1. Describe 3 key characters and explain how they change throughout the novel.

a) Daisy. Daisy at the start is a sweet little girl who is sad because she has nothing to do and is married to someone who is seeing someone else. We feel sorry for her and want her to be happy. She is a glamorous girl with “new money” and represents the American Dream with the perfect life and family. “…looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see. That was a way she had.”. She has a way that people want to spend all their time with her, people believe that she is entirely focused on them and that she would do anything for them. At the end she is a dangerous, selfish rich girl who uses and abuses, once she has taken what she wants she leaves it for other people to clean up her mess. She has a charm that allows her to manipulate others easily. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”. She is a careless person who thinks they can fall back on their money and ruins people’s lives. She is the reason George Wilson, Mrytle Wilson and Gatsby get killed and that Tom is blind to the truth. She puts herself before others. 

b) Nick. Nick at the start we believe him to not be judgmental and fair. In the first chapter we believe him to “reserve all judgments” and be fair to the rest of the characters but later on we see him as a judgmental biased person who puts Gatsby above everyone else. “And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit.” in the first chapter he even goes back on what he said and admits to being judgmental. Nick only believes that he isn’t judgmental so that’s what he sees himself as. He knows that people can only get so far before having to judge or criticise a person. He sees at the beginning every flaw the people with “new money” make, or the ones that go to Gatsby’s parties and Mrytle and he comments and judges them. However as time goes on he begins to fit in with the crowd and adapts to their lifestyle more and finds it harder to separate himself from them and see their flaws. At the beginning after he comes back from the war he wants people to have the same values and morals and doesn’t want the world to become a bad place, however at the end of the book he finds that Daisy and Gatsby ran over Mrytle, since Gatsby is involved there is nothing wrong with it. He thinks what they did was morally okay and if anything treats Gatsby like a bigger hero. 

c) Gatsby. What changes for Gatsby is how he presents himself, he comes across at the beginning as a powerful, nice and polished man who lives a glamorous lifestyle. We see him as a model and we admire him, he has a beautiful house and life and is very nice to Nick despite just meeting him. Nick heard many bad things about Gatsby from others in that he was a blackmailer and probably a bootlegger, but Nick still went to his party to meet his new neighbour. “He smiled understandingly much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced or seemed to face the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. ” Nick spends so much time talking about Gatsby’s smile that we fell as if we understand Gatsby. He seems to fall in love with Gatsby’s smile and we do too. Gatsby makes this impression on us that he is perfection and like Daisy, one he focuses on you, all of his attention is spotlighted on you. We can not help but want to be around Gatsby and idolise him like Nick. Over time however, he becomes more anxious and desperate to keep Daisy, to keep his hope and dream so he makes slips and becomes a bit more careless. He isn’t as hard-headed and becomes so fixated on Daisy he forgets everything else. His story starts to show more holes in it and the cracks start to show. He doesn’t care about the fall back on him and is willing to take the blame of Mrytle’s death. When his hope starts slipping away from him, he tries harder and harder to keep a grip on her, he believes she is so close he can just reach out and grab her. His desperation starts to show through as all his hard work from the past 5 years begins to crumble. “He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s” he tricked Nick and tried to trick Daisy into thinking his past wasn’t real, that he didn’t grow up as a poor farmer’s son who wasn’t content with his life, but only changed who he was for Daisy. Daisy is what gave Gatsby his illusion and without it he is sad and alone, but also a liar.

2. Identify how each of the characters you have explored above presented the idea about illusion in the text. Describe how they concealed their true self from other characters in the novel. Explain what helped you uncover their illusion in the text.

a) Daisy. She came across as the American Dream and having the perfect life. She was rich, has an amazing husband and a beautiful little girl. She is a fashion icon and the “it girl” who everyone wants to be. “I told her how I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way east and how a dozen people had sent their love through me.”, everyone loves Daisy and remembers her because she has such a kind soul. Just like the colour white she comes across as pure, glamorous and bright, but we see this is a cover and her illusion as white represents her as cold and empty. She is rich but that is what makes her a rose, her husband is with another women and she is out of her daughters life. When you get too close to her you end up getting hurt. She is pretty from a distance but up close she is dangerous and a threat to those that get to close to taking something away from her. We see she doesn’t care about others and her innocence is corrupt, she takes what she wants and doesn’t care about the consequence about her actions on others. The decisions she makes depend on the outcome for her and wether it is beneficial for her. She married Tom for his money and social status and went along with Gatsby because he was also rich and had many material possessions. We think that she was only following her heart but was only following the money. She used her cover to hide her true self from others to make others feel sorry for her and want to protect her which she liked and would use it as a security blanket in the end. Especially with Gatsby who dies to protect her. “‘Nothing happened,’ he said wanly. ‘I waited, and about four o’clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light.’”, Gatsby waits all night to make sure that Daisy is safe incase he needs to protect her from Tom, but all she does is look out into the night and then turn away. Daisy has just killed Tom’s mistress and is going to let Gatsby take all the blame without hesitation. She doesn’t care about the consequences or Gatsby as long as it doesn’t fall back on her. Like Gatsby’s dream, Daisy just walks away leaving Gatsby heartbroken and unhappy.

