Disco+Sweat

[|drug addiction centers] [|effects of drug addiction] Shreya A. Nicole C. Sonia F. Matt M. Rich P. [|Smith mountain lake pontoon boat rentals] What is the truth about our innocent Eggers of East Egg, West Egg? Ask anyone at a party and I am sure they will give their own juicy tidbits on the latest scandals. More recently, “F. Scott Fitzgerald”, or should I say our Nick Carraway, has published //The Great Gatsby// about who else, Jay Gatsby. Of course, the little doll just adored Gatsby, this is evident from his oozing faithfulness to the idea that “Gatsby turned out alright in the end” when, we Easterners were just too terrifying and scared him away back West. Well, I for one do not trust Carraway’s “truth” as the real deal. Beyond his fantasies about Gatsby, the Buchanans, the Wilson, and we Eggers, what is the real reality, the one people some scoff at and call “gossip?” Perhaps Carraway was a little Carried-away himself? There are still mysteries surrounding all of the Egg Islands, tales waiting to be told to liven up the grandest parties, which me reminds me of the Beckers’ little function that bids at a economies of scale rivaling Gatsby before the lights went out, but more on that later. It has its own pungent liquor sauciness that must be savored to its fullest because despite those darlings that say the truth is prohibition is a smashing success of some sort, there are places, parties that contradict the front headlines and written givens. And I am not done talking about Carraway yet. He does give a nice glimpse and basis to create the truth, find in some splendid rumors. After all, who is Gatsby, really? And what really happened last summer (thanks you for reminding me of some nice scandals to speak of Carraway—I will try not to be too hard when I come to your little affair)? And what are the latest rumblings about what really happened at the Becker’s Starlight Gala? I for one want all the details about all the Easter Eggs. So, please post all your little notions at the news office—I am sure things will be quite entertaining.

I have a bit of my own wonderings posted of those lucky few featured in //The Great Gatsby//—but do not worry, Mr. & Mrs. Becker, I mention your little party as well.

Visit me or drop some clues off at my bulletins.

Flapper Fitz

[|Great Gatsby Online] (link from site above): [|F. Scott Fritzgerald] [|The Setting (East and West Egg)] [|NYC in the 1920's] [|Entertainment of 1920's] [|F. Scott Fritgerald & Zelda Fritzgerald's background] [|Enchanted Places: Use of Setting in Fritzgerald's Works] [|F. Scott Fritzgerald Centenary Home Page] (from same site as last): [|Fritzgerald's Eras], [|Art Imitating Life in Fritzgerald's Novels], [|Celestial Eyes (Gatsby Cover)]
 * HELPFUL LINKS!!!**

