gatsby quote and explain Flashcards
(11 cards)
” he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…a single green light, minute and far away”
- the light itself represents daisy
-distance between gastby and daisy like him and the light
-symbolism of both gatsbys dreams (wealth, success and daisys love) being unattainable and completely out of reach
-shows the inaccessibility of the american dream
“the eyes of dr. t.j eckleberg are blue and gigantic”
-symbolises god looking over all the characters actions and choices
-god is judging them when they travel to NYC to take part in illegal things (gatsbys meeting with wolfshiem, toms afternoon and hitting myrtle)
-God now sees American society as a moral wasteland or ‘dumping ground’
“solemn dumping ground”
- valley of ashes represents the moral decay and social inequality of the 20’s( this is where all the poor, struggling people live)
-depressing industrial area between the two eggs; old and new money
-everyones flaws are exposed in the valley of ashes instead of ignored and pushed down
-comments on myrtles ambition since she doesnt blend into the greyness of the setting
‘smashed things up..then retreated back to their money’ and ‘unmistakable air of natural intimacy’
-shows how tom and daisy can abuse their wealth and social standing to be indestructible since they have the privilege to return home and pretend nothing happened
-also highlighted in myrtles death scene as it emphasizes how shallow and immoral tom and daisy both are
“daisy! daisy! daisy! ill day it whenever i want to “
-myrtle fails to realize that even tho tom cares for her he will never prioritize her over daisy and the privilege and wealth which comes with them being together
-highlights class divide is very strong
-results in tom hitting/ breaking myrtles nose
“i told daisy i thought so, its better that the shock should come all at once”
-gatsby describing the fact he told daisy he thought myrtle was dead after she killed her
-gatsby only cares about how this situation effects daisy
-he is admired for still dreaming to b with daisy(moonlight symbolises purity) but is also clearly flawed since he shows zero concern for the fact someone has died
“his count of enchanting objects had diminished by one”
-daisy doesnt understand the significance of the green light and how much it means to gatsby when he points it out to her
-it means lots more to him than it does to her
-the green light looses it significance and gastbys starts to question the yearning and dreaming of/for daisy hes committed his life to
“committing himself to the following of a holy grail”
-shows daisy is above all else for gatsby; the same importance as god is to religious people
-he will never give up on her despite the challenges and the fact that they will realistically never be together
-makes us have sympathy for gatsby and makes him seem admirable slightly but also very pathetic
“simply the proprietor of an elaborate roadhouse”
-shows gatsbys flaws and suggests his involvement in bootlegging
-he lies lots and isnt truthful about how he made his money
-if gatsby is the personification of the american dream then he is corrupted in the same way the dream is
“shes never loved you she loves me”
-gatsbys pursuit of daisy reaches its most desperate point in this argument
-wants daisy to validate his statement and confirm how she feels but instead she crushes his dream
-his dream is destroyed but he doesnt give up which we can see when he waits outside daisys house to watch over her even after being rejected
‘i found myself on gatsbys side and alone’
tradegy of his death felt since no one cared in the end
father showed up out of obligation
nick felt bad for him
daisy ran off with tom didn’t even think to attend funeral
generates sympathy for gastby