b) Nick. Nick’s illusion is that he is a non-judgmental and honest person which makes him the perfect narrator but in the novel we see this is could not be further from the truth. In the prologue he says, “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.” which means that to have never-ending hope one must keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves. The hope that we as humans can get along with one another and put a end to fighting and wars. As time goes on, Nick gets more social after his first party with Gatsby and gets welcomed into that sort of party lifestyle. The more he gets drawn in, the more he loses himself which causes him to lose his morals. He starts picking up their traits and becomes more and more like them. In the beginning he didn’t mind much people’s social status, money, rumours, action and materialism cloud his judgments but over time he starts judging people on their actions and wealth and makes Gatsby seem like a hero in every event. He begins to lie to himself and doesn’t realise how judgmental he is being which is his biggest fault. Nick begins to transform into the people around him without even realising. After Mrytle’s death, he realises he wants nothing to do with this world and doesn’t want to be a part of this rich life. At first he was intrigued but is now repulsed with how self-centred they truly are and realises who he is truly becoming.

c) Gatsby. Jay Gatsby himself is an illusion and comes from James Gatz. He started off as a young poor bloke who when the opportunity arose, changed his identity and became someone he was proud to be, Jay Gatsby. At the age of 17 he created his illusion of a rich, powerful and famous man and never once strayed from that character. He came across as reserved, powerful and that he “had it all”, the American Dream when in reality he was only missing one thing to make him complete and that’s the love of Daisy. To conceal this illusion from others he had only the people he grew up with know his true identity and was careful in his choice of words and keeping mementos. He had a cover story that had some truth to it to make it a better lie. “He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it or choked on it as if it bothered him before.” however we find out later he was in fact educated at Oggsford after the war. When telling his “past” to Nick he brings mementos to back up his story to get Nick to trust him almost as if he didn’t believe Nick would trust his word. He told few people as Jay Gatsby the story of James Gatz and normally did it to get something out of it. Towards the end, as he spends more time with Daisy and gets closer to her, his illusion starts to crack and glimpses into himself start to show. He gets more anxious and wants more control of situations whereas we know from his parties he didn’t necessarily like order, but James Gatz had a very structured and ordered schedule that had him constantly busy and controlling his future. Jay Gatsby doesn’t need much control or order but James Gatz needs control to feel safe and calm in situations. When he confronts Tom he gets a bit cocky yet anxious, he completely and utterly believes Daisy will do anything from him and refuses to move on from the one point that Daisy never loved Tom. He gets careless and Tom finds out about his work making Daisy less trusting of him.

3. Describe three important relationships in the text. Explain how these relationships presented as being “false”.

a) Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby loved Daisy since the day they first meet. He was in love with with voice, her aura, her personality, her money and her value. “It was also that many men have loved Daisy before…it increased her value in his eyes.” To Gatsby, Daisy was his prize and his way of completing the American Dream and reaching his peak in life. He won her heart and beat all the men before him. It was “false” because in the end the love went only one way. Maybe when they first meet, Daisy him in some way to but over the five years they were apart, Daisy fell out of love with Gatsby. She married Tom, had a baby girl and travelled the world, made friends and couldn’t love Gatsby because of all the time spent apart. Daisy grew and welcomed time where as Gatsby after the war dedicated his life to being wealthy and having a high social status so he could support her and they could be married. Daisy played along with their “relationship”, saying she loved him and never loved Tom because that was what it took for Gatsby to be happy with her. However after finding out the truth she doesn’t want to ever see him again. She lets him take the fall and the night she kills Mrytle she walks to the window, turns out the light and goes to bed forgetting and ignoring Gatsby. It’s only on his death bed that Gatsby realises “…shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is…” when he sees Daisy is unattainable and while she may look the part for his American Dream, she is a dangerous women whom he never had a chance with because he is “new money” and Daisy is “old money” and is part of the “elite circle” and he never truly be able to grasp her without getting pricked. He had tried to remain hopeful and optimistic that the past 5 years didn’t matter and that they can be together, but as time goes on it becomes more obvious that it can’t be ignored. “She was appalled by West Egg,” so no matter how hard he tries to make it work, she will only ever be happy with “old money” in East Egg no matter how insistent he is.

