THE GREAT GATSBY CHAPTER 9

SETTING – MID-WEST SYMBOLISM CHARACTERISATION – DAISY, NICK, GATSBY, GATSBY’S FATHER THEMES – AMERICAN UPPER CLASSES, AMERICAN DREAM

CHARACTERISATION - DAISY “I called up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them.” The novel ends with a negative impression of Daisy. She has simply dealt with everything by forgetting it and moving away.

This is even more shocking when we understand that Gatsby was killed because of her She has no loyalty to Gatsby again displaying her shallowness. Discuss – Why does Nick call her “instinctively and without hesitation”? This says more about Nick than it does Daisy – what does this reaction reveal to us?

CHARACTERISATION - NICK “I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone.” Nick has entered into isolation here This is a further reflection of his identification with Gatsby

By the end of the novel the reader should understand why Nick thinks Gatsby “turned out all right at the end”. In his eyes, Gatsby embodied an ability to dream and escape his past This dream was possibly (ultimately) impossible But Nick cherishes and values it nonetheless.

“On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy “On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy ... And I erased it.” Nick is the writer and he wants his words to define Gatsby. Discuss: Do you think Nick has succeeded in telling Gatsby’s story?

CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY “Look here, old sport, you’ve got to get somebody for me. You’ve got to try hard. I can’t go through this alone.” Gatsby is isolated, not only in death, but even at his own parties where he was a lost and detached onlooker. Discuss: Why was Gatsby never accepted? What does this reveal about the other characters in the novel?

“He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in “He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in. ‘The poor son-of-a-bitch,’ he said” We feel sympathy for Gatsby too, deserted by acquaintances and (more importantly) Daisy. Discuss: What is the significance of the owl eyed man realising Gatsby’s sad situation? What theme does this link in with?

CHARACTERISATION – GATSBY’S FATHER Henry C Gatz is a figure of sympathy rather than admiration “His eyes leaked continuously” “He was on the point of collapse” Nick does not shatter the old man’s illusion of his son “That’s true”

CHARACTERISATION – GATSBY’S FATHER Gatsby’s father keeps talking about the picture of Gatsby’s house In a parallel with his son the picture “was more real to him than the house itself” He is infatuated by an illusion

SETTING – THE MID-WEST “That’s my Middle West ...” The Mid-West has been seen to be boring compared to the excitement of the East But the East is just glittering on the surface It lacks the moral centre of the Mid-West This moral depravity dooms the characters in the novel to failure

THEME – SHALLOWNESS OF THE AMERICAN UPPER CLASSES “What I called up about was a pair of shoes I left there.” Shows lack of morals and the shallowness of the upper classes. Klipspringer was Gatsby’s lodger but would rather attend a picnic. He is not even phoning up to offer commiserations but to enquire about a pair of shoes.

“Nobody came” This illustrates the upper class shallowness. They attended his parties and abused his hospitality but have deserted him when he is no longer of any use.

THEME – THE AMERICAN DREAM Gatsby fails to achieve the American Dream – Why?

Some suggestions may be: He is a criminal He can never gain acceptance into the American aristocracy. His new identity is an act His dream was unattainable (why?) All of these question the idea of America as a place where all things are possible if one tries enough.

The American dream is the potential for unlimited advancement, regardless of where someone comes from or how poor their background is Gatsby’s failure suggests it is impossible to disown one’s past so completely

SYMBOLISM He knew he had a big future in front of him. And ever since he made a success he was very generous with me.” Ironic – in his father’s mind Gatsby had achieved the American dream His father has no understanding of the intricacies of American society.

“That’s my Middle West” Nick thinks of America as a place with distinct regions with different values Each area has come to symbolise different values Discuss: What values are symbolised by the Mid-West, East, West within the novel?

“I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all – Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners …” Throughout history the West has been seen as a land of promise, possibility, a symbol of American ideals But Tom and Daisy, like other members of the upper classes have betrayed American ideals by having a rigid class structure that excludes newcomers from its upper classes.

“Gatsby’s house was still and empty when I left” The party is over in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

“…grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine.” Gatsby has gone but time has moved on This contrasts with Gatsby’s lawn when he was alive Discuss – how does this link to Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy? Consider how it changed and when grass cutting was significant in the past.

“…and perhaps he made a story about it all of his own.” Even in death Gatsby remains the focus of gossip and speculation. Discuss – do you think that Gatsby deserved to be the centre of such gossip?

“…I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more.” It is like a sign of material success, but like its owner it is flawed. “…word, scrawled by some boy” In the corrupt America of the 1920’s childhood is not even a time of innocence.

“…I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes…” Nick imagines what it must have looked like to the first explorers Seeing that America was once a goal for dreamers just as Daisy was for Gatsby.

“Gatsby believed in the green light…” Nick pictures the green land of America as the green light shining from Daisy’s dock He believes that Gatsby had failed to realise that his dreams had already ended His goals had become hollow and empty.

“…tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further … And one fine morning – So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Symbolises that the return to paradise is an ideal not a reality Discuss: is this an optimistic or pessimistic end to the novel?

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