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The Great Gatsby

Review of The American Dream, SymbolsChapter 5 Analysis April 2011

+Review, The American Dream

Four Dreams of Consumerism??? Dream of Abundance – material goods, rich country

Dream of a Democracy of Goods – access to same products

Dream of Freedom of Choice – fashion your own lifestyle

Dream of Novelty – new and unexpected products broadened consumer experience in terms of purchasing skills and awareness of the market

+Review, Symbols

The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg Cast an ominous shadow over the goings-on in the novel Symbolism is open to interpretation (and reinterpretation) George Wilson connects them to the eyes of God God looking down on Valley of Ashes – God looking down on

a morally bankrupt wasteland and doing nothing about it Modernist notion – God no longer lived, a symbol of the

modernists’ distrust of political, religions and social institutions Modernists – influenced by negativity of WWI

+Review, Symbols

Valley of Ashes Located between West Egg and New York City – moral

decay associated with the uninhibited desire for wealth Symbolizes societal decay and the plight of the poor,

victims of greed and corruption WWI Battlefields – where existed a no man’s land – full of

barbed wire, unexploded mines and dead bodies

+East Egg vs. West Egg

East Egg

The established rich

Represented by Tom Buchanan whose money has been inherited

Morally bankrupt – adulterer and a liar

Only posses superficial knowledge and cares little about whom he destroys through his carelessness

West Egg

Nouveau riche

Represented by Gatsby who has obtained wealth through bootlegging and not-so-honest endeavors

Wealth is displayed gaudily through outrageous automobiles (Rolls Royce), amazing parties, and incredible mansions

+What do East Egg and West Egg have in common?

Corruptness

+Chapter Five – Key Questions

1. Why does Gatsby deliver so many goods and services to Nick's house?

2. Describe the effect of rain on the plot.

3. Why does Gatsby offer Nick work? How does Nick feel about this?

4. Explain the significance of the green light.

5. Why does Gatsby get so many phone calls? What does this say about him?

+Chapter Five – Analysis

Initial exchange between Nick and Gatsby, uncertainty at the heart of their relationships – is he using Nick to draw closer to Daisy? Or is he genuinely fond of Nick?

Gatsby uses money and power as leverage in all relationships

Gatsby is insecure – does not think anyone would want to be friends with him if he did not possess a mansion and make several million dollars a year

Ostracized by East Eggers Abandoned by Gatsby because of his poverty

Only Nick makes friends that are not based on class

+Chapter Five – Analysis

Gross materialism of the East and West Egg – explains the obsessive care that Gatsby takes in his reunion with Daisy

Collection of British antiques “Nice” English shirts – one of the most famous scenes in

American literature Dressed in gold and silver

+Chapter Five – Analysis

Time: Gatsby lives in the past – he longs to stop time and act as though Daisy had never left him to marry Tom

Nick calls him a “little boy” Three stages Gatsby experiences – embarrassment, joy,

wonder Nick describes Gatsby as “running down like an over-wound

clock.” In Gatsby’s nervousness about Daisy’s feelings towards him, he knocks over a clock signifying Gatsby’s consuming desire to stop time and his inability to do so

Daisy is more sympathetic in this chapter than any other point in the novel – ceases to play the part of a world-weary sophisticate

Overjoyed at Gatsby’s success

+Chapter Five – Analysis

Song “Ain’t We Got Fun,” played by Klipspringer, is significant for a number of reasons

Opening lyrics imply a carefree spontaneity that stands in stark contrast to the tightly-controlled lovers reunion

“In the morning/ In the evening/ Aint’ we got fun”

Ironic that Gatsby and Daisy should reunite to the strains of this song, given the fact that she rejected him because of his poverty

“Got no money/ Bu oh, honey/ Ain’t we got fun!”