THE GREAT GATSBYCHAPTER 2

In today’s lesson we will discuss:

• SETTING – VALLEY OF ASHES AND NEW YORK

• SYMBOLISM – EYES AND VALLEY OF ASHES

• CHARACTERISATION – TOM, WILSON, NICK, MYRTLE

• THEMES – VISION AND AMERICAN SOCIETY / SHALLOWNESS OF UPPER CLASS

• STRUCTURE

SETTING – VALLEY OF THE ASHES

• “..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 ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”

• Task: Consider the word choice used in this extract – how does it compare with description of East Egg (remember connotations).

Points to Consider:

• ‘Wheat’ and ‘gardens’ are associated with life and nature.‘Ashes’ are dead and depressing. Combining them suggests that beauty has been destroyed.

• Repetition of ‘and’ – creates a long list of objects made from ash to emphasise the SCALE of the DECAY and slows the pace of the sentence emphasising the trudging drudgery of life.

Points to Consider:

• Image of ‘transcendent effort’ conveys the way in which all the men’s energy is taken up just existing. Despite their struggle to survive, they are ‘already crumbling’.

Symbolism of Valley of Ashes

• It is a place of poverty that is a dumping round for all the waste produced by the city.

• It is an ugly by-product of CONSUMERISM forgotten by the wealthy Egg communities.

• Symbolically it represents the moral and social decay that results from the pursuit of wealth and riches. The rich indulge themselves with no regard for anything but their own pleasure.

Symbolism of Valley of Ashes

• Its bleak and barren nature provides a contrast to the loudness and brightness of NYC and the beautiful

exterior of the two Eggs.• The residents of the Eggs don’t care –

T. J. Eckleburg’s advertisement looks out indifferently at the desolation.

Points to Consider:

• The Valley of Ashes could be seen to symbolise the moral decay which is hidden beneath the glitzy façade of East and West Egg – behind this façade could the same ugliness exist?

• DISCUSSION: Have there been any indications of moral decay in the first two chapters?

Setting – New York

• 4TH setting.• Opposite of the Valley of Ashes• DISCUSSION: How is this difference

emphasised? Consider the word choice used in describing elements of New York e.g. “ ...lavender-coloured with grey upholstery, and in this we slid out from the mass of the station into the glowing sunshine”

Setting – New York

• represents wild, selfish behaviour and the pursuit of pleasure – illustrated as it provides a backdrop for Tom and Myrtle’s affair.

• The drunken debauchery of Myrtle's party demonstrates the city’s lack of moral depth. People feel they can act how they want without fear of the consequences.

SYMBOLISM – EYES OF DR T.J. ECKLEBURG

• Literally this advertisement is a realistic detail of a culture of consumerism found in 1920s America.

• Wilson sees the old optician’s advert as the eyes of God. Is the suggestion that society needs its vision correcting in order to see its faults.

• BUT the faded paint of the eyes symbolise the extent to which this society has lost its connection with God – the sign is looking over the Valley of Ashes just like God.

• LINKS with Theme - vision

Characterisation - TOM

• “bordered on violence”• “supercilious manner”

• DISCUSSION: What elements of Tom’s character do these two quotes emphasise?

• How does Tom wield power over Wilson? What does this add to our initial impressions of Tom’s character?

Characterisation - TOM

• Events in this chapter further add to what we have learned in Chapter 1 about Tom’s character

• “Get on..” emphasises the bossy tone of his character

• “said Tom decisively” - arrogant and in charge.

Characterisation - Myrtle

• DISCUSSION: What are your initial impressions of Myrtle?

• “She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her flesh sensuously as some women can”

• “She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eyes”

• TASK: How does Myrtle behave when away from the Valley and in New York?

• Myrtle’s behaviour in New York links with the theme of vision and appearances

• She is very concerned with creating an impression of an upper class woman,

“Throwing a regal homecoming glance around the neighbourhood...and went haughtily in.”

• “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman”

• “...he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”• “I knew right away I made a mistake.”• “...I lay down and cried to beat the

band all afternoon.”• DISCUSSION: Does the reader feel any

sympathy for Myrtle?

TOM AND MYRTLE

• Myrtle believes she is above Wilson and Tom is a more suited partner.

• Consider if you think Tom would ever have married Myrtle – remember that he has lied about Daisy’s religion to make excuses for staying with his wife.

• Tom’s relationship with her is physical and material.

Characterisation - Wilson

• Stands in stark contrast to Tom• He is a handsome and morally upright

man who lacks money, privilege and vitality.

• DISCUSSION: What are your initial impressions of Wilson?

• “Spiritless man, anaemic”• “walking through her husband as if he

were a ghost”• A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit• Tom says: “He’s so dumb he doesn’t

know he’s alive”

Characterisation - Nick

• “I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through soft twilight, but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back, as if by ropes, into my chair.”

• DISCUSSION: Does Nick’s behaviour at the party affect the reader’s impression of him as a narrator?

Characterisation - Nick

• He is shown to be indecisive in this section.

• Normally repelled by vulgarity and tastelessness, but he is too fascinated to leave.

Though I was curious to see her I had no desire to meet her (page 30)

• What does this suggest about Nick?• We are given a hint that he is not a

fully trustworthy narrator:Everything has a dim hazy cast over it

Structure – Delayed introduction of Gatsby

• “Well they say he’s the nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s. That’s where all his money comes from”

• Continues to build an atmosphere of mystery around Gatsby – no-one has any real information about him.

Theme - Vision

• Eyes of DR T.J. Eckleburg – do they represent God staring down upon society and judging American society as a moral wasteland?

• DISCUSSION: How important are appearances in The Great Gatsby? How does this link into the theme of Vision? Are appearances deceiving in any way?

• “The little dog was sitting on the table looking with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly”

• Again we see the idea of distorted vision.

• This quote also links to the theme Shallowness of the Upper Classes

• Material possessions are tossed aside when people are finished with them.

Theme- Shallowness of the American Upper Classes

• Myrtle bought the dog to create a certain appearance.

• Once the dog had served its purpose, Myrtle no longer had a need for it.

• This is endemic of the whole of American Society at the time.

Theme – American Society

• The Wilsons live where they work• They have a lower social standing than

Nick because he lives in the Suburbs.• The very rich (Buchanans, etc) do not

appear to work and can live where they choose.

• Fitzgerald is emphasising here that America, despite its claim of democratic equality, is a society split in to a number of social classes based on wealth and property.