“The automatic quality of Gatsby’s answer set us all back at least another minute. I had them another on their feet with desperate suggestions that they help me make tea in the kitchen when the demoniac Finn brought it in on a tray” (87) “This is a terrible mistake,” he said. - Gatsby(87) “You’re acting like a little boy,” I broke out impatiently. “Not only that, but you’re rude. Daisy’s sitting in there all alone.” – Nick (88) “…followed by Daisy’s voice on a clear artificial note: I certainly am awfully glad to see you again.”(86) “Oh, that’s alright,” he said carelessly. “I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”(with reference to Nick setting up tea with Daisy)(82) || “They were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some questions had been asked or was in the ait, and every vestige of embarrassment was one. Daisy’s face was smeared with tears…But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed.”(89) “What do you think of that? It’s stopped raining.” “I’m glad, Jay. Her throat full of aching, grieving beauty, to only of her unexpected joy.”(89) “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.”(91) || • Shirts o Daisy quenching her materialistic thirst (pg. 92) and is moved to tears o Lavishly colored (like the rest of his house) o Contrast with Ewing Klipspringer’s “sport shirt, open at the neck, sneakers, and duck trousers of a nebulous hue” (94). || “Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place.”(86) “Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an over wound clock.”(92) “It was the hour of a profound human change, and excitement was generating in the air : //One thing’s sure and nothing’s surer, The rich get richer and the poor get-children, In the meantime, In between time”(95)// “Shirts with stripes and scrolls and plains in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange.”(92) “…through period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flower.”(91) “Daisy admired this aspect or that of the feudal silhouette against the sky, admired the gardens, the sparkling odor or jonquils, and the frothy odor or hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate.”(90)
 * Chapter 5 || Notes || Quotes ||
 * Characterization || * Gatsby’s immature and innocence of character is revealed through his actions and his views on Daisy and their past
 * At first meeting, he difficultly pursues Nick to have the two of them over his house-attempts as offering Nick lawn services, and business to compensate his nervous feeling towards the situation
 * His disappearance when Nick arrives with Daisy and sudden entrance which is followed by awkward words, he is overcome by her presence
 * After Nick leaves they finally warm up, and he immediately is head over heels in love with Daisy, after only talking to her for a short while
 * He proceeds to flaunt his luxurious “great American lifestyle” to her with his shirts and house wares etc.
 * Like a child he flurries around with her, idolizing her beyond (what Nick believes as well) what she actually is
 * He has no regard for the actions of their past and length of time that has passed-intends on naively starting anew
 * Daisy too is taken by Gatsby and childishly cries to see his opulent set of shirts, overwhelmed by what he now has
 * Nick, on the other hand, is patiently taking the backlash; Gatsby essentially trying to monetarily thank him for calling Daisy over, Daisy for completely forgetting about him after Gatsby is there
 * He sees them foolishly falling hard for each other and, like his other friends with extra-marital affaires keeps the disgust of the New York lifestyle to himself || “Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.”(86)
 * He sees them foolishly falling hard for each other and, like his other friends with extra-marital affaires keeps the disgust of the New York lifestyle to himself || “Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.”(86)
 * Plot || * Possibly the most climactic chapter of the novel with regard to Gatsby finally meeting Daisy, and another extra-marital relationship being created
 * The intensity of their past is pursued in this chapter, the whole story of their pent-up feelings unraveling as the initially awkward meeting turns into a heart-warming and charged connection
 * Each character’s true nature is revealed in their interactions with each other
 * Gatsby partially lives in his dream as he brings Daisy to his home, watching her every move, envisioning her there
 * References to Kant: whom as a philosopher believed that all that which you feel you know are those things that you actually don’t know. Thusly, it is ironic that Gatsby and Daisy in their deluded sense of happiness, feel that all is well and yet the usage of Kant is a foreshadowing of their unfounded surety and confidence in their emotions || “We haven’t met for many years,” said Daisy, her voice as matter-of-fact as it could ever be…Five years next November…The automatic quality of Gatsby’s answer set us all back at least another minute.”(87)
 * Symbolism || * The Clock
 * Gatsby awkwardly fumbles with the clock, as if he is trying to disregard time and he knocked it over carelessly. Yet, the queer irony of the situation is that he caught it and put it back up, which in essence could reference that one can’t change and revisit the long gone past, nor can it be disregarded. Around this time is when Daisy also claims that is has been a long time. And such minor comments and references to clocks later in the chapter as well, also elaborate the theme of the dangers of revisiting and reliving the past.
 * Klipspringer and the piano
 * Gatsby simply has this random boarder in his home, and maybe is representative of Gatsby’s “not-so-aloneness”. As he gives others the allusion that he is an independent, he always likes to have people around and is actually attached to having others around him. This is revealed in his initial liking towards Nick, then Daisy, and all the people he continually has around his home. Also, the lyrics of Klipspringer’s song are also peculiar as they reference time, and class issue that slowly takes for later in the novel. It is almost a foreshadowing of the divide that Tom brings up later in the novel, with regard to Gatsby never being a part of that social class that he and Daisy belong to.
 * Flowers
 * More of a motif used throughout the chapter, references to daisies, rose, lavender etc and to colors of that nature when he reveals his shirts elaborate upon the positive feeling that Fitzgerald is trying to blend into the chapter. It is a funny juxtaposition of a dismal, almost delusional happiness over flowing with vibrant colors and items of immense beauty. Flowers are also indicative of blossoms, or with reference to the novel, the blossoming of this “new” relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and maybe in a more dark sense, the nature of flower blossoms, staying in blossom, but eventually folding and drying away.• The Grasso Gatsby makes a point of making sure that Nick’s grass is properly tended so as to impress Daisyo Grass is green- green symbolizing Gatsby’s dream as previously discussed and therefore must be kept perfectly• Water→ The Raino Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy begins in a rainstormo Parallel between plot and weathero Water can represent new beginnings, but in this case also foreshadows the unhappy ending of Gatsby and Daisy’s relationshipo Highlights the disparities between Gatsby and Daisy o Reflects the action going on inside even though our narrator is not present o Continues to parallel events inside as Gatsby doubts his current happiness as he begins to realize that he’d put Daisy on a pedestal • Lighto Opposite of rain- represents the wonder of Gatsby and Daisy having found each other again.
 * Flowers
 * More of a motif used throughout the chapter, references to daisies, rose, lavender etc and to colors of that nature when he reveals his shirts elaborate upon the positive feeling that Fitzgerald is trying to blend into the chapter. It is a funny juxtaposition of a dismal, almost delusional happiness over flowing with vibrant colors and items of immense beauty. Flowers are also indicative of blossoms, or with reference to the novel, the blossoming of this “new” relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and maybe in a more dark sense, the nature of flower blossoms, staying in blossom, but eventually folding and drying away.• The Grasso Gatsby makes a point of making sure that Nick’s grass is properly tended so as to impress Daisyo Grass is green- green symbolizing Gatsby’s dream as previously discussed and therefore must be kept perfectly• Water→ The Raino Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy begins in a rainstormo Parallel between plot and weathero Water can represent new beginnings, but in this case also foreshadows the unhappy ending of Gatsby and Daisy’s relationshipo Highlights the disparities between Gatsby and Daisy o Reflects the action going on inside even though our narrator is not present o Continues to parallel events inside as Gatsby doubts his current happiness as he begins to realize that he’d put Daisy on a pedestal • Lighto Opposite of rain- represents the wonder of Gatsby and Daisy having found each other again.

