My Pleasure Reading. Summary (pages 146 – 178)

   On the night after the episode with Myrtle Nick goes to Gatsby and advices him to leave the city for a time. Jay refuses, feeling unable to leave Daisy – he feels uneasy with the fact that though he spent the whole night standing on the lawn of Daisy’s house, she didn’t go out. Gatsby, in his misery, tells Nick the story of his first meeting with Daisy. She was the first "nice" girl Gatsby had ever known or met. His initial plan was to get some backseat action, but then he accidentally fell in love. Before he left for the war, Daisy promised to wait for him. In the war, Gatsby did well for himself and tried to get home as soon as the war was over, but through some error, he was sent to Oxford. Meanwhile, Daisy got tired of waiting for him and married Tom.

   Realizing that it has become very late, Nick says goodbye to Gatsby. As he is walking away, he turns back and shouts the first compliment to Gatsby that he is "worth the whole damn bunch put together”( Buchanas and their friends). But to himself Nick says that he doesn't approve Jay.

   After that we see George Wilson (Myrtle’s husband) who comes to a decision that the driver of the car was Myrtle’s lover and decides to punish him. He seeks out Tom Buchanan, hoping that Tom knows the driver's identity. Tom tells him that Gatsby was the driver. Wilson drives to Gatsby's mansion, shoots him in the pool and then commits a suicide on himself. After a while, Nick and the servants find Gatsby.

Rendering №4

     The article, published on the website of Yahoo!News on September 12, 2012 is headlined as ‘Innocence of Muslims’: The film that may have sparked U.S. Embassy protests. The reporter Liz Goodwin makes it clear what the film “Innocence of Muslims” is all about and why it has aroused religious based disputes in the Islamic world, holding up as a model opinions of different people on that issue. Speaking of the film, it’s necessary to note that Liz tells us its plot and expresses the view that many Muslims consider physical or visual representations of Muhammad to be blasphemous. Analyzing the situation with the film, it’s necessary to emphasize that though much remains murky about the movie and its origins, the Wall Street Journal tracked down and interviewed a person who claimed to have written and directed the movie, a real estate developer named Sam Bacile. He told the Journal that he made the film to portray Islam as a hateful religion. Giving appraisal of the situation it’s necessary to point out that the cast was told they were acting in a movie called "Dessert Warriors," and had no idea it would be altered to have an anti-Islam message. In this connection it’s worthwhile mentioning the fact that NPR's Sarah Abdurrahman noticed that every specific reference to Muhammad or Islam in the movie's trailer appears to be dubbed over what the actors actually said. Without the lines that insult Islam, the trailer "reads like some cheesy Arabian Nights story."

     The article concludes by giving the opinions of the USA President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said that their country always tried to be tolerant and that there is no justification to the protests that took place at the US embassy in Cairo, as response to the film “Innocence of Muslims” posted on the Internet. Though there is no mention about Liz’s opinion on the problem, I can guess that she agrees with Obama and Clinton, because she concludes her article with their words.

     As for me, I don’t think that the USA is a tolerant and democratic country, because it makes it possible to infringe rights, customs, traditions and especially religious feelings of other people, e.g. Muslims (which the film “Innocence of Muslims” completely shows). I think it is unsustainable. Islam is one of the world’s great religious, as well as Christianity. If we start to abuse Muslims so they also have the right to do the same with Christians. And all those things can lead to a greater conflicts and even war…It is the 21st century and we all live in a global village. So, one of the main things in this world, I think, is the quality of being tolerant, respecting other people’s rights. Without it we will never live in peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/innocence-muslims-film-sparked-deadly-u-embassy-attacks-142118931.html

My Pleasure Reading. Summary (pages 97-145)

   Nick decides to tell the truth about Gatsby’s past. He grew up in a poor, uneducated family, and would  have stayed that way if  he had not met the wealthy and elderly magnate Dan Cody, who took him in as a companion and taught him what he needed to know. Afterwards, Gatsby managed to become a successful man by his own efforts. 

   One day, upon visiting Gatsby at his mansion, Nick realizes that Jay fired his former servants and replaced them with some fishy characters , because Daisy has begun visiting him  almost every day, and Gatsby wants to make certain that their relation will not be revealed. 

