The Great Gatsby Seminar
The Great Gatsby by Cooper, Niamh, Alex, Will and
Jakob
Daisy’s Voice
• ‘a deathless song’ - her seemingly eternal youth
• goal of an eternal, perfect life relates back to the common idea of the American dream
• Daisy’s voice is ‘full of money’ - reflects the kind of life she lives. • ‘high in a white palace the Kings daughter, the golden girl’.
• symbolise the hollowness and materialistic nature of the upper class.
The Green Light
• represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future
• Gatsby associates it with
Daisy, and in Chapter 1 “he stretches his arms towards the dark water in a curious way”.
• the light acts as a guiding light to lead him towards his goal
• the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal of the American Dream
• last chapter: Nick compares the green light to how
Dust
• ‘Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.’ • symbolic of the corruption of everything that it encounters – moral irresponsibility
• the ‘dirty truth’
• Valley of Ashes – the wasteland of people’s hopes and desires Weather
• matches the emotional and narrative tone of the story
• Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion begins amid a pouring rain; their love reawakens just as the sun begins to come out
• Gatsby’s climactic confrontation with
Tom occurs on the hottest day of the summer, under the scorching sun
• Wilson kills Gatsby on the first day of autumn, as Gatsby floats in his pool despite a palpable chill in the air - a symbolic attempt to stop time and restore his relationship with Daisy to the way it was
Time and Clocks
• represents the inevitability of time moving forward
• Gatsby is fixated on recreating the past
• his whole dream is based off of his limited time spent with her
• Gatsby knocks over a clock - could represent
Gatsby’s inability to control time - which may not be attainable
Jakob
Daisy’s Voice
• ‘a deathless song’ - her seemingly eternal youth
• goal of an eternal, perfect life relates back to the common idea of the American dream
• Daisy’s voice is ‘full of money’ - reflects the kind of life she lives. • ‘high in a white palace the Kings daughter, the golden girl’.
• symbolise the hollowness and materialistic nature of the upper class.
The Green Light
• represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future
• Gatsby associates it with
Daisy, and in Chapter 1 “he stretches his arms towards the dark water in a curious way”.
• the light acts as a guiding light to lead him towards his goal
• the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal of the American Dream
• last chapter: Nick compares the green light to how
Dust
• ‘Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.’ • symbolic of the corruption of everything that it encounters – moral irresponsibility
• the ‘dirty truth’
• Valley of Ashes – the wasteland of people’s hopes and desires Weather
• matches the emotional and narrative tone of the story
• Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion begins amid a pouring rain; their love reawakens just as the sun begins to come out
• Gatsby’s climactic confrontation with
Tom occurs on the hottest day of the summer, under the scorching sun
• Wilson kills Gatsby on the first day of autumn, as Gatsby floats in his pool despite a palpable chill in the air - a symbolic attempt to stop time and restore his relationship with Daisy to the way it was
Time and Clocks
• represents the inevitability of time moving forward
• Gatsby is fixated on recreating the past
• his whole dream is based off of his limited time spent with her
• Gatsby knocks over a clock - could represent
Gatsby’s inability to control time - which may not be attainable