b) Nick and Gatsby. Nick idolised Gatsby and thought he was perfect and could do no wrong. “Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life,” Nick had no doubt that Gatsby would make the world a better place and lead by example. Gatsby wanted to get to know his neighbour and complete his hopes and dreams in being with the girl he wants who happens to be his cousin. Gatsby lied to him in the beginning and didn’t even talk to Nick at the start and first meet him because he wanted information about Daisy from Jordan who probably told Gatsby that Nick and Daisy were related. Gatsby never truly trusted Nick and only told him his past so that Nick could help him and feel as if he was getting to know Gatsby. He wanted to include Nick in his business but when Nick asked about it, Gatsby shut the conversation down quickly. “That’s my affair,” so he comes across as rude, defensive and secretive and since Nick is helping you would think he would come across more polite. It’s “fake” because their whole friendship is based off Daisy and while Nick would do anything for Gatsby, Gatsby’s priority was Daisy and did everything for her. Gatsby withheld secrets from Nick because he knew Nick was forever loyal.

c) Tom and Daisy. They were married and at the start were happy, they travelled together and had a daughter together while living in East Egg. Their happy marriage is their illusion. “They weren’t happy… and yet they weren’t unhappy either” they are unhappy in their marriage yet at some point did love each other, but they can not get a divorce in case it damages their social status. Tom is fine having an affair but still isn’t very happy, but it’s manageable however for Daisy she is depressed and feels alone but can not file for divorce as women were not able to. However over time they started drifting, Tom was having an affair with Mrytle and Daisy started drifting and isolating. Daisy wanted attention and for someone to love her which is why Daisy was so happy when she started having an affair with Gatsby because he loved her unconditionally and made her feel special. The reason their relationship is “fake” is because they come across as a happily married couple, however behind closed doors they are with someone else and are happier apart. They are married to “old money” but are with the lower class dinting their “elite circle”. However they need to be married for show, they would rather be unhappy than lower their social status.

The Great Gatsby Setting Analysis

2. Each of the settings in the novel comment on an aspect of the American Dream. Explain how each of the settings reveals a reality about the American Dream and how this message is reinforced by the characters that live there.

East Egg – The residents of East Egg were given the American Dream. They didn’t have to work a hard day in their life to achieve it, all they had to do was be born. They inherited more many than they could ever need, family houses across the country and suitors lining up at their doors just to have a taste of the Dream. The American Dream is all about working hard in order to achieve prime living, but they end up just making more and more money because of their “title” and how much money they have so they can do just about anything. They steal from the poor to make more and more money which they don’t need. Daisy finds that life is boring now. Because of all her money she was able to go places, do things and se things and now she has done everything so what more excitement could she find in her life. She has a maid to look after her daughter so she doesn’t need to do any child-care so what could she do to fill up her life. Tom is Daisy’s husband and the hardest work he has done in his life is hide his affair from East Egg, which he didn’t cover up that well as Daisy, Jordan and Nick all found out pretty quickly. He bought an apartment in New York to cover it up and spent money on her to give her the taste of the Dream and gave her the illusion that they would end up being married so she could have the Dream. The American Dream is to give the lower class hope that was probably designed by the “elite class” to have them work harder for them. They give them hope that they will be rich and have a loving family but take all their money and life from them.

West Egg – West Eggers show the corruption of the American Dream. They get their money illegally, “A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know.” and cheat their way to the top. Gatsby is a classic example of this, he was found by Dan Cody who had plenty of money and taught him how to be a gentleman and other similar things. He was then introduced to Wolfshiem who taught him his “business” and bought him into the blackmarket and helped him set up his “drug store” chain. Gatsby’s desire to have Daisy and support her led him to cheat to earn money and break the law. Alcohol was on high demand so many people were interested in buying off of him and Gatsby took that opportunity.

Valley of Ashes – This is the false nature of the dream. The character in this setting constantly work hard but never achieve success so the dream fails them over and over. The Valley of Ashes is a working class area and they are working 24/7 for their whole life just to get by. They don’t get rest days like George Wilson when Jordan, Nick and Tom stop off at his garage on the way to New York for gas. He was clearly unwell “With an effort Wilson left the shade and support of the doorway and, breathing hard, unscrewed the cap of the tank. In the sunlight his face was green.” but had to work just to earn a bit of money. They get told this dream and constantly work hard as their daily routine but can never achieve it. They are poor with little to no education so their children won’t get an education and their children’s children won’t get an education so they can’t get a good job and earn good money. They are stuck in a poverty cycle and can never get out of it with clean hands, but if they were able to they still would never be of the highest class because they have “new money” and have a stereotype of being a bootlegger. They can never achieve the dream and for the rest of their lineage, they will forever be below the majority of people on America. They will continue to work their hardest but it will amount to nothing.