“The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain. I had to follow the sound of it for a moment, up and down, with my ear alone, before any words came through. A damp streak of hair lay like a dash of blue paint across her cheek, and her hand was wet with glistening drops as I took it to help her from the car” (85).

“Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes” (86).

“While the rain continued it had seemed like the murmur of their voices, rising and swelling a little now and then with gusts of emotion. But in the new silence I felt that silence had fallen within the house too” (88-89).

“But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room… ‘It’s stopped raining.’ ‘Has it?’ When he realized what I was talking about, that there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room, he smiled like a weather man, like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light, and repeated the news to Daisy. ‘What do you think of that? It’s stopped raining’” (89).

“’My house looks well, doesn’t it?’ he demanded. ‘See how the whole front of it catches the light’” (89).

“Daisy came out of the house and two rows of brass buttons on her dress gleamed in the sunlight” (90).

“Outside the wind was loud and there was a faint flow of thunder along the Sound. All the lights were going on in West Egg now; the electric trains, men-carrying, were plunging home through the rain from New York. It was the hour of a profound human change, and excitement was generating on the air” (95). || o Gatsby’s West Egg, new money house is constantly described as being overly flashy o The man who built Gatsby’s house and who lived there previously was also the victim of a spoiled dream. o The quote reflects the idealistic nature of West Eggers in search of their own dream (both the brewer and the neighbors) as well as foreshadows Gatsby’s demise.
 * Themes || • West Egg is where the newly rich live a garishly opulent lifestyle in their search for the American Dream

• It is impossible to perfectly relive the past- evidenced by the clock symbol (86 & 92), and nothing can live up to an Ideal. o The end of Chapter 5 is the turning point in which Gatsby begins to realize that he’s put Daisy on a pedestal || “I didn’t know whether or not Gatsby went to Coney Island, or for how many hours he ‘glanced into rooms’ while his house blazed gaudily on” (83).

