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The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby . Review of The American Dream, Symbols Chapter 5 Analysis April 2011. Review, The American Dream. Four Dreams of Consumerism??? Dream of Abundance – material goods, rich country Dream of a Democracy of Goods – access to same products

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The Great Gatsby

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  1. The Great Gatsby Review of The American Dream, Symbols Chapter 5 Analysis April 2011

  2. Review, The American Dream • Four Dreams of Consumerism??? • Dream of Abundance – material goods, rich country • Dream of a Democracy of Goods – access to same products • Dream of Freedom of Choice – fashion your own lifestyle • Dream of Novelty – new and unexpected products broadened consumer experience in terms of purchasing skills and awareness of the market

  3. Review, Symbols • The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg • Cast an ominous shadow over the goings-on in the novel • Symbolism is open to interpretation (and reinterpretation) • George Wilson connects them to the eyes of God • God looking down on Valley of Ashes – God looking down on a morally bankrupt wasteland and doing nothing about it • Modernist notion – God no longer lived, a symbol of the modernists’ distrust of political, religions and social institutions • Modernists – influenced by negativity of WWI

  4. Review, Symbols • Valley of Ashes • Located between West Egg and New York City – moral decay associated with the uninhibited desire for wealth • Symbolizes societal decay and the plight of the poor, victims of greed and corruption • WWI Battlefields – where existed a no man’s land – full of barbed wire, unexploded mines and dead bodies

  5. East Egg vs. West Egg East Egg • The established rich • Represented by Tom Buchanan whose money has been inherited • Morally bankrupt – adulterer and a liar • Only posses superficial knowledge and cares little about whom he destroys through his carelessness West Egg • Nouveau riche • Represented by Gatsby who has obtained wealth through bootlegging and not-so-honest endeavors • Wealth is displayed gaudily through outrageous automobiles (Rolls Royce), amazing parties, and incredible mansions

  6. What do East Egg and West Egg have in common? • Corruptness

  7. Chapter Five – Key Questions • Why does Gatsby deliver so many goods and services to Nick's house? • Describe the effect of rain on the plot. • Why does Gatsby offer Nick work? How does Nick feel about this? • Explain the significance of the green light. • Why does Gatsby get so many phone calls? What does this say about him?

  8. Chapter Five – Analysis • Initial exchange between Nick and Gatsby, uncertainty at the heart of their relationships – is he using Nick to draw closer to Daisy? Or is he genuinely fond of Nick? • Gatsby uses money and power as leverage in all relationships • Gatsby is insecure – does not think anyone would want to be friends with him if he did not possess a mansion and make several million dollars a year • Ostracized by East Eggers • Abandoned by Gatsby because of his poverty • Only Nick makes friends that are not based on class

  9. Chapter Five – Analysis • Gross materialism of the East and West Egg – explains the obsessive care that Gatsby takes in his reunion with Daisy • Collection of British antiques • “Nice” English shirts – one of the most famous scenes in American literature • Dressed in gold and silver

  10. Chapter Five – Analysis • Time: Gatsby lives in the past – he longs to stop time and act as though Daisy had never left him to marry Tom • Nick calls him a “little boy” • Three stages Gatsby experiences – embarrassment, joy, wonder • Nick describes Gatsby as “running down like an over-wound clock.” In Gatsby’s nervousness about Daisy’s feelings towards him, he knocks over a clock signifying Gatsby’s consuming desire to stop time and his inability to do so • Daisy is more sympathetic in this chapter than any other point in the novel – ceases to play the part of a world-weary sophisticate • Overjoyed at Gatsby’s success

  11. Chapter Five – Analysis • Song “Ain’t We Got Fun,” played by Klipspringer, is significant for a number of reasons • Opening lyrics imply a carefree spontaneity that stands in stark contrast to the tightly-controlled lovers reunion • “In the morning/ In the evening/ Aint’ we got fun” • Ironic that Gatsby and Daisy should reunite to the strains of this song, given the fact that she rejected him because of his poverty • “Got no money/ Bu oh, honey/ Ain’t we got fun!”

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