New York – The Big Apple where “anything is possible”, people go here to attempt the dream. It allows people to experience the illusion of the dream. In all movies you see set in New York, the main character goes to New York to achieve their dream to be rich, famous and find love. New York has the illusion that once you step on their streets you are someone and can achieve anything, that you amount to something. However once you leave, you are trash and are worthless with no hope of a better life until you walk back into the city. Mrytle Wilson was allowed to experience the illusion thanks to Tom Buchanan. He would bring Mrytle into New York and she could pretend for a short while that she was living the dream and could have the dream life. She could be whoever she wanted in NY but when she was back in the valley of ashes she was the wife to a poor man living in the working class. The whole entire setting is proving how it is only an illusion and a dream, it is not real and New York only gives the sense that you are living the dream with the modern tall buildings and the busy streets make you think you own the world.

The Great Gatsby Symbol Analysis

Symbol

3 quotes from the book the describe the symbol

3 key moments when the symbol appears

Major characters the symbol is connected to

What does the symbol represent? What important things does it reveal about a person, place or thing?

Water

“”If it wasn’t for the mist, we could see your house across the bay,” said Gatsby.”You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock”…Possibly it had occurred to him the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her…as close as a star to the moon.”

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us .”

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past.”

When Nick sees Gatsby for the first time. When Daisy and Gatsby meet again after 5 years apart. When Gatsby dies in the pool.

Daisy and Gatsby

Time. It represents the time that separates the two characters. Water appears at key moments in the journey, reminding them of the past 5 years ultimately, it serves as a reminder that we can not move backwards. In the real world it reveals that you can’t erase time or forgot what happened in time. Time will always move forward and always push you further and further away from the past. Like the water cycle it is a continuous force that does not slow down or stop and will continue constantly.

The eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg

“We were all irritable now with the fading ale and, aware of it, we drove for a while in silence. Then as Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s faded eyes came into sight down the road, I remembered Gatsby’s caution about gasoline.”

“I turned my head as though I had been warned of something behind. Over the ashheaps the giant eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg kept their vigil…”

“…‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me but you can’t fool God!’ ‘

Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg…”

When the group drive in to New York and stop for gas. When Nick goes to the Valley of Ashes for the first time. When Jordan, Tom and Nick go to Wilson’s garage before the accident. When Wilson talks about how God knows that Myrtle had cheated on him.

George Wilson and the people in the Valley of Ashes.

It represents God looking down on American society and seeing everything that happens in the Valley of Ashes. It’s God’s watchful gaze and how even God has abandoned this area like nothing can fix the corruption the American Dream has caused. It reveals how the rich and wealthy only care about their personal growth and will tear others down to lift themselves up. They leave their “ashes” once they leave the working class and never look back. It shows how the American Dream is not a reality for everyone and that it severely damages other in taking the working classes life for their one to grow. George believes that they see and judge everything as God does, however they are in reality just a set of painted eyes. It’s also how people desperately cling to any symbols of hope, no matter how silly it seems because it gives them a reason to keep going especially as they are all stuck in a poverty cycle in the Valley of Ashes.

The colour white

“…that was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of all desire.”[about Daisy and Miss Baker in Chapter 1]

“She dressed in white, and had a little white roadster and all day long the telephone rang in her house and excited young officers from Camp Taylor demanded the privilege of monopolizing her that night, ‘anyways, for an hour!’”[Jordan talking about Daisy in 1917]

“‘You see I think everything’s terrible anyhow,’…‘Everybody thinks so—the most advanced people. And I KNOW. I’ve been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.’”

When Nick sees Daisy and Jordan at the beginning of the book. In the flash back to when Daisy and Gatsby meet for the first time. When Daisy, Tom and others meet a bit formally.

Daisy (Gatsby)

White represents the true nature if these characters. At the start we believe it to represent perfection, purity and beauty because we see Daisy as innocent and a little bit naive. We pity her for the fact that Tom is cheating on her because she is so kind. She is consistently associated with “white” objects that enhance the image – houses, dresses etc. However we soon start uncovering Daisy’s illusion. Daisy begins showing her true nature and see that white symbolises cold and devoid of human emotion and we realise that white is also a blank and empty colour. Corruption is also connected to the colour white. Gatsby holds out his “get out of jail free card” which is white. Gatsby has corrupted the American Dream and removes the glamor of the American Dream.

The green light

“”If it wasn’t for the mist, we could see your house across the bay,” said Gatsby.”You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock”…Possibly it had occurred to him the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her…as close as a star to the moon.”

“…paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.”

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us .”