“A brewer had built it early in the ‘period’ craze, a decade before, and there was a story that he’d agreed to pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family—he went into an immediate decline. His children sold his house with the black wreath still on the door. Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry” (88).

“As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. 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”(95-96). || o Fitzgerald's word choice during the initial reunion gives the reader a perfect insight into the awkwardness of the situation. o Other words describing Gatsby's embarrassment and awkwardness: “strained counterfeit of perfect ease”, “distraught eyes”, “trembling fingers”, “sat down rigidly”, “tense, unhappy eyes”, “abortive attempt at a laugh”, “followed me wildly” o These words are steeped in imagery and are far more effective than if Fitzgerald were merely to have used “awkward” or “nervous” o They make reader uncomfortable o After Nick returns the mood is completely different, but Fitzgerald continues to use adjectives packed with meaning
 * Writing Style || • Diction

• Point of View o We've discussed Nick's honesty as a narrator before, and in this chapter he continues to stay true not only to the awkwardness felt between Gatsby and Daisy, but also concerning himself o Also eerily describes the creepy sensation of being in Gatsby's house for the first time there isn't a party going on.

• Detail o All kinds of books are mentioned to throughout the novel • Lend authenticity • Allude to other ideas- stimulate intellect • Clay's Economics (pg 84) and Castle Rackrent (pg 85) o Page 93 Nick was going to ask about rubies that Gatsby had mentioned in passing in chapter 4-almost sarcastic || “For half a minute there wasn’t a sound. Then from the living-room I heard a sort of choking murmur and part of a laugh, followed by Daisy’s voice on a clear artificial note: ‘I certainly am awfully glad to see you again.’ A pause; it endured horribly. I had nothing to do in the hall, so I went into the room” (86).

“Her throat, full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy” (89).

“My own face had now assumed a deep tropical burn. I couldn’t muster up a single commonplace out of the thousand in my head. ‘It’s an old clock,’ I told them idiotically” (86-87).

“And inside, as we wandered through Marie Antoinette music-rooms and Restoration salons, I felt that there were guests concealed behind every couch and table, under orders to be breathlessly silent until we had passed through. As Gatsby closed the door of ‘the Merton College Library.’ I could have sworn I heard the owl-eyed man break into ghostly laughter” (91). ||


 * Chapter 7 || Notes || Quotes ||
 * Characterization || Trimalchio was a Roman character from //The Satyricon// known for throwing lavish dinner parties. He sough to impress his guests with ubiquitous excesses throughout his dwelling. Fitzgerald envisioned Gatsby very much in the same way, so much so that his original name for the novel was set to be //Trimalchio in West Egg//

Evidence of Daisy's warped reality. She cheats on her husband yet embraces her daughter dearly. In a sense she is marring her daughter with strange morals and poor examples of relationship. Additionally, she never refers to her daughter by name, even the narrator refers to her as “the child”, it is only through the nurse who is paid to look after her instead of her parents, that the reader learns her name is “Pammy”. She treats her like a possession or trophy to be proud of similar to how Tom treats her. Daisy also emphasizes her dislike for Tom at this point by pointing out how Pammy is hers and resembles her—leaving Tom out of the picture. Pammy is a pet, “well-disciplined.” Pammy’s mentioning that Jordan is wearing a white dress like Daisy, brings to mind the innocence of a child, contrasting with Daisy & Jordan. Additionally, Daisy likes to deny her problems and runaway from them as seen during the confrontation.

