The Chagrin Twits

Most of the characters in The Great Gatsby disgusted me, largely due to their selfish nature. None of the characters ever make strong, lasting friendships by the end of the novel, because they spend their lives jealous of others, constantly working to attain a high social status and more wealth. While the atmosphere at Speech and Debate tournaments does not quite match up to the murder and mystery of Fitzgerald’s novel, it reminds me how easily people turn on each other, usually for petty reasons. The two sides in Forensics, Speech and Debate, represent not only different events, but also completely different people. Anna and I explained to the novices in our event from the start, “If you want to make friends, join Speech.” While we bond as a team, debate friendships will most likely end there as debate often proves more competitive, more cutthroat, to put it lightly. At a tournament two weeks ago, a boy came up to Anna and I and eagerly asked if we remembered him. Anna and I glanced awkwardly at each other, praying the other one would remember. We tried to give a noncommittal answer, saying we recognized him, but avoiding specifics. Then he kept pressing, asking if we remembered the tournament and round when we faced him. Several awkward seconds passed before we mumbled something about so many faces to remember. Thankfully, we escaped to our next round moments later and forgot about the exchange. On the bus ride home that night, Shan (our informant on all debate gossip) informed us that the boy now refers to us as the “Chagrin Twits.” But such a remark is hardly the worse we have heard—comments range from “I hate them” to “I want to kill them,” another delightful phrase Shan once overhead our opponents utter as they exited from a round with us. Needless to say, what happens in round does not stay in round. But, hope still exists. Last tournament, two underclassmen girls shadowed us all day, asking for advice on debate and college applications. Such a scenario occurs every so often, when we meet that rare debater who does not yet understand the drama of the debate world and naively looks to make friends. Most likely any possible friendship will fade away the more we compete with them, as all past friendships have similarly died. However, Anna and I have learned to enjoy our hated status among competitors, amusing ourselves with what we hear of our opponents’ rants and how ridiculously worked up they become over the simplest interactions. So for now we embrace our position as the “Chagrin Twits.”