When Nick spots Gatsby for the first time after meeting Daisy again. When Daisy and Gatsby meet again after 5 years apart(it’s mentioned). After Gatsby is dead and Nick looks out to Daisy’s dock from Gatsby’s house.

Gatsby

Represents Gatsby’s hope of him being with Daisy again and completing the American Dream. Just like the light at the end of the dock, it looks just within our reach but is so far away. It also represents the illusions and how it seems so good and so close but it really is unreachable because it is so far away, just out of reach and teasing us. The American Dream is that people who go to America will get rich, happy and find love but this couldn’t be further from the reality. It is that hope can be a beautiful thing but can be a lifetime away and dangerous. The dream remains as a symbol so that people keep working and striving for the dream of a “better future”.

The Great Gatsby Language Features

1. Select two passages from the book (a paragraph or two in length) that we have not annotated in class. Annotate these passages and identify the language features that Fitzgerald uses. Explain the effects of these passages and why he may of used these.

a) “It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling un- happily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.”

He is flustered and is worried about Daisy finding out this way, he was probably going to tell Daisy but not this way.

He is defending “Jay Gatsby” his illusion. He is trying to defend something that isn’t real and just making up excuses.

She is unable to understand what is going on and is afraid of what’s happening before her. She’s used to everything being easy for her and not having to do anything but now has to decide what happens next. She needs to take control of the situation but is not emotionally ready to do so.

This is a personification, personification is when you give non-human things, human characteristics, in this case he is giving the idea that a dream can still fight to survive. Fitzgerald is giving this idea that the dream still has power and that Gatsby will find a way to achieve it even though it is five feet behind him. This line happens when Nick, Jordan, Gatsby, Tom and Daisy go to New York on the hottest day of the year. They are in an apartment and Tom has just told everyone how Gatsby got his money and a few of the illegal things he does as a reaction to Daisy being forced by Gatsby to say she never loved Tom. It is to explain how even though it is not possible for Daisy to leave Tom, her daughter and her glamorous life, Gatsby still believes she is worth fighting for. Even though we know we can not get something or do something, we still have hope that we will or fight to get it. Hope is what keeps us going, we have hope that we will be rich, famous with an amazing family when in reality you can not achieve everything we want. Sometimes we sacrifice our own happiness to try to achieve our “dream” when we really need to focus on what we have in the here and now. This is what Gatsby fails to recognise, he is tuck in the past and wants to go back and leave behind all his riches even though he would have an even lesser chance of Daisy being with him. He wants Daisy and him to remove their 5 years apart but Daisy can’t, too much has happened to her so she can’t love Gatsby completely and forget the past 5 years. All Gatsby needs to achieve his American Dream is Daisy who is just out of reach physically but in reality is far far away. His dream of being with Daisy and completing his American Dream is dead. It is not meant to be as Daisy is apart of the “elite class” while Gatsby is a bootlegger, Gatsby is now trying to fight for something everyone else but him knows can’t be won.

Gatsby is trying to reach for Daisy and grab her as if she is a prize to be won. She can now never be within his reach. He will never be able to have her.

Gatsby can never be like the “elite circle” and can never be equal to old money. Without Daisy, Gatsby has no life goal or ambition, Daisy was meant to complete him and be his life boat. Daisy is now completely lost and is detached from her class of old money. Gatsby is now realising that he can never reach the top.

b) “A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about … like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees.”

The new worlds are often referred to the Americas, it is sometimes also referred to the Eastern Hemisphere.

This is a paradox for his fortunes and house as Gatsby, his illusion makes up for nothing because it means nothing to him now, he can never complete his American Dream without Daisy.

Like himself in his beginning, he was poor too. He thought that he could become the Great Gatsby, his illusion and ideal person but like the green light it’s only a tunnel dream and is unreachable. Because he spent so long reaching out for Daisy, his whole life revolved around her and now that she left he has “died” and become a “ghost”.

Like Mrytle Gatsby is going to die. Gatsby dies because Mrtyle dies and her “ghost” is floating around Gatsby causing George to go after him. The reason Mrtyle’s “ghost” doesn’t float to Daisy is because she is selfish and would rather the blame falls on Gatsby. So it is by chance that the ghosts are floating around Gatsby as he gives up hope on Daisy like the hope of his dream is floating away.

It is a simile to symbolise Mrytle floating towards him. It is at the end of the book when Nick talks about what Gatsby’s final moments must be when he is in the pool about to be shot by George. It comes back to the fact that Mrytle lived in the Valley of Ashes where they have their soul sold to a life of infinite work. They go there to die where they work non-stop for the rest of their life just to survive! They can not move up through the class and are stuck in the working class same as the generations after them. Both Mrytle and Gatsby were given tastes of the dream, Mrytle went to New York with Tom and was able to experience that life, and Gatsby had the money and wealth and spent lots of time with Daisy having an affair. Even in death they are trying to put up an illusion that they are “living the life” even though they are barely getting by. Like today when you have a set of pictures and you want to post one on instagram, you will always put on the best one. We want to show the world that we are living the life even if we are having a really bad day.