Becomes obvious to the reader in this chapter that not only is Tom a bit dim but he is also extremely competetive. This competetive stigma is most likely piqued by his suspicion of the affair between Gatsby and Daisy.

Gatsby turned off lights after failure at party with Daisy, reflecting another lost fantasy, a huge change & effect. He also hired new servants—they not from West Egg, which is a place Daisy looks down upon, reflecting his desire to please & win her even though he, like others are symbolized by West Egg in that it & they came from modest beginnings to wealth and foreshadows her rejection of him. Gatsby's remark about Daisy's voice further reveals his obsession with recovering a blissful past. To him, acquiring Daisy is a major part of his great American dream. Gatsby reveals his denial of reality and need for his dream and Daisy, even after Daisy reveals that she cannot say she never loved Tom, he still believes that they can be together because she did say she loved him

Tom's criticism of Gatsby's "'old sport" expression speaks to Tom's snobbish nature and his inability to confront problems maturely. This quality most likely arose from his wealthy upbringing and receiving everything that he wanted throughout his life. Tom, like Gatsby also believes that money can buy anything, including Myrtle, though Daisy is also insinuated.

Doctor T.J. Eckleburg serves as a judging figure of the lifestyle that the Buchanans and Gatsby lead. His eyes often parallel the introspections that Nick Carraway has regarding the behavior of the people around him.

There is a continuation on the idea that Jordan (and wealthy at Gatsby’s parties in earlier chapters and Daisy) lives on gossip, which usually involves scandals of others, where the object of the scandal’s exterior persona fails and her own is safe (and in comparison may look better than she actually is), reflecting the importance of appearance. || "It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night- and as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over." (113)

"Come to your own mother that loves you." (117) "Where's Daddy?" (117) “‘That’s because your mother wanted to show you off’” (123) “‘She doesn’t look like her father,’ explained Daisy. ‘She looks like me. She’s got my hair and shape of the face’” (123) “‘Yes,’ admitted the child calmly. ‘Aunt Jordan’s got on a white dress too’” (123) “‘Please don’t!’ she interrupted helplessly. ‘Please let’s all go home. Why don’t we all go home?’” (137)

“‘She didn’t like it,” he said immediately…”I feel far away from her,” he said. “It’s hard to make her understand.” …He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you’…after she was free, they were to go to Louisville and be married at her house—just as if it were five years ago” (116) “So the whole caravansary had fall in like a card house at the disproval in her eyes” (120) "Her voice is full of money" (120) “‘You don’t understand,’ said Gatsby, with a touch of panic. ‘You’re not going to take care of her any more’” (140)

"I read somewhere that the sun's getting hotter every year" "I'd like you to have a look at the place. I've heard of making a garage out of a stable, but I'm the first man who ever made a stable out of a garage" (119) “‘Plenty of gas,’ said Tom boisterously. He looked at the gauge. ‘And if it runs out I can stop at a drug-store. You can buy anything at a drug-store nowadays.’A pause followed this apparently pointless remark. Daisy looked at Tom frowning, and an indefinable expression, at once definitely unfamiliar and vaguely recognizable, as if I had only heard it described in words, passed over Gatsby’s face” (127)

"Faded eyes came into view down the road" (122) "Over the ashheaps the great eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg kept their vigil" (124) “‘The rumor is,’ whispered Jordan, ‘that that’s Tom’s girl on the telephone’” (122) ||
 * Plot || Gatsby turns off the lights at his house, ending his parties & riding himself of connections to west Egg. Gatsby & Nick are invited to Daisy & Tom’s house. Tom realizes Daisy loves Gatsby. Nick, Jordan, & Tom go in one car and Daisy & Gatsby go into another into the city. Tom & Co. stop at Wilson’s garage where it is revealed that Wilson knows Myrtle is seeing someone & decided they are going West. Tom, Nick, Jordan, Daisy, & Gatsby stop at a where it is revealed out in the open Daisy & Gatsby are having an affair, though not physical.

