Pains Of Love

Question 1

“If it wasn’t for the mist, we could see your house across the bay”

Answer 1

• Gatsby bought the house across the bay from Daisy and Tom as a result of his obsessive need to be close to Daisy.
• This highlights the extent of his beliefs that his future with Daisy is inevitable.
• The mist could symbolise Daisy and Tom’s facade of wealth and prosperity hiding their manipulative personalities

Question 2

“I am of that farthest cometh behind”

Answer 2

• Alliteration of ‘f’ sounds link the deer to the speaker, nevertheless they are separated by the line break.
• Mirrors how he connected he is to her mentally (a compulsion) versus how she is not his.

Question 3

“Graven with diamonds”

Answer 3

• The word “graven” is a harsh verb, describing indenting something.
• The diamond collar shows she belongs to someone of high status.
• The phrase “graven with diamonds” is contradictory that something seemingly beautiful is being suppressed and indented.
• The verb “graven” is harsh and evokes the speaker’s feeling of defeat over his opponent. It also suggests that the woman is bound captive forever in this relationship: linking with the idea of ‘Til death do us part’ .
• The “diamonds” imply that the woman’s partner is extremely wealthy. There is a juxtaposition between the beautiful and precious “diamonds” and the dark imagery of “graven”.
• This quote forms a direct parallel to Daisy and Tom in the Great Gatsby. On the eve of their wedding, Tom gifted Daisy “a string of pearls” which are worth over $5 million in modern day money.
• She proceeds to “pull” them off her neck. The pearls symbolise how Tom effectively ‘bought’ his marriage to Daisy. Her passionate act of “pull[ing]” them off but then continuing to marry him suggests that she is a highly materialistic person.

Question 4

“Sprees”

Answer 4

• Tom shows how arrogant and possessive he is dismisses his own cheating, immoral behaviour in order to dismiss Gatsby’s claim that he and Daisy are going to run off together.
• Trivialises and normalises his affairs as unimportant matters.

Question 5

“Get on the next train”

Answer 5

• Imperative, domineering language.
• Views Myrtle as a possession of his.

Question 6

“Now let us sport while we may”

Answer 6

• He views sex as a purely physical relationship, objectifying the women as equipment.

Question 7

“She carried her surplus flesh sensuously”

Answer 7

• Myrtle is viewed as an object for purely sexual purposes.

Question 8

“I saw pale kings and princes too”

Answer 8

• The high born population — kings, princes, warriors — are described as “pale” and “death-pale”.
• The strength and status of these once-powerful people have been depleted, drained of blood.
• The repetition reinforces this, with the added “death-pale” for emphasis. - The only powerful entity is the “Belle Dame”.
• The reader has no doubt that something disastrous will happen to the speaker.

Question 9

“Daisy Fay”

Answer 9

• Highlights how Daisy uses her superficial nature to attract and brutally dismiss those around her.

Question 10

“They were careless people Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or vast carelessness”

Answer 10

• Highlights their recklessness and carelessness to everyone around them, especially those of a lower class.
• Their excessive wealth has not allowed them to appreciate others around them; they are consumed.

Question 11

“Whatever it was that kept them together”

Answer 11

• Nick is unable to give a reason apart from their dual carelessness to why Tom and Daisy are still together, this emphasises their flawed and manipulative characters.

Question 12

“Cold chicken”

Answer 12

• Shows how their relationship has been reduced to a stale shadow of what it once was- it has been destroyed by their lack of respect, and infidelity.
• Their wealth and excessive lifestyle has poisoned their marriage.

Question 13

“Though the sedge is withered from the lake/ And no birds sing”

Answer 13

• The “sedge” is a marsh plant.
• The fact that it is ‘withered’ suggests it is winter, a brutal, cold, sad season; the season of death.
• This matches the mood of the knight, an example of pathetic fallacy
• Keats subverts the traditional iambic meter — that is three or four ‘feet’ or metric beats to the line — of a ballad. This is a departure traditional ballad rhythm

Question 14

“But of course I’ll say I was”

Answer 14

• Gatsby says he will dishonestly admit to driving the car that killed Myrtle, even though it was Daisy.
• Without hesitation, he admits to this, something that he knows will put him in great danger, and ultimately causes his death.