   On the hottest day of the summer, Daisy invites Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan to lunch, during which  Tom realizes that Gatsby and his wife are romantically involved. They look at each other with passion and, after a while, Daisy  remarks, in the presence of Tom, that she loves Gatsby. Tom, desperate and furious, forces the party to drive into New York.They stop for gas at Wilson's garage. Wilson tells them that he has decided to move with his wife to the west, since he  learned that she has been having an affair, though he does not know who her lover is. Upon leaving the garage, they see Myrtle peering down at the car from her window. She stares at Jordan with an expression of jealous terror, since she assumes that Jordan is Tom's wife. Feeling that both his wife and mistress are slipping away from him, Tom becomes panicked and impatient. 

   To escape from the summer heat, the group engages a suite at the Plaza Hotel, where  Tom and Gatsby start quarelling. Tom reveals that Gatsby  has made his fortune in bootlegging and that's why Daisy is unable to leave her husband for her lover. As the party drives home to Long Island, Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is struck and killed by Gatsby’s car (in which Jay and Daisy are riding). Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy was driving, but  he is going to take the blame for it.

My Pleasure Reading. Summary (pages 61-96)

    One morning, Gatsby invites Nick to lunch in the city, and introduces him to his business partner Meyer Wolfsheim, an infamous gambler who claims responsibility for fixing the 1919 World Series. Nick begins to suspect Gatsby of underworld dealings, due to his association with the sinister Wolfsheim. Besides, Nick and everyone can tell now that there is something fishy about Gatsby’s work, his supposed Oxford education, and his questionable place among society’s elite. 

   During Nick's next encounter with Jordan Baker, she tells him that Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan. In 1917, when Daisy was eighteen she fell in love with Jay Gatsby who was a lieutenant at the time. Though she had promised to wait for Gatsby's return, she accepted Tom Buchanan's proposal of a marriage while Gatsby was still away at war. According to Jordan, Gatsby bought his house in West Egg just in order to be close to Daisy. Jordan informs Nick that Gatsby wants him to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy. The plan is for Nick to invite her over to tea and have her bump into Gatsby. Nick agrees and in a few days the meeting takes place at his house. At the beginning, their conversation is awkward and everybody feels embarrassed, but after Nick leaves the couple alone for a few minutes and then returns, they seem very happy.  After a while, Gatsby shows them his house and asks Ewing Klipspringer, a mysterious man who seems to live at his mansion, to play the piano for himself and Daisy. As Klipspringer plays, Gatsby and Daisy draw closer and closer together. Nick, realizing that his presence has become superfluous, quietly leaves them alone.

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    The article discusses the problem of how to teach objectivity in journalism, and whether we need to rethink it or not. Speaking of the definition of objectivity it is necessary to note that the reporter Stephen Ward suggests that the traditional notion of journalistic objectivity, developed in the early 1900s, defined objectivity as a story that reported "just the facts" and eliminated all interpretation or opinion by the journalist needs to be abandoned. The reporter expresses the view that objectivity is not about perfect neutrality or the elimination of interpretation. Objectivity refers to a person's willingness to use objective methods to test interpretations for bias or inaccuracies. Objectivity as a method is compatible with journalism that interprets and takes perspectives.  So, in resolute terms the author stresses the importance of  the redefinition of objectivity and also adds that the ideal of objectivity should not be abandoned because it supports important journalistic attitudes such as a "disinterestedness" that follows the facts where they lead. Stephen also expresses the view that  educators should develop ethical guidelines aimed at specific forms of journalism. In this connection it is worthwhile mentioning the fact that , while teaching should honour the general principles, ethics courses need to develop "best practices" guidelines for specific forms of journalism, for example, journalists need to specify what truth-telling and accuracy entail for the live-blogging of events; they need to develop guidelines for the responsible use of Twitter and other social media. The reporter makes it clear, that the issue is what norms are appropriate for any specific format, by telling that the teachers of Journalistics need both comprehensive principles and specific guidelines that allow students to engage new media in a creative but responsible manner. Giving appraisal of this situation it is necessary to point out that Stephen Ward thinks that old ways of thinking that act as obstacles to the redesign and the teaching of journalism ethics need to be cleared away. 

   In conclusion the author suggests that only a fundamental redesign will allow journalism ethics to make the transition from an ethics constructed for a media from another era to an ethics relevant to today's mixed media. As for me, I agree with the author that the objectivity should not be abandoned, because it is one of the principles that define responsible journalism. And, of course, there should be developed ethical guidelines for specific forms of new media -- guidelines that are consistent with general principles such as truth-telling.

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/07/rethinking-journalism-ethics-objectivity-in-the-age-of-social-media208.html