Towards the middle of chapter seven a confrontation between Gatsby and Tom occurs. The confrontation reveals poor aspects of both characters. -Gatsby is undoubtedly a criminal -Tom's sexism and hypocrisy. He has no moral issues with pursuing extramarital affairs, yet the thought of Daisy doing such a thing shakes his temper.

Tom asks this question of Gatsby, which is inherently ironic because Tom too pursues extramarital activites with Myrtle Wilson.

Tom send Daisy home with Gatsby because he knows their can be nothing between Gatsby & Daisy. || "It's a great expression of yours isn't it? All this 'old sport business. Where'd you pick that up?" (127)

"What kind of row are you trying to cause in my househeld?" (129)

“‘You two start on home, Daisy,’ said Tom. ‘In Mr. Gatsby’s car.’ She looked at Tom, alarmed now, but he insisted with magnanimous scorn. ‘Go on. He won’t annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over’” (142) ||
 * Symbols || Doctor T.J. Eckleburg serves as a judging figure of the lifestyle that the Buchanans and Gatsby lead. His eyes often parallel the introspections that Nick Carraway has regarding the behavior of the people around him.

Daisy's baby daughter acts as a reality check for Gatsby. Meeting the daughter of Daisy and Tom, is the first of a couple events in which Gatsby starts to doubt if Daisy only has love for him.

Lights represent the American Dream as perceptions of the rich, but more importantly as a way to attract Daisy. Gatsby turns off the lights in response to Daisy, giving them up for her & showing his love for her.

The color white is innocence, but is rather tainted. Innocence/purity is insinuated to be tainted at the beginning of the chapter when Nick is at a train station to the Buchanan’s with the woman’s sweating into her white shirtwaist, the passengers’ suspicion of Nick when he tries to hand back her dropped wallet, and Nick receiving his ticket back stained by the conductor in the train, possibly foreshadowing Daisy running over Myrtle and Nick’s leaving the East to escape its atmosphere. Daisy & Jordan appear innocence & pure by wearing white dresses when Daisy is later reveals during the hotel confrontation that there was an incident or reason that she and Tom left Chicago and an earlier chapter’s reference that Jordan cheated in a golf tournament as well as other things that she hides by having less intelligent men around her. The diction of “weighing down” has a religious connotation like that of the devil tainting the innocents and dragging them down to hell & ancient Egyptians believed the soul was weighed for purity against a feather where if it was heavier it was eaten by Ammut as a final death

Heat, in particular this chapter is the hottest day in summer, making heat represent great tension & discomfort, reflecting and leading up to this chapter’s confrontation. It is used alot to set the mood as weather. Outside the Buchanan’s is extremely hot but inside, they escape the heat until Tom’s realizes Daisy loves Gatsby, causing tension and they go into the heat outside. The hotel room was rented as a possibility of losing the coolness, but is actually very hot and is where confrontation itself takes place.

Coolness represents love & comfort—escape from the heat. Daisy tells Tom to make her a cool drink in order to kiss Gatsby, connect to love. Daisy’s use of cool to contrast to the discomfort of the heat reveals her love of Gatsby and is how Tom realizes she loves Gatsby. || "Faded eyes came into view down the road" (122) "Over the ashheaps the great eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg kept their vigil" (124)

"Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don't think he had ever really believed in its existence before." (117) “It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night—and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over” (117)

“the woman next to me perspired delicately for a while into her white shirtwaist, and then, as her newspaper dampened under her fingers, lapsed…I picked it up with a weary bend and handed it back to her, holding it at arm’s length and by the extreme tip of the corners to indicate that I had no designs upon it—but every one near by, including the woman, suspected me just the same” (121) “Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous couch, like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans”(122)

