Aditya RaoMrs. GaetjensIB English SL, Block 4March 28, 2012

The Great Gatsby

Chapter I, Question 10: What is the effect of the following description from Chapter One:

The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow

a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out

the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and

then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.

The effect of Fitzgerald’s description is to immerse the reader in the story and to set the

tone of the passage. Rather than simply stating the existence of the room, Fitzgerald uses

descriptive diction (“frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling”, “wine-colored rug”) and evocative

imagery (“like pale flags”, “gleaming white against the fresh grass”) to give the reader the

experience of actually being in the room. Furthermore, he mixes the natural and artificial,

conjuring up images of grass that “seemed to grow a little way into the house” and of a breeze

that “blew through the room.” In addition, the passage acquires a lighthearted tone through the

use of words like “fresh” and “rippled.” The flowing sentence structure also contributes to this

tone.

Chapter II, Question 8: What is the significance of her statement, “You can’t live forever; you

can’t live forever”?

Myrtle and Tom meet for the first time on the train to New York. Both are instantly

attracted to one another. When Tom makes an advance towards her, Myrtle says that she ought to

call a policeman but thinks “You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever.” Myrtle is telling

herself that she must seize the opportunity that has presented itself before her; she may never

meet anyone like Tom ever again. She has been stuck for twelve years in a loveless marriage

with an unsuccessful husband and she isn’t getting any younger. Tom is obviously interested in

her and he seems quite rich (“…he had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes…”). She sees in

him an escape from her mundane and boring life. There is a sense of mutual exploitation in their

relationship. Tom uses Myrtle for sexual pleasure while Myrtle gets money and pretty things in

return.

Chapter III, Question 8: What is your reaction to Nick’s comment, “Dishonesty in a woman is

a thing you never blame deeply”?

The quote implies that dishonesty can be condoned more freely in cases where a woman

is concerned. Male integrity is a major component of the decorum of the time, which we can

glean from Nick’s reactions to the lies of both Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Female deception,

on the other hand, is considered tolerable; this is reflective of the morals and sexual biases of the

1920s, the time period during which the novel is set. The implication of these social paradigms is

that dishonesty is a natural female failing, contributing to the view that women are weaker and

more immoral than men.

Nick’s tolerance of Jordan’s dishonesty also foreshadows his acceptance of Daisy’s

future deception in allowing Gatsby to assume the blame for Myrtle’s death, which eventually

results in Gatsby’s death. Nick never confronts Daisy, nor does he tell Tom or go to the police

with this information. He is willing for the truth to remain concealed.

Chapter IV, Question 5: What is the effect of juxtaposing the valley of ashes with Mrs. Wilson

“with panting vitality” at the garage pump?

The valley of ashes was a narrow strip of land through which a traveler had to pass if he

or she were going between New York City and the resort villages of East Egg and West Egg on

the north shore of Long Island. It is described by Nick in Chapter 2 as “a fantastic farm where

ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of

houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move

dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls

along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-

gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their

obscure operations from your sight.”

Every word of Nick’s description lets the reader know what an ugly, god-forsaken place

the valley of ashes was. In reality, it served as a dumping ground for industrial waste, mainly

ashes produced by coal-fired burners of the manufacturing plants in New York City. The more

impoverished denizens of the city lived in ramshackle housing in the valley of ashes – the

Wilsons, George and Myrtle, were one such couple who called that wasteland their home.

George’s features, demeanor, and behavior all blended with the ashes amidst which he

lived – he had lost all vitality for life. However, the valley had the opposite effect on Myrtle. In

spite of being married to George for twelve years and living in poverty, she had not lost her love

of the extravagant and her zest for life. By juxtaposing the valley of ashes with Mrs. Wilson’s

“panting vitality”, Fitzgerald suggests that Myrtle Wilson’s spark could never be extinguished,

however bleak her circumstances may have been.

Chapter V, Question 5: Why does Daisy begin to cry and say “They’re such beautiful shirts…It

makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before”?

Even though Daisy loved Gatsby, she married Tom Buchanan instead because she knew

that Gatsby could not provide the extravagant life that she was accustomed to. When Daisy sees

Gatsby again, five years later, she is astounded to discover that he has amassed a fortune. WHiel

taking Daisy on a tour of his mansion, Gatsby makes it a point to highlight the luxury of his new

circumstances. “With enchanting murmurs Daisy admired this aspect or that of the feudal

silhouette against the sky, admired the gardens, the sparkling odor of jonquils and the frothy odor

of hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate.”

Gatsby finally takes Daisy to his apartment inside the mansion, where he proceeds to

show her his personal possessions, including the custom silk shirts that are tailored specifically

for him in London. Overwhelmed by all the wealth and extravagance she has seen so far, Daisy

realizes that Gatsby is finally in a position to support the exorbitant lifestyle she covets.

Unfortunately, she is already a married woman. The irony of her situation makes her weep.

Chapter VI, Question 2: “Platonic” means ideal, from Plato’s conception of reality. What

“Platonic conception” does Gatsby have of himself?

Gatsby was born into a very poor family in rural North Dakota. Even as a child, he

despised his place in society and longed for the opportunity to break bread with the wealthy and

sophisticated. He always had a plan to escape his circumstances and make a name for himself.

He felt that he was destined for great things in life.

