Chapter 1 Flashcards
what is Nick Carroway?
Unreliable Narrator, judgemental, biased, puts Gatsby on a Pedestal, privileged
What does New York represent?
Immorality, microcosm of hedonistic lifestyle
“Gatsby, who represented everything…
for which I have an unaffected scorn” - elevates Gatsby, idealises
“it was…
an extraordinary gift for hope”
What quote establishes the dust motif?
“it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” - the dream is already dead, reality makes Gatsby a victim
What does the dust motif represent?
dust represents reality. Gatsby cannot escape reality.
What is the structural technique?
opens with idealisation of Gatsby but told dream is destined to fail
What does the West Egg symbolise?
new money
What does the East Egg symbolise?
old money
“it was a factual imitation…
of some hôtel de ville in Normandy” - first imitation of facade, Gatsby is FAKE
“Across the courtesy bay…
the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water” - old money
How was Nick and Daisy’s relationship?
Tenuous - “second cousin once removed”
What quote shows that Tom juxtaposes Gatsby?
“His family were enormously wealthy”
How is Tom and Daisy’s house described?
“Colonial”
“It was a body…
capable of enormous leverage - a cruel body” - Tom is the villain
“Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty…
with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner” - physical description represents power
What quote shows Tom is materialistic?
“I’ve got a nice place here”
When Tom and Nick enter the room, what is it like?
A dream-like state - “a breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags”
What shows that Tom represents reality?
“there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room” - dream destroyed by Tom = foreshadowing
What shows Daisy as insincere?
“I’m p-paralysed with happiness”
“It was the kind of voice…
that the ear follows up and down” - daisy lacks substance, morals, value. also a villain.
“she added irrelevantly: …
“You ought to see the baby.” “ - Daisy lacks substance
How is Jordan corrupt?
she is a cheat. cheated at golf. corruption of the rich.
What is the first link between Gatsby and Daisy?
“Gatsby?” “What Gatsby?”
“That’s what I get for marrying…
a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking, physical specimen of a-“ - foreshadows later violence. Daisy accepts and excuses violence
What is the first instance of the telephone ringing?
“the telephone rang inside” - link to corruption, interruption of a domestic scene
“And I hope she’ll be a fool -…
that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” - superficial but protected as a fool, role of women
what quote shows insincerity from Daisy from the very beginning?
“I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said.”
What heavily influences lives?
Gossip- “We heard it from three people, so it must be true.”
Where is the star motif established?
“standing… regarding the silver pepper of the stars”
what does the star motif mean?
dream is unreachable. he has a huge capacity to dream. Gatsby is associated with the stars
“he stretched out his-
arms towards the dark water” - physical obstacle in path in pursuit of dream to get daisy
What is the “green light”?
The American Dream! Daisy!