It means shapeless or structureless trees. His whole entire house was pristine and modern and surrounding him he has these natural powers of nature. Like Gatsby’s past it is uncertain and not defined, he spend so long trying to keep the past intact and in the present but lost it. So his past is a bit foggy and hazy.

Nick states this passage when talking about Gatsby’s death towards the end of the novel. He is thinking about how Gatsby must of realised how dangerous loving Daisy is and how he lived too long in the past and forgot to live in the future. It is a simile and metaphor. It is comparing Gatsby’s old self as a ghost of who he truly is to him now and breathing is the same as dreaming. Gatsby’s whole new life is founded on dreams, he needs his dreams in order for him to survive. Without his dreams, he would not be there and there would be no Jay Gatsby. The working class and below hold onto their dreams in order to keep them going.

c) “…as close as a star to the moon.”

This is a simile and is said when Gatsby tells Daisy about the green light at the end of her dock after they meet for the first time in 5 years. The significance of the light disappears now that Daisy is “within his reach”. Whenever Gatsby thinks he has Daisy, she really is not with him. She makes him believe that they will be together but she will never leave Tom and her status. She gives the illusion that they will be together but they are not going to be with one another. It may seem like Daisy is close to Gatsby but in reality is far away. Just like the American Dream, it seems so close but as soon as we think we have it, it’s already running away.

“in his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars… while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. The bar in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter…”

This is a simile and the image creates a sense of people drifting in and out and making only very brief contact with one another. Like a moth drawn to flame, the party is their centre and the fluff around it moving around the light. This is when Nick is yet to go to Gatsby’s parties and sees what happens from the comfort of his home in the beginning of the book. It shows again how in the 1920’s people only cared about having fun and how they don’t care about others. They never really see Gatsby and don’t know who he is and just come for the party, especially the alcohol.

This is also a simile, and the car is described as a large, busy insect which moves very fast backwards and forwards. The image itself is full of fun to emphasise the excitement. This is when Nick is yet to go to Gatsby’s parties and sees what happens from the comfort of his home in the beginning of the book. It shows again how in the 1920’s people only cared about having fun and how they don’t care about others. They never really see Gatsby and don’t know who he is and just come for the party, especially the alcohol. They are racing around so much and are being dangerous and not focusing on their actions.

This is a metaphor and the drinks are carried so lightly and gracefully that they appear to float in the air, reinforcing the carefree, easy atmosphere at the party. This is when Nick is yet to go to Gatsby’s parties and sees what happens from the comfort of his home in the beginning of the book. It shows again how in the 1920’s people only cared about having fun and how they don’t care about others. They never really see Gatsby and don’t know who he is and just come for the party, especially the alcohol. Gatsby is the one bringing them alcohol and no one is even without some close by. Gatsby is living the illusion that he is popular and has tons of friends but no one knows him. He is not living the dream not only because he doesn’t have Daisy, but because he doesn’t have many friends, they are only work colleagues. Wolfshiem is one of Gatsby’s closest friends, but wasn’t able to make it to his funeral, Nick was the only one who cared enough about Gatsby to look after him when he died.

This is personification and it is as if the place itself is charged with a spirit of fun and gaiety. This is when Nick is yet to go to Gatsby’s parties and sees what happens from the comfort of his home in the beginning of the book. It shows again how in the 1920’s people only cared about having fun and how they don’t care about others. They never really see Gatsby and don’t know who he is and just come for the party, especially the alcohol. Everyone is so caught up in the party that they can’t help but have a good time, they are drinking alcohol which is illegal to sell so they could let loose.

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 place in the real world. Comment how the allusions help to support the development of illusion throughout the novel.

“This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph”, David Belasco was a Broadway theatre producer in the early 1900’s known for the realism of his sets and attention to life like detail. In the library, owl-eyes can’t believe the library contains actual books. He’s surprised because people used to use cardboard cut-outs to imitate big quantities of books since they used to be so expensive. By saying that Gatsby is a “regular Belasco”, we are alerted to the effort he put in to making his life and home appear realistic, even though it may not be real. It is a “triumph” because with an illusion so realistic, Gatsby can fool people into thinking he is someone he is perhaps not. Gatsby regularly tries to make his “life story” seem realistic for example , driving into New York with Nick he explains some bits of his “past” which he brings props to strengthen his story. If his story was true what need would there be to prove it with evidence and make sure that Nick believed him because although Gatsby may seem genuine and honest he is just providing a “realistic set to act on”.