While serving as a young military officer stationed in Louisville, Gatsby encounters the

girl of his dreams, Daisy. She was beautiful, charming, and graceful, with an aura of wealth

surrounding her. Gatsby was so smitten by Daisy that he lied to her about his background. Even

though he had no money, education, or social connections, he made himself out to be an

aristocrat. “…but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he

was a person from much the same stratum as herself — that he was fully able to take care of her.

As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities — he had no comfortable family standing behind

him, and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the

world.” When he returned home after the war, Gatsby found that Daisy was married to Tom

Buchanan. At that moment, Gatsby pledged to dedicate his whole life to amassing enough riches

to make himself worthy of Daisy, even resorting to illegal activities in order to accomplish his

goal.

“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” – a debonair, charming, enormously

wealthy, war hero with a mysterious past and more acquaintances than one can count. Gatsby

creates an illusory persona and does everything possible to propagate that illusion. But

underneath it all, he is still an innocent young man hopelessly in love with Daisy, whose tenacity

and determination are unflagging till the very end. As readers, we slowly come to realize that

Gatsby really doesn’t care about his wealth or social status. Everything that he does is motivated

by a much nobler pursuit – love.

Chapter VII, Question 18: What is the tone of the scene where Daisy and Tom are at the

kitchen table?

The scene where Daisy and Tom are at the kitchen table sharing cold fried chicken and

ale is characterized by a tone of intimacy. As Nick himself points out, “They weren’t happy, and

neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale – and yet they weren’t unhappy either.”

Although it seems to be merely a simple, quiet, domestic moment, this scene has

tremendous significance. Neither Tom nor Daisy is incredibly torn up over the infidelity of their

spouse; they value their marriage only for the conveniences it provides to both of them. Neither

one wants to deal with the trouble and repercussions that would follow if Daisy were to leave

Tom. In the face of such intensely pragmatic reckoning, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is no match.

Chapter VIII, Question 9: What is the significance of Doctor Eckleburg’s eyes “which had just

emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night”?

We are first introduced to Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes through Nick’s description of them in

Chapter 2: “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic — their irises are one yard

high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which

pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his

practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot

them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days, under sun and rain,

brood on over the solemn dumping ground.”

The “gigantic eyes” produce an air of authority while the lack of a face suggests an aura

of mystery. These eyes have weathered the sun and rain for many years and yet are only slightly

dimmed by the passage of time. Holistically, the description seems to imply an omniscient

observer looking down on man’s dishonesty, greed, and corruption – adjectives which accurately

characterize America’s moral decline in the 1920s.

George Wilson is the only character in the novel who explicitly refers to Dr. Eckleburg’s

eyes as the eyes of God. “‘I spoke to her,’ he muttered, after a long silence. ‘I told her she might

fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window.’— with an effort he got up and

walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it—‘ and I said ‘God knows

what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool

God!’” By referencing the eyes of Doctor Eckleburg, Mr. Wilson is professing his knowledge of

Myrtle’s adulterous affairs and his confidence that judgment will be passed on her actions.

Chapter IX, Question 18: What is the significance of the last line of the novel: “So we beat on,

boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”?

Life is a struggle – as we try to achieve our dreams and aspirations, we are always

fighting to move our lives forward. However, nostalgia constantly forces us back into it. Gatsby

wanted to draw Daisy back to the time before the war, to his idealized memories of the time they

spent together. Unfortunately, this was a futile exercise, as one can never really recreate the past

exactly as it was before. “‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ I ventured. ‘You can’t repeat the

past.’ ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’ He looked

around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach

of his hand. ‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,’ he said, nodding

determinedly. ‘She’ll see.’”

Gatsby’s reinvents himself by changing his name, denying his parents’ existence,

amassing a large fortune (mainly through illegal activities), and exaggerating certain aspects of

his life, such as his war record and his college education. He feels like he has successfully

changed his past, and thus changing his past with Daisy seems like an achievable venture. He

believes that his material possessions – money, clothes, house – will impress Daisy. Everything

that he does is aimed towards winning Daisy back. He is so driven by this that he ends up

objectifying Daisy herself to some extent. As Nick recounts during Gatsby’s and Daisy’s first

meeting after almost five years, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when

Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but because of the colossal

vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it

with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that

drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his

ghostly heart.” Sometime later, when Gatsby sees Daisy’s daughter, he is unable to reconcile her

presence with his image of Daisy. “Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t

think he had ever really believed in its existence before.” As the tragic end of the novel

illustrates, Gatsby was never able to return to the past.

Post-Reading, Question 3: Fitzgerald wrote to his editor, “The worst fault in [the novel] is a

BIG FAULT: I gave no account (and had not feeling about or knowledge of) the emotional

relations between Gatsby and Daisy from the time of their reunion to the catastrophe.” (from

The Crack-up, p. 270). Why does Fitzgerald leave this out, and do you agree or disagree with

this statement.

I agree that Fitzgerald did refrain from providing much description of the time that

Gatsby and Daisy spent together after their reunion. Because the story is told completely from

the point of view of Nick Carraway, we are never given the chance to scrutinize the way Daisy

and Gatsby acted when they were alone. The only hint that we are given is Nick’s observations

after the reunion between the two. However, I do not feel like this is a fault. For one thing, it

maintains the style of the novel – i.e. a retelling from a passive character’s points of view, in

which the reader is only given the information that said character is privy to. This peculiar style

is part of what draws the reader in. In addition, the lack of description provided for the meetings

between Daisy and Gatsby ascribes a somewhat superficial character to their relationship. This

foreshadows Daisy’s eventual abandonment of Gatsby.