Gatsby - Responsible for own fate Flashcards
(13 cards)
Metaphor comparing the guests to moths
“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.”
“German spy’s”
Green light metaphor - AD symbolism
stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…..been at the end of a dock”
reveal of Gatsby’s motives - metaphor
“He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.”
Daisy’s realisation - her love isnt pure she wants his lifestyle
“They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.”
Who Gatsby truely was
“The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.”
Myrtles bloody description of her death
“But when they had torn open her shirtwaist…… and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.”
description of what Tom and Daisy truely behaved like
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money.”
Metaphor - Gatsby died just as his AD died
“the holocaust was complete”.
INTRODUCTION
In ‘The Great Gatsby’, American author F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the moral decay of American society in the 1920s through the exploits and woes of the eponymous character Jay Gatsby; a mysterious and elusive billionaire who longs for a lasting reunion with his first love, Daisy Buchanan. Set in West and East Egg, New York the novella is narrated by the unreliable Nick Carraway, a friend of Gatsby’s whose life intertwines with high society and most importantly Tom and Daisy Buchanan, two old money socialites who are carefree and immoral. The Great Gatsby explores the rise, fall and eventual death of Jay Gatsby as his failed attempt to woo Daisy away from Tom ends in his murder. Through a combination of word choice, imagery, theme and symbolism Fitzgerald leads his reader to consider Gatsby’s responsibility for his own death.
PARAGRAPH 1 - Setting - west and east egg to depict Gatbsy’s character and
From the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald brilliantly uses the setting of West and East Egg (Old and new money), New York to depict Gatsby as this aloof and enigmatic character, but also one of suspicion. This is cleverly displayed through the carefree and wild party guests at one of his grand soirée’s. “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” The simile comparing the guests to a moth to a flame, emphasises how they are only attracted to Gatsby for his wealth and status. They are hungry for his money despite saying that Gatbsy is a “German spy”. This is reinforced by the idea of Gatsby being used through the symbolism of the “blue gardens”. The blue represents the sadness and deep loneliness Gatsby feels despite being surrounded by hundreds. This is as he feels he is never truly worthy and accepted by old money society. Throughout the party we see a more vulnerable and longing side of Jay Gatsby as we learn about his dream and aspirations. This was cleverly displayed through the “green light” found at the end of Daisy’s dock across the river. Where Gatsby “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…..been at the end of a dock” The green light symbolises The American Dream which is his desire and hopes to achieve wealth and the old money status as he is never truly accepted by society. This is also cleverly intertwined with Daisy and how she can help achieve his American dream. To become old money. Despite all he has gained, Gatsby is never truly satisfied and yearns for more until he has Daisy.
PARAGRAPH 2 - Seceret Reunion between Daisy and Jay Gatsby
This is geniusly continued through chapter 5 when Jay asks his friend to invite Daisy to tea for a secret reunion between past lovers, in order to reveal the real reason behind his motives: to seek the love and appraisal of Daisy Buchanan. This is revealed through the clever metaphor “He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.” The “glow” signifies the dramatic change in Gatsby, he becomes radiant in the presence of Daisy, she lights up his life, gives his life purpose. This love seems pure and innocent. But later on when Gatsby is with Daisy at his apartment after their secret , Daisy cries over a realization that Gatbsy would have given her a better and more lavish lifestyle. “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.” This shows the reader that Daisy isnt in love with Gatsby but with his lifestyle, her love isn’t pure, it isn’t anything more than fun. Daisy and Gatsby were both experiencing the wrong, pure love. Gatsby loved the idea of gatsby whereas it was nothing more than a careless fling. This eventually leads to their relationship falling apart at the seams when Gatsby realises her love isn’t pure when he realises that “her voice is full of money” that all she cares about truly is her wealth.
PARAGRAPH 3 - Climax, Myrtle and Gatsby death
In the climax of the novel, Fitzgerald brilliantly uses the tragic death of Myrtle Wilson at the hands of Daisy Buchanan and her accomplice, Jay Gatsby to show how his obsession for Daisy corrupts him and that his moral decay lets him lead to an event in which the aftermath takes his life. In the middle of the night during the hottest day of the year, in a desperate attempt to escape the control and torture of her husband, George Wilson runs away. But with a tragic twist of fate, Myrtle gets brutally killed in a road accident by Daisy. “But when they had torn open her shirtwaist…… and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.” This graphic and bloody description creates an eerie and dark atmosphere but also the sexual description describes how Myrtle was a sexual object to Tom. Myrtle was just another lower class person to be the victim of the crimes of the upper class and social elite. This is reinforced by “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money.” Tom and Daisy, along with the social elite, can get away with anything because they have the money to bail them out everytime, they never pay the price of their actions. We can see this as Gatsby’s love that ultimately shields Daisy from facing the consequences of her actions by Gatsby taking the fall. Thus leading to George Wilson committing murder homicide in which “the holocaust was complete”. Gatsby and his dream were finally slaughtered, brutally destroyed.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” is an evocative novella that effectively explores the failed promise that is the American Dream. This is done through skillful characterisation of Gatbsy and key symbolism of the American Dream throughout the piece. Personally, I thought It was intricately pieced together to create a beautiful cautionary tale about society, the American Dream and how it can cause great destruction to a soul. Therefore, “The Great Gatsby” is a great example of a novella that explores how unwise decisions lead to unfortunate ends. .
