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The Great Gatsby AO3 - Coggle Diagram
The Great Gatsby AO3
Idealism
American Dream
"The belief that every man, whatever his origins, may pursue and attain his chosen goals, be they political, monetary or social"
It is an ideology that gained momentum following the end of the 1st World War & economic boom of the Roaring 20s.
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Different classes inhabit different settings -> 'No Money' = Valley of Ashes, 'Nouveau Riche' = West Egg, 'Old Money' = East Egg.
Fitzgerald repeatedly questions the reality of the American Dream. The context of American Dream during the Jazz Age allows a measure of the social values & morals & ethics of the period.
Nick - "A new world, material without being real" Chapter 8. Emergence of a new era after the world war. Morals & values of the old world have disappeared.
Criticises the social atmosphere of the roaring 20s. Growing affluence & changing morals of the nation created a materialistic culture
Gatsby
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HIs rise & fall questions the dream posited ideals of the equality of 'upward' mobility. His transition from James Gatz -> Jay Gatsby -> verification of the success of the American Dream,
In order to live a luxurious & wealthy lifestyle he lives a life of pretence & involvement in cream.
Mr Wilson
Works hard all his life& remains poor -> indicates fantastic wealth is only available to those who become involved in shady dealings. Fitzgerald -> pessimistic view of monetary aspect of American Dream. Throughout he displays it as a facade & unattainable
Poverty stems from pursuing blue-collar work, which in the corrupt society of 1920s NY, bars him from the riches Gatsby is acquiring through involvement with criminal business dealings.
Nick - "They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild" living the American dream of money, partying & temporary happiness invokes a race-like feeling in NY.
American dream has an influence on the roaring 20s - "I too, was [...] sharing their intimate excitement" A Dream encourages the rakish behaviour.
contrast to the dull, slow lives in the Valley of Ashes.
Valley of Ashes = metaphor for the impossibility of the American Dream. Inhabitants are the embodiment of the unfair predicament which traps the poor like Wilson who lose vivacity for life in face of stubborn poverty.
"ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens" "ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and risking smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air"
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"bounded on one side by a small foul river" Fitzgerald makes allusion to River Styx, mythological river -> one crosses to enter the realm of the dead. inhabitants like George are undead physically but spiritually dead.
Myrtle Wilson
"Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand" chapter 2. In attempt to rise above her social station. Myrtle subjects herself to abusive treatment. She is treated as an object whose value decreases in his eyes when Tom sees fit. Violence is the price she is willing to pay to rise above her social class.
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Unreliable narrator. Nick doesn't explicitly expose dark aspects of American society easily, he doesn't show consistency when narrating. He narrates on the decay of moral values in most scenes.
Glamourises & romanticises settings around him, but critiques the characters throughout.
our opinions on Daisy & Gatsby change throughout as Nicks expressions when describing their wealth varies.
Daisy -> thrilling beauty, captures the hearts of many -> end of novel her main source of attraction is displayed as her wealth & status.
Tom, Daisy & Jordan & East Egg = antithesis of American Dream. Represent everything that the other characters want. Their status in unattainable through hard work.
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Emptiness of wealth
"[Gatsby] had waited 5 years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths" Anticlimactic section signifies the point whereby Gatsby loses his greatness in Nick's perception. Romantic plot = purposeless
"His bedroom was the simplest room of all" Shows the real Gatsby when the facade of wealth disappeared. Vulnerability -> exposed in his most private room. Unable to completely live in his glamorous mansion. This simplicity recalls adolescence, worked as "calm digger" & "salmon fisher" slept with moonlight upon his "tangled clothes on floor"
"The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which 2 young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon... their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house" Similes of movement & floating suggests Jordan & Daisy are so lightweight that they do not inhibit physical heaviness. Reinforces sense of the aimlessness of their lives. Wealth means they can live purposeless existences, ungrounded by real obligations. Chapter 2
Daisy's despair with her life -> carless & impulsive - marriage to Tom & affairs with Gatsby. Misery -> inability to leave Tom & socialite life to pursue her happiness -> temporary stream of thoughtless actions.
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"Tom Buchanan, who had been hovering restlessly about the room, stopped and rested his hand on my shoulder" "His eyes flashing about restlessly" Chapter 1. Signify his boredom -> he is so wealthy. East Egg characters display this sense of dissatisfaction -> reckless attempts to occupy themselves.
[Jordan] "I've been lying on that sofa for as long as I can remember" luxurious life prevents her from getting anything done due to her privilege. Chapter 1
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Class & Wealth
Old money
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Original states such as New York & Virginia were originally inhabited by wealthy families of European descent. Therefore those who sought their own wealth looked westward towards the new America across the new frontier.
The Buchanans
Wealthy by birthright. Prevail in getting what they desire in life: he wins Daisy from Gatsby because of this status. The failure of the American Dream as careless & privileged people like Tom & Daisy always win in the end. Do not give a hand to new money or no money like Myrtle who are willing to sacrifice everything to break through the glass cieling
Tom & Daisy's elite status makes them almost immune to the events of the novel. Their actions manage to destroys lives around them.
After Myrtle incident Nick spies on Buchanans & narrates "there was na unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together". Rich operate in 1920a. They are aware of their privileges and do not mind others taking the fall for them. Gatsby = Victim after sacrificed for Myrtle's accidental death. Daisy is rich and always escaped the consequences of her actions.
