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The GREAT GATSBY
Chapter 1 Analysis COLORS inverted archetypes
White – impurity or loss of innocence Daisy, Jordan in white billowing
dresses Tom in a “cheerful red and white
house” Whiteness is ironic
Tom disregards traditional marriage vows
Daisy “beautiful white girlhood”
COLORS inverted archetypes
“rosy-colored space” Represents a
fairy-tale, ephemeral quality, unreal, illusion
PASTELS
COLORS
Grey images Associated with decadence,
decay, desolation and waste Wasted vitality, wasted
morals, wasted dreams Jordan Baker has “gray sun-
strained eyes”And she looks out of a “wan”
or pale “discontented face”
Yellow
Archetypal symbol of death or dying
Jordan has “autumnal-leaf yellow” hair Autumn images connects her
with decadence – death of morality
Green – ambivalent interpretations
introduced first as the light at the end of a dock
Typically associated with growth, spring, and new life
Signals “go!, go! go!” Color of money
All of these apply to The Great Gatsby
Green Primarily connected with Daisy
She turns out to be an unworthy dream
What or who is the green light?
What does it mean? Why does Gatsby have his
arms stretched out to it?
Gold & Silver Gatsby appears under the “silver pepper of
the stars” looking longingly at “a single green light”
Appearing almost like a glittering god Gatsby often wears silver and gold
At one point he wears a flannel suit, silver shirt and gold-colored tie
The point of the descriptions is to reinforce the idea that he is God-like (a demi-god)
Nick Carraway as the narrator
Quotes his father in beginning “…you feel like criticizing…”
Advantages he alludes to is not monetary
But “a sense of fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth.”
What are fundamental decencies here?
Reliable narrator
Immediately gains confidence of reader
“privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men.”
“riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.”
Nick is trustworthy
He represents traditional values from America’s past
He acknowledges that Gatsby “represented everything” for which he had “an unaffected scorn”, but he finds “something gorgeous” in him too
A dream-like quality
It’s not Gatsby that Nick rejects when he returns to the Midwest
Rather it’s “what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams”
Fitzgerald allusions
“Midas and Morgan and Maecenas” From myth, Greek civilization and
recent past Nick buys books for bond business
with promise in his job They are on shelf “in red and gold like
new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets”
Alludes to country’s founders
“guide, a pathfinder, an original settler” when a newcomer asks him for directions
By juxtaposing money tycoons to original “pathfinders” Fitzgerald sets up the conflict between the untainted American Dream and the subsequent obsession with materialism and $
Further contrast w/ Midwest
Middle West as “the ragged edge of the universe”
A rugged pioneer image contrasted with the sophistication of the East, specifically New York City
Original settlers-who came west
Represents the quintessential work ethic while the moneyed people and their subsequent generations represent the consumption ethic
EAST EGG & WEST EGG
Bird’s eye view is identically contoured land formations shaped like enormous eggs and separated by water
They are dissimilar in every way except size and shape
WEST EGG where Gatsby & Nick live
“the less fashionable of the two” Nouveau riche “new $”
Implies lack of refinement or class Houses are random
Bungalows in between mansions No apparent housing codes
WEST EGG
And “eclectic melting pot” neighborhood
Takes on symbolism and character of the Old West, The land discovered in the
pure fulfillment of dreams
EAST EGG
Elite Comes across as superficial
and smug
To get from E. Egg to W. Egg the road must pass through the Valley of Ashes (ch. 2)
EAST EGG where Daisy & Tom live
“glittered” with “white palaces” Old money Well-groomed houses and lawns
Implies well-groomed and well-bred occupants who, at least superficially, are gentile and classy
AMERICAN DREAM Distorted
Leads to worship at unworthy shrines
Beauty, youth, and pleasure become icons
Restless and unfulfilled lives Ennui [an’-wee]
Pursuit of “ideals” “idealization” and “idealizing”
C:\Documents and Settings\pbooth\Desktop\gatsby social groups.asf
TAGS- descriptive or recurring
words/phrases associated with a principal characters
Helps to visualize the characters
Tom-physical tag
Glory days of football career at Yale Forever living in afterglow “string of ponies” Adulthood is extension of collegiate
activities –good time Tom- “great pack of muscle” and
“aggressive”
Daisy-voice tag
Low, thrilling voice Luring people to “lean toward her”
Mythological allusion – Sirens lured sailors with their enchanting voices
“exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain”
Charming power for her
Jordan- chin tag
Chin is lifted a little as if she is balancing something on it
Has a “wan, charming discontented face”
Jauntiness is a word used often in association with her (lively; springy)
Houses-Buchanan’s & Gatsby’s
Gatsby’s estate - his house has “halls and salons and verandas”
High Gothic library, paneled with carved English oak”
A “feudal silhouette against the sky”
Somewhat of a period piece reminiscent of the past
Buchanan’s “cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion.”
Gleams with brightness The lawn starting at the beach and
running toward the front door “for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens.”
Fitzgerald's poetic language is used throughout novel
Image at chapter’s end
Gatsby, trembling, standing with outstretched arms, looking at the blinking green light at the end of a dock Mystique and mystery surround him Reinforces dreamlike quality of this
hero on a quest to attain his dream