“The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer. As my train emerged from the tunnel into sunlight, only the hot whistles of the National Biscuit Company broke the simmering hush at noon” (120) “The room, shadowed well with awnings, was dark and cool” (122) “The notion originated with Daisy’s suggestion that we hire five bath-rooms and take cold baths…The room was large and stifling, and, though it was already four o’clock, opening the windows admitted Only a gust of hot shrubbery from the Park” (133)

“‘Ah,’ she cried, ‘you look so cool.’ Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other, alone in space. With an effort she glanced down at the table…She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded” ||
 * Themes || //The Great Gatsby// is set during the 1920's and it is a change in gender roles, namely the onset of "Flappers" that is so obvious throughout the novel. The new and upcoming generation of women that lay claim to a rugged individuality and independence is embodied in the characters of Daisy and Jordan. In these examples Daisy acts accordingly, suggesting things that nearly no woman prior to this time period would have dared doing.

Fantasy v. reality: Gatsby is faced more and more with reality as proof of the impossibility of him being with Daisy occurs as seen with Pammy, Daisy loving Tom as well as him, and Daisy’s refusal to go off with him to start a new life. “Love”: The meaning of love for the characters are unclear throughout, possibly signifying they do not know what it is, with Gatsby in love with his fantasy of Daisy from memories of the past and the relationship between Tom & Daisy. This is reflected in Daisy telling Pammy she loves her., when she treats Pammy as a pet or possession. Daisy also insinuates before the confrontation that she dislikes or hates Tom, and during the confrontation she even says she “never loved him”, but then says that she loves both him and Gatsby. Later she tells Gatsby that even alone, she cannot tell him she does not love Tom. Tom earlier treats Daisy as a trophy wife, but with the confrontation and possibly the loss of Myrtle, he claims he does love her. The power of the idea that Daisy loves him is reflected in an almost deepening of Tom’s connection towards Daisy as if he can see beyond her outer trophy wife appearance. Gatsby’s dream works out with Daisy saying she loved him, but was impractical for believing she would just leave Tom. However, this might reflect the nature of Gatsby’s love for Daisy, believing that she loved him, but needed a man with money, while they were separated and she married Tom, much like Myrtle believe Daisy is the reason she cannot marry Tom. Both live in denial. It is very ironical that the thread of Gatsby’s dream of getting Daisy back is reliving the past when Ton uses the past to remind Daisy of their love and beyond the social class issue, this really hurt Gatsby. || "Make us a cold drink." (116) "You kiss Nick too" (116)

“Gatsby and I in turn leaned down and took the small, reluctant hand. Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever really believed in its existence before” (123)

“Oh, you want too much!” she cried to Gatsby. “I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.” She began to sob helplessly. “I did love him once—but I loved you too” (139-140) “He nodded sagely. ‘And what’s more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time’” (138) “‘Of course it matters. I’m going to take better care of you from now on’” (140) “‘Not seeing,’ said Gatsby. ‘No, we couldn’t meet. But both of us loved each other all that time, old sport, and you didn’t know. I used to laugh sometimes.’—but there was no laughter in his eyes——‘ to think that you didn’t know‘” (138) “Gatsby’s eyes opened and closed. ‘You loved me //too//?’ he repeated” (140) ||
 * Writing Style || Very Descriptive and lyrical style of Fitzgerald. Also reveals to the reader Fitzgerald's seeming love of expounding upon things often extremely irrelevant to the primary plot.

The majority of Fitzgerald's prowess in description lies in his ability to reveal contrast.

An example of Fiztgerald's conversational writing style. He employs hyphens and exclamations to imbue his writing with a quality that make his readers nearly "hear" his dialogue.

