The Great Gatsby Analysis (symbols & language features)

Symbols:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L90yg7Lu65ENE6tH7QrakNWhxhefhK-Ux5lNpQi1Dns/edit

Link to the table of the symbols on google docs.

Language features:

1.Select two passages from the book (about a paragraph or two) that we have not annotated as a class. Annotate these passages and identify the language features that Fitzgerald uses. Explain the effect of these features and why he may have chosen to use them.

• “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.”

This passage highlights the commitment and hope Gatsby has for his dream. He’s been lusting for Daisy for years and we start to understand how it feels to want someone you can’t have. Gatsby goes to all limits for his dream girl and has built up a pedestal for her to stand on. He erases all her flaws and falls even more in love with her, especially the “idea” of her.

The line “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” represents a metaphor. Nick states this when he describes Gatsby’s illusion and self creation he holds and composed himself. The metaphor compares humans illusions and their walls of protecting camouflage to bright feathers that have happened to be in the middle of all peoples paths. It suggests that everyone’s illusion of themselves are created from past experiences. Illusions are built to protect our weaknesses and fears. We create false ideas of ourselves and our surroundings to help us make sense of things with ease. The camouflage they made protect themselves from the harsh world that identifies all exisiting flaws. Nicks realisation that Gatsby has created such a “colossal” illusion of himself and Gatsby idealisation of Daisy is outlined through this quote.

The green light that once represented hope for Gatsby at the start of the novel, now represents nothing as Gatsby and Daisy are together in this time, but she still fails to fulfil his dream. Gatsby predicted an amazing future for him and Daisy but his illusion got in the way of it. When Nick says “It had gone beyond her, beyond everything”, he refers “it” to Gatsby’s illusion. His dramatic transformation from being a poor boy to a rich social person still fails to reach Daisy’s standards, despite all the time he’s spent changing himself into a whole new persona.

• “So we beat on, boats against the current, bore back ceaselessly into the past.”

Nick states this when he is concluding the novel. At the time he is reflecting on Gatsby’s life and his obsession with the past. This is a metaphor. It compares human relationship with time to boats moving against the current. It suggests that as boats resist the current to move in the direction of their choice, humans often resist the passage of time. They hold onto the past even when time moves them further away from it. Gatsby holds onto his relationship with daisy from 5 years earlier, building his entire life around it. the expectation that this is unrealistic is communicated via this metaphor because, like the current, time moves forward, preventing Gatsby (and anyone) from truly recreating the past therefore making his efforts ceaseless.

• “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of “creative temperament” – it was an extraordinary gift of hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.”

Jay Gatsby has a wanted essence to him, a personality that contains of hope and faith. Humans were brought up to think and doubt the worst of people, whereas Nick thinks that Gatsby is one of the gifted individuals. Nick admires Gatsby and supports him with his decisions because he idolises him. This quote is vital in establishing the books theme and foreshadowing the upcoming events. Nick is convinced that if Gatsby maintains his dedication to pursue his dream, that he can achieve and overcome any obstacles. Nick relating Gatsby to a machine implies that there is a purpose within the “unbroken series of successful gestures”. The language feature used in this personification as a non human object is given a human trait. There is aways a point with a machine, a goal to aim for. This shows us how sustainable Gatsby’s mentality towards his goal is and how his personality can easily be compared to a machine.

2. Fitzgerald uses many allusions throughout the novel. Select three of these allusions and explain the connection between it and the book. Explain how Fitzgerald uses his allusions to create a story that could take plan in the real world. Comment on how these allusions help to support the development of illusion throughout the novel.

• When Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan meet for the first time in chapter one, Tom violently snaps when Nick harmlessly remarks: “You make me feel uncivilised, Daisy”. Tom breaks out and says:

“Civilisation’s going to pieces,…I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things.  Have you read The Rise of the Coloured Empires by this man Goddard?”

This Quote establishes Tom Buchanan’s personality and shows us how he is a racist man who thinks he’s superior than everyone else. “The Rise of the Coloured Empires” is a book written by Lothrop Goddard; it speculates the fall of the white empire and shows us Tom’s fear he has of civilisation being overrun by the darker skin. Coincidently enough, Tom thought Goddard approved of the white race dominating whereas Goddard did no such thing like Tom believed he did.

• When Nick invites Daisy round for coffee, in accommodation for Gatsby, Daisy starts to wonder why she really is here. She then playfully asks Nick if he truly loves her, which Nick replies with:

“That’s the secret of Castle Rackrent”

This illusion is originated from an Irish novel that the family who owns it (Castle Rackrent) is being assumed and speculated upon. The final verdict remains unknown to the readers, outlining Nicks witty reply that she’s going to have to live her life without ever knowing.