elaborate on anther perspective of how the American Frontier was viewed. I think I will take Patricia Limerick’s approach and attempt to center in on the Native Americans point of view in the website that I will be creating. The figure that I am intending on focusing my attention on will be A native American by the name of Geronimo. After doing a quick background check on Geronimo I found that there were plenty of resources that I can obtain to put together a website filled with information and facts about him and the events that he was involved in. I even found that there was a movie named after him that stars a younger “Gene Hackman” as a main character. There are books that are available as well that break down the details of this courageous figures life and his struggles against the American Pioneers that killed his children and family. I also found that Geronimo was part of the famous Apache tribe whom was well known for there confusing and effective combating skills that were responsible for numerous American casualties. I just think that it would only be fair if we were to highlight on the other side of the wars of the American Frontier, since we spend endless amounts of time glorifying a culture of people who basically stole the land from innocent Native Americans that were guilty of no crime other than protecting their family, home, and other belongings. This will open the opportunity to see the ugly side of the American culture that we have to learn about and accept along with the adventures and excitement that the Western Frontier offered.

Observation of Two Pioneer Web Sites

After observation of the website addressed www.buffalobill.org, I noticed that it lacked the quality and detail of up to date websites of the present. The History portion of the website seemed to be the most informal which gave readers details about Buffalo Bills time period of inhabitance. A segment that caught my attention the most which was found in the History page states, “Today there is a lot of confusion about the relationship between Buffalo Bill and the Indians. Cody treated his former foes with great respect and dignity, giving them an opportunity to leave the reservation and represent their culture when many were trying to destroy it.”( http://www.buffalobill.org/history.htm). This statement derails the readers mind of the typical violent relationship that all the Americans and Indians had during the Westward movement. Unlike many others who viewed the Indian tribes of the Western Frontier as “savages”, Buffalo Bill viewed them as American citizens and was able to comprehend that they were only fighting to protect their families. Later in the readings I was also able to find that Buffalo Bill was also experienced in the business aspect as well. For example, towards the bottom of the history page the paragraph titled “Buffalo Bill in Colorado” reads, “In addition to performing, Buffalo Bill had business dealings in Denver. In 1911 Cody acquired some horse halters from the Gates Tire and Leather Company in Denver. He liked them so well that he provided an endorsement for the product. This gave the fledgling firm such a boost in sales that it became the largest halter manufacturing firm in the U.S. It eventually became Gates Rubber Company.”( http://www.buffalobill.org/history.htm). Yet this website turn out to be very informal, it seemed to be more towards steering tourist towards a possible vacation spot for the family.

On the other hand Annie Oakley’s website addressed http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/oakley, was both more informal and up to date. Her site was able to share more details that were oriented for discovering the history and events that took place in and around Annie Oakley’s life and environment. The most significant factor that I noticed that separated Anne Oakley’s website from Buffalo Bill’s was the timeline page. Spanning approximately two pages and covering events in such great detail that the reader can almost feel the type of vibe that the Western frontier had to offer. For instance a statement on the timeline dated 1885 reads, “March 9: After his shooting equipment is lost in a steamship accident, Bogardus quits Cody's show. Oakley promptly renews her request for a job. Buffalo Bill is still skeptical, but he agrees to an April try-out in Louisville, Kentucky. While preparing for the audition, Oakley catches the attention of Cody's business manager, who hires her on the spot. That season she appears before 150,000 people in 40 cities, and Oakley will perform in Cody's Wild West show for almost all of the next 17 years.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/oakley/timeline/index.html). Even though Buffalo Bills website is not as detailed and organized As Annie Oakley’s, they both mention the pairing up of the two in his wild west show where she is able to promote Bill and her self as well with her amazing talent of marksmanship.

After reading the stories written by the author’s Gloria Anzalodua and Mike Davis and the poem by Pat Mora, I was able to gain insight as to how the Hispanic culture has effected the structure America. In Pat Mora’s poem “La Migra” which stands for immigration police, the reader is able to view a perspective of possibly American border patrol officer and a female Mexican maid. Through out the poem the awkward tension can be felt as you read both parts. For instance, a segment of the Mora’s writing states, “I can touch you wherever…I want but don’t complain too much because I’ve got boots and kick ---if I have to”(Mora). This suggested that the border patrol officer resorted to means of sexual and physical abuse while Mexican natives were apprehended. Anther example from Mora’s Poem reads, “I know this desert…where to rest…where to drink”(Mora). It was obvious that the this statement suggested that the border patrol officer might have been physically dominate over the Mexicans, but when it came to survival and adaptation the Mexican’s ruled supreme.
In the story written by Gloria Anzalodua “Borderlands: La Frontera”, the author highlights on the frustrations and anger that the Mexican border has brought amongst the inhabitants of Mexico. For instance, Gloria states, “These numerous possibilities leave la mestiza floundering in uncharted seas. In perceiving conflicting information and points of view, she is subjected to a swamping of her psychological borders. She has discovered that she cant hold concepts or ideas in rigid boundaries. The borders and walls that are supposed to keep the undesirable ideas out are entrenched habits and patterns of behavior; these habits and patterns are the enemy with in. rigidity means death.” (Anzalodua pg101). This passage clearly shows how the views and ideas of the Mexican population were disregarded on the opposite sides of the borders. The passage also states that people were willing to risk death to expand their ideas pass the borders. Towards the end of this passage the author states that there is a possible way to end the conflict of races and sexes by focusing our attention towards the center of the problem which lies within each individual person on each sides of the borders.
In Mike Davis’s passage titled “Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the U.S. City”, the author states certain statics that provide information which suggest that the Hispanic cultures rapid population increase will place them as the most dominant race of people in the near future. For instance in the segment titled “Spicing the city” written by Davis, a chart diagram that displays the population increase of the Hispanic culture that will take place in multiple cities in the year 2025 that is pretty significant. Another story titled “Buscando America”, displays a chart showing the percentage of Hispanics inhabiting cities in the U.S. and South America in the year 1990. From this particular chart I was able to see the strength in numbers that Mexicans have in the cities of Los Angeles and Miami during this time period. On the site http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hhmcensus1.html the Census bureau states, “The estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2008, making people of Hispanic origin the nations largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 15% of the nations total population. In addition, there are approximately 4 million residents of Puerto Rico.” Predictions that Davis has made in his series of stories that were written by 1993 explaining the rapid growth of the Hispanic population has proven to be true. And the possibility of the white and black population of America becoming the minority may be true as well.