“The Merton College Library” Merton has one of the oldest libraries at Oxford University; Gatsby ironically recreates an ancient building in his ultra-new house. The Merton College Library is one of the earliest libraries in England and for Gatsby, someone with “new money” to have one similar is bizarre because he is nowhere near the right class to have access or recreate something so similar. “As Gatsby closed the door of ‘the Merton College Library’ I could have sworn I heard the owl-eyed man break into ghostly laughter.” Owl-eyes can not believe that Gatsby recreated such an ancient library in his glamorous new house, it is so ironic that it’s a hilarious situation to be in. One second you think you are in a library from the 1300’s but when you walk through those doors you are greeted to a new modern mansion. It’s funny how someone who has no past has a library similar to one that is so important and iconic of its history. Jay Gatsby was born at the age of 17, he has no past only his future.

The World Series in 1919, gamblers bribed the Chicago White Sox baseball team to “throw” a series of games against the Cincinnati Reds. An iconic example of the corruption of American life. If the iconic American sport baseball is corrupt, what is there to say about American life. We all believe that the “elite circle” are a group of people with the perfect life and those with “new money” got their money with good, honest hard work, this is the illusion that those with money have the perfect life. In truth though, they don’t have the perfect life and it’s only an act, Gatsby earned his money illegally and Tom and Daisy have a failing marriage and were seeing other people. For their audience they have the perfect life, but in the changing rooms they are liars and cheats.

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God…” Plato was a Greek philosopher, one of the things he was concerned with was the real world, versus the ideal world. Idealism is what you envision or how you see things in a perfect or ideal manner and is also our reality that is shaped by our thoughts and ideas. Realism is the actual view on a situation. In the New Testament, Adam and Jesus Christ were called “son of God” while the followers of Jesus were called “sons of God”, Jesus was called “Son of God” when someone spoke to him from heaven. Jay Gatsby invented himself and became an honest, noble and righteous person who could do no wrong in Nick’s eyes. James Gatz had a thought of becoming someone bigger than his past and forgot his past by becoming Jay Gatsby, a “son of God” and someone people looked up to, he became what he desired most. His thoughts were on completing the American Dream and became the ideal person, the one people want to be and at the age of 17 he turned his back on the real world and walked through the ideal world.

The Great Gatsby Ideas

Fitzgerald “accurately shows life and its problems” and he like to address the “moral dilemmas in the society”. One way that he does this is through the ideas (or themes) that he presents in his work. We have talked about the idea of “illusion” and that all of the characters and places in The Great Gatsby are hiding something from the outside world. Fitzgerald comments on people’s need to present a persona to the world, rather than risk revealing and being rejected because of their true self. He also presents the following ideas in The Great Gatsby: The inevitability of time, and the myth of the American Dream.

1. For each of the ideas above, make a list of the ways that Fitzgerald presents it to us as his readers. Be specific and use his examples from the text to support your judgements.

His character all have an illusion to protect themselves from the world. They are all hiding something and give the illusion that they have the perfect life. Gatsby throws fun parties at his mansion in West Egg and is seemingly happy with a great life. In reality he is stuck in the past of Jay Gatsby and when he first met Daisy, he will do anything to have her again and is desperate for her affection. He is hiding the fact that in his blood he is James Gatz and has sent men to jail to keep himself clean. He will do anything to complete his American Dream.

Gatsby believes that he can rule time and control it. Time will always move forward, never backwards and without the past we are no one. The past is what makes us who we are, it changes and shapes our personality, out thoughts and our beliefs. Gatsby believes that 5 important years of Daisy’s life can be erased, her relationship with Tom, her daughter and her travels. Gatsby wants Daisy to lose a bit of herself because he wants to erase some of her past. When Tom finds out about Daisy and Gatsby having an affair, Gatsby wants Daisy to say she never loved Tom and to erase those 5 years apart. Although their marriage wasn’t a walk in the park, there were times that they loved each other. We obsess over the past even though we know we can not change it. Time will always move forward. Gatsby thought that since he was a “son of God”, a noble and righteous man, he deserved to be in love with Daisy and have those 5 years forgotten, but no one can escape the forces of time. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” We can fight as hard as possible to escape time but it will always be pushing us into the future and we can do nothing back look into the past as a memory.

