Tuesday, October 5, 2010

An incontrovertible reduction of Gatsby's omnipotent fiefdom (why Gatsby is insecure) (Julian)

--This is a late post about Chapter 5. Since I have read to the end of the book, I am using some of my knowledge to analyze the content found earlier on--


Throughout the novel, Gatsby is portrayed as a real life actor. He uses his wealth and status as a means to engage Daisy. He is often quiet and reserved at his parties, rarely speaking with his guests, instead letting his money do the talking. It is important to note, then, how his self-created character and status seem to falter during his initial encounter with Daisy in chapter five. For example, he seems to completely forget the status of his grass on page 84, something which was of concern to him only a day beforehand. Furthermore, on page 84, Gatsby makes a remark on when the papers predicted the rain would stop. As others have pointed out, the weather is often in symbolic in nature. This is no exception. I will leave the exact meaning of the weather for another time, as it is not directly relevant to my point. That being said, Gatsby's remark is one of only a few in the novel showing a state of complete submittance (he has no control over the weather). In conclusion, Fitzgerald illustrates Gatsby's unsureness by temporarily removing his illusion of wealth and control.

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