At the confrontation in the hotel room, dialogue moves the plot. || “On the green Sound, stagnant in the heat, one small sail crawled slowly toward the fresher sea…Our eyes lifted over the rose-beds and the hot lawn and the weedy refuse of the dog-days along-shore. Slowly the white wings of the boat moved against the blue cool limit of the sky. Ahead lay the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles” (124)

"My commutation ticket came back to me with a dark stain from his hand. That anyone should care in this heat whose flighed lips he kissed, whose head made damp the pajama pocket over his heart!" (115)

"The room...was dark and cool. Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous couch, like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans." (115) "Jordan's fingers, powdered white over their tan, rested for a moment in mine." (116)

"The Bled-sed pre-cious! Did mother get powder on your old yellowy hair? Stand up now and say How-de-do." (117) ||

Project Notes:

I don't know why the formatting does what it does on here... but if everyone could post their notes on here I/someone can copy them on word and print. -Sonia

Decor- Sonia The use of various colors in the decor is meant to reflect the symbolism that Fitzgerald utilized in The Great Gatsby. We decided that the overall color scheme should be various shades of blue--a color commonly used by Fitzgerald to signify a dreamy, ethereal state that would compliment a sophisticated society gathering. “Our eyes lifted over the rose-beds and the hot lawn and the weedy refuse of the dog-days along-shore. Slowly the white wings of the boat moved against the blue cool limit of the sky. Ahead lay the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles” (___). We decided to supplement the blue with gold, a color that often signified wealth and the proclamation of wealth throughout the novel, as we wanted to portray our party hostess as a slightly snobby East Egg resident (albeit with some forward ideas). “His bedroom was the simplest room of all—except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold. Daisy took the brush with delight, and smoothed her hair, whereupon Gatsby sat down and shaded his eyes and began to laugh” (___). We decided to seat the West Egg guests at the green themed tables: green representing the hopes and dreams of those with new money as shown by Gatsby’s observation of the green light. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (___).__ __The East Egg guests would be seated the yellow themed tables: yellow representing greed and wealth, as shown by Dr. Eckleburg's Glasses, as well as doom and corruption as reflected in the color of the car that runs down Myrtle and the trees Gatsby walks among right before his death "He shook his head and in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees" (___). After all, yellow is all of this while at the same time parading under a light and sunny facade. While subtly criticizing the snobby East Egg set, we decided that our hostess would really want to snub the especially old, rude or boring guests by seating them at tables decorated in grey. Grey, in the novel, commonly marks the disappearance of the character’s dreams as well as acting to crush their dreams and futures. This is shown in the description of the Valley of the Ashes that lies between the Eggs and Manhattan: “This is a valley of ashes... 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” (___).__ __It was determined that the young and interesting guests be seated at the last group of tables. These would be decorated in white and lavender---colors that, on the surface, represent innocence and indulgence. Through The Great Gatsby, we find that the formerly white lavender-wearing characters (like Jordan and Daisy) really harbor dark feelings or secrets inside. White, then, symbolizes contamination. “In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress. Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels. Gravely the men turn in at a house—the wrong house. But no one knows the woman’s name, and no one cares” (___). This tainted vision of white is reflected in that many of the guests seated at the white themed tables become involved in various scandals during the party, as reported on in later gossip segments.

Weather- Rich Water/rain is effectively used in //the Great Gatsby// to symbolize the beginnings of unfortunate events. Water represents the beginning and the inevitable end of Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. Gatsby and Daisy’s love was rekindled during at storm at Nick’s house. “Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.”(86) And unfortunately, the relationship ended with Gatsby being shot dead in his pool. We thought it essential to have it rain during our dinner party because although throughout the book water usually symbolized unfortunate events, the rain still solely embodies change. We plan to show that the rain will end all past problems and the future will bear all new complications and maybe even some good fortune.

Alcohol and Prohibition- Rich Although //the Great Gatsby// was set during the Prohibition, this did not mean that the characters of the book did not have their occasional drink. " 'Gratulate me," she [Daisy] muttered. "Never had a drink before, but oh how I do enjoy it." (76) And due to the popularity of alcohol, we necessarily added alcoholic beverages and wines to the menu we created for the dinner party. We had the usual drinks like champagnes and martinis, but we also added hard liquors like Whiskey Sour and the Black Russian.