The American Dream, what brought so many  people from overseas, to have money, a home and love. They were promised all that they desired and more, they would have their ideal world become their real world. “…in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.” America was full of promises that you could make it big, but none of this was true. Jay Gatsby, a man who had completed his American Dream it seemed, but Gatsby was missing one thing to complete his American Dream, but this one thing was unattainable and was just out of his reach; that was the love of Daisy Buchanan. He tried everything in his power to win her over and to be able to say she was his but all his attempts failed and led to his death. Daisy and Tom, another couple who seemingly had it all, they were happily married with a daughter and had travelled the world with plenty of money left over. This is their illusion that they are the elite couple and what people should strive for. In reality, they are seeing other people behind the others back, don’t spend much time with their daughter and are tired and bored with their lives. They even put on this act for each other by pretending everything is fine. It is this false idea that everyone regardless of race, social status, gender, etc. can achieve success(wealth and power) if they work hard enough. The East Eggers who have “old money” are given the dream. Tom and Daisy inherited their money so this “elite” class did not achieve the American Dream, they had it handed to it. West Eggers are “just a bunch of bootleggers” and earned their American Dream by cheating and lying. They are the corruption of this dream and illegally got their power and wealth. New Yorkers represent the illusion of the dream where “anything is possible” so people flock their to attempt their dream. All movies about New York or the “Big Apple” have people going there to meet their “big break” or to “make it big in the world”. It allows people to experience this illusion of the dream where it only happens in one place and as soon as you leave you go back to being no one. Mrytle Wilson experienced this illusion when Tom would bring her out her, she would change her “costume” and fit into the crowd. When she was in New York she was someone and had a status, however when she went back to George in the Valley of Ashes she was a no one struggling to survive. The Valley of Ashes shows how the dream is false. The citizens of the Valley of Ashes are constantly working hard but can never achieve the success that people talk about. They are stuck in a cycle they can never escape so they will never be close to achieving this dream and they will always be at the bottom of the social ladder.

2. Explain what you think Fitzgerald is saying about each of the ideas above – what is his opinion on each one. Why do you think he holds the view he does? Comment on why you do or don’t agree with him using the world you live in as a reference.

Fitzgerald is saying that every person has an illusion or a mask that they show to the world. Their is a Japanese saying that you have three faces; one face you show to the world, one face that you show to close friends and family, and the last one you never show anyone and that is the truest reflection of who you are. At the end we could completely see the face that the characters showed their close friends and family and were able to catch glimpses into the face they never show anyone. They were living their life in an illusion for so long that their personality was changed and they forgot pieces of themselves and their past. Fitzgerald was famous and probably met many people to which he would see how the world protects themselves by changing their “face”. If they say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing then the world will find out soon enough so Fitzgerald himself probably had to put on a different “face” sometimes. I agree in that people change how they come across to sometimes fit in, to be liked or even to be safe. I know I do this and everyone does it and sometimes we do it without realising, or we do this to change ourselves completely. Everyone in society today has different “faces”, but with the internet we have one more which is more like a mask. We can be anonymous on the internet or we can be “ourselves” but we always change who we are. #Fitspiration is a hashtag to promote a healthy lifestyle and working out; how many photos with #Fitspiration have them actually working out? The tag is really #thinspiration but that would not be socially acceptable and would have lots of backlash so we put “fit” in front of it to make it better right? Internet trolls are another face(mask) completely which they put on when they are too afraid to show the world it is them. Their mask is similar to the face that they don’t show anyone in a way, because they are too scared at times to put a name to it, or a picture of themselves. It is supposed to be what they don’t show anyone, yet they put it all over the internet for the world to see. This is why I know everyone has an illusion, it doesn’t necessarily be a different persona, just how they come across to the world.

Fitzgerald knows that we can’t go back in time no matter how hard we try and that it will always be behind us pushing us into the future. He is saying that some people who “missed out” on something or are so desperate for one thing will put all of their energy into it or do anything to get it back. He knows that without the past we lose ourself and that we need to remember that we can’t forget feelings, relationships, lifestyles and changes to our life because we can not stop moving, we must move forward. What has happened in my past will stay with me forever, I know I will not remember everything that happened to me or everything that I have done to others but I know subconsciously that it’s still there. Once you have lost time, you can not get it back because time is continuously moving forward like the current of the ocean “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” we can only look back but no matter how hard we row time will always be stronger than us. Once you have lost time you can never get it back, like mist it will slip between your fingers and disappear in a hazy mess. Time is something I have learnt will always move forward and you can not change what has already happened, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift which is why they call it the present.”.

Fitzgerald knows the American Dream is corrupt and that it is not real. The American Dream is this ideal that with hard work, you can have success, a family and an increase in social status as long as you work hard. All of the settings represent some idea or perspective of the American Dream, how to working class can never achieve it and you need to cheat your way to the top to be with those who were given the dream. This is still present today, we get told by the top that “we can do it!” or “work hard and you’ll make it!” to encourage us and give us hope so we will continue doing their dirty work. We look up to these people and aspire to be them but we know that we can never be close to their social status.