How do you understand " Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope" ?
By 54susan
@54susan (281)
China
August 13, 2010 5:18am CST
That's a sentence in The Great Gatsby.
The following sentence is : I am still afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth.
I can't get it at all, what infinite hope is it for? Or what infinite hope is it?
Also, "I am still afraid of missing something if I forget that...." What's the "something" refer to ?
Many many thanks!
Susan
1 response
@Catana (735)
• United States
13 Aug 10
"Something" refers to the father's statement. Some people simply don't have any sense of the basic decencies and you're going to be in trouble if you forget that and expect them to behave in the way you expect. What are basic decencies? Things like honesty, gratitude, generosity. Reserving judgment is a way of giving the other person another chance, because you hope that they'll do better. In other words, you don't condemn them right off the bat. But only a fool would have *infinite* hope about someone who's already proved themselves less than trustworthy. At least that's the way I see it. I've known people who'll screw you over every chance they get. After the first time or two, you have to learn not to trust them.