New Money
'Self made'. No aristocratic heritage, to compensate for this, resolve to display their wealth lavishly through conspicuous consumption.
Gatsby
Flaunts his wealth. His goal of integrating into the social elite is unsuccessful and forced as he develops a verbal tic by addressing everyone has "old sport" forced attempt of appearing upper class and rather served the opposite purpose by pointing him out as a nouveau riche.
The colour and model of Gatsby's car makes a statement to pass-byers as they are made aware of his belonging to the moneyed classes now. This is ironic as Gatsby trusts Daisy, not with his heart, with his prized possession which she betrays when accidentally hitting Myrtle and ultimately killing Gatsby.
No Money
The Wilsons
workers, servants or the unemployed
Unable to acquire the American Dream's monetary or social gains. Overlooked by the emergence of a new class conflict between those of old money and those of new money. Embodied through the struggle between Tom & Gatsby over Daisy whose love they attempt to gain.
The Valley of Ashes
Directly oppressed or exploited by both the nouveau rich and the 'old money set'. Symbolised by Myrtle's death, caused by old money - Daisy in Gatsby's 'death car', his ultimate symbol of wealth.
Quotations
Daisy
"her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes". Metaphor of music for affluent life, direct parallel to the lifestyle obtained by main in American society during Jazz Age.
Nick's association of Daisy & Nature. Name and musicality - voice. Indicates her natural beauty. Her position makes her attractive in more ways than one.
"Daisy, surprising me by opening up again in a flower-like way" Nick narrates Daisy in a romanticised manner, outlining her value and beauty. Allows reader to explore & justify Gatsby's obsession with her. Wordplay - acts like a flower - imitates nature of her name. Making her vulnerable yet valuable.
Provokes that class is everything. Dictates characters actions, comfortable to act freely because of status, or attempt to change class status to acquire privileges. Dream of economic and class is a weakness for poor characters.
How accessible is the American Dream. Wealth can be acquired but acceptance by old money is doubtful. Those who climbed the ladder will fall back down because of their background.
Moral message - rich get richer & stringer, the poor will forever struggle.
"as if he had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged". Nick's observation. Daisy aware of privileged status. Gatsby & Myrtle lust for her social advantages. They die from their attempts to associate with higher society.
Gatsby's idea of the city itself was "pervaded with a melancholy beauty". Focus on Daisy's house instead of her physical self shows Gatsby's conscious of her possessions. Romantic but denotes selfishness & materialistic aspects of Gatsby's desires. The house symbolises a dream of wealth rather than just young love
"I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything..sophisticated - God, I'm sophisticated!" Daisy says in lighthearted manner but is lcear she is exhausted from her lifestyle.
"Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay". With this Gatsby hopes to one day cross the social boundary between 'new money' and 'old money'. The bay between his mansion and Daisy serves as physical barrier between the 2 classes. The distance is further, the more he tries the closer he gets to tragedy. Spatial metaphor for social aspirations.
[Daisy] "was appalled by West Egg's raw vigour that chafed under the old euphemisms [...] inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing." Attitude signifies her condescending attitude towards Gatsby. Lack of civility of Gatsby's parties shows the difference between East & West Eggers. West do not adhere to the same behaviour standards of East. "short-cut from nothing to nothing" cataphoric reference to his tragic end, left with nothing - nobody attends his funeral. Tom's view of Gatsby a "Mr Nobody from Nowhere". East have a lack of respect. Tom attempted to assert his control here. Hypocritical as he has an affair with Myrtle.
"the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down [...] a singing compulsion" Daisy's voice compared to a siren that compels those around her and captures Gatsby's heart who is drawn towards her because of the money he senes behind her voice.
Wealthy appearances
Gatsby - "An Oxford man! He [Tom] was incredulous. 'Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit." Identifies as glamorous emerging new money class & his shirt reflects his ostentatious lifestyle.
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"An hour later the front door opened nervously, and Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold coloured tie, hurried in." Imitates the epigraph. To capture Daisy, he understands a wealthy appearance is important.
Tom's status allows him to exploit the lower classes and assert his upper-class dominance. Appearance reflects this "Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face".
White & gold signify wealth, aristocratic wealth in particular.
"Across the bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water" "red and white [...] The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold" White = Easts high way of living. Daisy & Jordan wear white dresses when Nick meets them. Symbolises purity & life leisure (no labour or dirt).
Nick doesn't use derogatory terms as he does with Gatsby's house "a colossal affair by any standard... a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy" Gatsby's frequent attempts to imitate East Egg & European lifestyle
"Mrs Wilson has changed her costume sometime before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-coloured chiffon... With the influence of the dress her personality had also changed" Highlights importance of dress in marking class & status. Myrtle is part of the working class, living in the Valley of Ashes. Mirrors transition from poor garage worker's wife to an upper-class wealthy man's mistress.
"Our white girlhood was passed together there. Our beautiful white". Repetition emphasises the direct link between white & innocence, beauty & ethereality.
"high in a white palace [...] the golden girl" with "bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth". "golden" denotes wealth & radiance. Represents beauty & elegance. Wealth is significant in shaping love in the novel.
"brass buttons on her dress gleamed in the sunlight" "a toilet set of pure dull gold" "Here's my little gold pencil". These references reveal strength of association between gold & wealth.
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