THEME: Materialism and Decadence

Question 1

“Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;”

Answer 1

• Epigraph
• The “gold hat” immediately establishes this idea of the theme of materialism.
• use of the adjective “gold” - gold is a constant symbol of wealth and the old money that Gatsby desires

Question 2

“At the news-stand she bought a copy of ‘Town Tattle’ and a moving-picture magazine and, in the station drug store, some cold cream and a small flask of perfume”

Answer 2

• CH2
• Myrtle represents this need for conspicuous consumption that lower classes with wealth have.
• For the wealthy and those of old money, wealth is so natural they don’t feel the need to flaunt it or buy lots of things.
• However, being unadjusted to wealth, Myrtle is very materialistic.

Question 3

“it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.”

Answer 3

• CH1
• Gatsby tries to imitate the old money with the design of his house.
• It is clearly emphasised in the quotation that this is only an imitation, though. He can never gain the wealth he aspires to have, so he consumes in order to act like he has that old money wealth. Fake it until you make it.
• “Factual” - this suggests it is researched, an allusion to Gatsby’s obsession with old money.

Question 4

“They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together”

Answer 4

• CH1
• Tom and Daisy spent a year in France “for no particular reason”. This shows the idle and natural element to their wealth.
• “Drifted” - connotations of idleness, lack of direction and ease. This emphasises how naturally the wealth that people like Gatsby strive towards is for them. Perhaps a critique on how not all men are born equal, a contrast to and criticism of this American dream.
• “Rich” - irregularly used as a verb. Wealth isn’t only something you have. It is something you are and do.
• “People played polo” - plosive alliteration, which almost creates a voice of disdain. This disdain is definitely towards those of old money, as polo is a very wealthy sport.

Question 5

“his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam.”

Answer 5

• CH3
• The use of countable nouns “motor-boats” and “aquaplanes” emphasises this materialism and wealth. New inventions of the time, presenting Gatsby as a very modern figure.
• However, the description of “cataracts of foam” may suggest it is wrong, as “cataracts” naturally has connotations of diseases and illness, perhaps making this a criticism on materialism. Also, the idea of blindness and blindness of wealth.

Question 6

“people were not invited - they went there”

Answer 6

• CH3
• “People” - inclusive noun, perhaps referring to society as a whole. Therefore, it may be a critique by Fitzgerald on the decadent and materialistic nature of the Jazz Age.
• Through this quotation, Fitzgerald displays how the people went to Gatsby’s parties for the pure spectacle of it, showing how this materialism stretches out to other characters, and society as a whole, as well as to the main characters.

Question 7

“It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns.”

Answer 7

• CH4
• “rich cream colour” - “rich” may be polysemic, meaning “rich” as in wealth as well. Cream is not quite gold/white but trying to imitate it. Represents how Gatbsy will never be of old money, so therefore, he feels the need to flaunt his wealth through conspicuous consumption in an attempt to imitate the wealth and lifestyle of the aristocracy. you could go as far as arguing that cream is off white, perhaps showing this desire to imitate specifically Daisy (not the first time this imagery has been used as it was used with Myrtle’s dress).
• “swollen” - connotations of illness and sickness, perhaps a comment on the infectious nature of consumption.
• “A dozen suns” - link back to the Icarus metaphor.

Question 8

MYRTLE’S DRESSES
“above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine”
“a brown figured muslin”
“an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon”

Answer 8

CH2
Myrtle’s constant changing of dresses is symbolic of falsity and the facade, paralleling her with Gatsby as she uses this conspicuous consumption to compensate for her poverty.
“above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine”
“blue” - the colour of sadness, showing a lack of satisfaction.
“Spots” - may link to the phrase “a leopard can’t change their spots”, which is perhaps Fitzgerald reminding us of Myrtle’s reality and how she is forever stuck in her poverty.
“a brown figured muslin”
Reminiscent of dirt. Links to her poverty.
“an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon”
Cream is an effort to imitate white. This desire to be of old money.