Men And Women’s Different Experiences Of Love

Question 1

“If it wasn’t for the mist, we could see your house across the bay”

Answer 1

• Gatsby bought the house across the bay from Daisy and Tom as a result of his obsessive need to be close to Daisy.
• This highlights the extent of his beliefs that his future with Daisy is inevitable.
• The mist could symbolise Daisy and Tom’s facade of wealth and prosperity hiding their manipulative personalities

Question 2

“I am of the farthest that cometh behind”

Answer 2

• Alliteration of ‘f’ sounds link the deer to the speaker, nevertheless they are separated by the line break.
• Mirrors how he connected he is to her mentally (a compulsion) versus how she is not his.

Question 3

“Graven with diamonds”

Answer 3

• The word “graven” is a harsh verb, describing indenting something.
• The diamond collar shows she belongs to someone of high status.
• The phrase “graven with diamonds” is contradictory that something seemingly beautiful is being suppressed and indented.
• The verb “graven” is harsh and evokes the speaker’s feeling of defeat over his opponent. It also suggests that the woman is bound captive forever in this relationship: linking with the idea of ‘Til death do us part’.
• The “diamonds” imply that the woman’s partner is extremely wealthy. There is a juxtaposition between the beautiful and precious “diamonds” and the dark imagery of “graven”.
• This quote forms a direct parallel to Daisy and Tom in the Great Gatsby. On the eve of their wedding, Tom gifted Daisy “a string of pearls” which are worth over $5 million in modern day money.
• She proceeds to “pull” them off her neck. The pearls symbolise how Tom effectively ‘bought’ his marriage to Daisy. Her passionate act of “pullingl” them off but then continuing to marry him suggests that she is a highly materialistic person.

Question 4

“Sprees”

Answer 4

• Tom shows how arrogant and possessive he is dismisses his own cheating, immoral behaviour in order to dismiss Gatsby’s claim that he and Daisy are going to run off together.
• Trivialises and normalises his affairs as unimportant matters

Question 5

“I must all other beauties wrong”

Answer 5

• Ironically suggests that he would wrong other women by not sleeping with him- in reality he will wrong them by sleeping with them.
• illustrates his arrogance and the male stereotype of casual physical relationships, similar to Tom Buchanan
• objectifies women as only valuable for physical purposes

Question 6

“Tedious 12 hours space”

Answer 6

• The alliteration and assonance of ‘tedious twelve’ is in itself tedious.
• The speaker puts her down by intimating their time together was boring or unsatisfying.
• This is highly dismissive and objectifies the woman as their relationship seems transactional.

Question 7

“Disappear together immediately on reaching the apartment”

Answer 7

• Highlights the sexual dominance of Tom and Myrtle’s affair

Question 8

‘“Chamber maid”

Answer 8

• Tom Buchanan chooses his affairs to be lower class women so that they can be exploited and the subservient figure in the relationship.

Question 9

“Bought red mouth”

Answer 9

• The ‘kisses of her bought red mouth …’ are clearly those of a prostitute.
• Dowson has used a woman for physical relief, but his mind is on his ‘old passion’.
• This is a contrast to what went before; definitely not a poem of courtly love.
• Reduction through synecdoche of woman to her mouth is dehumanising

Question 10

“Her voice was full of money”

Answer 10

• Highlights Daisy’s wealthy allure and superficiality.

Question 11

“I did love him once, but I loved you too!

Answer 11

• Daisy pays no attention to the past, and her actions are unpredictable.
• Daisy’s ability to face her present reality is what allows her to pursue the opportunistic affair with Gatsby, providing her with temporary satisfaction as she knows she is not bound by her actions

Question 12

“But when the feast is finished, and the lamps expire”

Answer 12

• There is a sense that the passion doesn’t belong to the real world; it needs artifical light and when they ‘expire’ the reality is greyness and darkness.
• So, nothing can truly satisfy his desire or bring him happiness without Cynarae – it is a hopeless existence.

Question 13

“Hot whips of panic”

Answer 13

• This quote reveals Tom’s fears and conservatism as well as his recklessness.
• He is happy to keep a mistress, provided she is from a lower class so he can exploit her.
• His relationship allows him to fasten his grip on society, and maintain the status quo by emasculating George Wilson.

Question 14

“Bought her cold cream and a small flask of perfume”

Answer 14

• This exhibits Myrtle’s materialist nature and how her consumerist reasons to be with Tom. Also shows her superficiality.
• Shows how easily Tom “buys” Myrtle as a commodity, and uses her to satisfy and maintain his masculine hegemony