The Great Gatsby: Annotations and Commentary

Chapter One

Jay Gatsby is introduced, and Nick establishes his respect for him, by saying 'there was something gorgeous about him.' The 'bond business' refers to shares and working in finances. Nick describes he was 'restless' coming back from the Great War, undoubtedly because he loved the freedom and travel, and wants to continue to move and learn. The mention of 'spring' has connotations of new life and new growth. Nick has been given several advantages in his life: His family are 'prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western City for three generations,' which evidently shows they are well known with a good reputation. He says 'everybody I knew was in the bond business,' which suggests he must be middle class, as he makes no mention of knowing any manual labourers. He describes that he wrote editorials whilst studying at Yale - he was able to afford to go to college. His father's advice: 'All the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had,' makes sense to him, as he is repeating it. His father was able to finance him for a year. He has staff to cook and keep the house for him; 'an old Dodge and a Finnish woman.' He was able to buy new books - 'I bought a dozen volumes...' His family have an established 'wholesale hardware business' that his great uncle started and 'my father carries on today.' He describes that he and Tom were part of the 'same senior society,' indicating that he had the privileged background in order to join such a prestigious group in university.

Looking at the use of adverbs is useful for analysing the ways in which Williams creates his characters, but also how Nick is describing them:

Other interesting points: From the romantic description of the Buchanan's house on page 7, we can see that Nick wants us to understand he is a talented writer, and he aims to prove his worth to us throughout the novel. Nick is also very conscious of how he is as a human being, from the descriptions of himself. As part of Nick's storytelling, he offers judgements about the characters as well as describing them. For instance, he says, 'this annoyed me,' when Tom dismisses his bond company. The book Tom refers to 'The Rise of the Coloured Empires by Goddard' is a reference to the real book The Rising Tide of Colour:The Threat Against White World-Supremacy was written by Lothrop Stoddard in 1920. Similarly to what Tom describes, it predicts the fall of white colonialism and the growth of non-white races. Tom's reference to this book shows how afraid people were of immigration and the presence of ethnic minorities. Because we are seeing the narrative through Nick's words only, we are supposed to dislike Tom for his prejudice. Daisy refers to this 'white girlhood,' which means untainted by other ethnicities, which could perhaps be mocking towards Tom's beliefs. Daisy is also already lying to Tom, as she tells him they were talking about this book, when instead they spoke about how she feels about her life. Daisy and Jordan are initially presented with their dresses fluttering, almost flying about around the house. This is interesting because it shows several things about the position of women in the 1920's. They are passive - the wind has dominance over them and where they go. They are compared to balloons, almost having no substance, personality or identity of their own. (Daisy and Tom referred to as 'the Tom Buchanans'.) They were considered unstable - likely to 'fly off the handle'. The white of their dresses could signify innocence and a need to be protected. Because they are floating around, the position of women is changing - floating between careers and being housewives. Gatsby is described as gesturing towards a green light on the end of Tom and Daisy's dock. The colour green could signify that jealous towards Tom's marriage to Daisy, or represent the wealth of East Egg.

Summary: This chapter... establishes Nick's reason for recording the events asserts setting - East Coast, Summer, 1922 establishes his own family background is written in lyrical prose, dense but efficient features the introduction of some of the main protagonists alludes to Gatsby, but doesn't meet him directly, maintaining sense of enigma/mystery reveals Nick has returned to the West to process the events of the summer

Chapter Two

Chapter Summary This chapter introduces a third setting – The Valley of Ashes. This shows a darker side to the American Dream and demonstrates what happens if you work hard but don’t achieve what you want. The chapter also introduces George and Myrtle Wilson, the only impoverished characters in the novel, who live in the Valley of Ashes. We find out that Tom and Myrtle are having an affair and Myrtle has aspirations to leave the ash pit. She sees Tom as her ticket out and does not accept that there is no chance of a permanent relationship between the two. The chapter highlights the contrasts between Daisy and Myrtle. The narrative moves to another setting – Manhattan, New York. Tom, Nick, Myrtle and other people through a small party and we see a darker side to Tom’s character as he punches Myrtle when she insults Daisy. The theme of artifice and reality is explored in this chapter.

Themes:Artifice and Reality: Lie told by Myrtle about the reason Tom cannot divorce Daisy. The abundance of alcohol serves as a reminder of the characters need to fill their leisure time with artificial stimulants. Myrtle’s discussion of her own marriage reveals her own superficiality: the fact that she was appalled by George borrowing a suit for the ceremony really only tells us that she is the one who cannot see beyond surface reality. Her husband ‘dumbly’ adores her, but his status in society is the only thing that matters in her materialistic, greedy world. RealityThe characters are forced out of their drunken stupor and back to harsh reality with the sound of Myrtle’s nose being broken by Tom. This first sign of violence is an open admission of the aggressive behaviour he has displayed throughout the novel so far. With one blow, he signals the permanence of his marriage – the symbol, after all, of his wealth and connection in society. The one thing in Tom's life that is ‘real’ is this marriage bond. Despite his lack of fondness or love for Daisy, it is the one unbreakable chain in his life. This is the harshness of the reality that Myrtle - and, in time - Gatsby will have to face.

Chapter 3

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Narrative

Setting

Chapter One introduces the reader to West Egg and East Egg. These two places help to establish characters and link in with the main themes of the novel. The two settings symbolise the different class systems in America, which claims to be a supposedly 'classless' society. Fitzgerald is commenting on the 'lazy rich' through the use of setting and character. Daisy and Jordan are presented as lazy by being introduced with them having spent all afternoon lounging around the house, and Jordan's frequent yawns add to the overall theme of rich people being lazy.

Both Eggs have symbolic significance, and are fundamentally different. Fitzgerald describes a 'sinister contrast' between them.East Egg represents old money. East Egg is home to established families who were born into wealth and privilege, such as Daisy and Tom, for example. These people are considered established and genuine, in their position as the upper-middle class. They are critical of the inhabitants of West Egg for 'pretending to be rich.' The East Egg is a fashionable suburb which houses rich families who are seen to be the 'royalty' of New York.West Egg is where the 'new money' is; the people that live there have had to work for their money. Gatsby, for instance, has had to work to earn his status and build his reputation. The citizens of West Egg are aspiring to be upper class. West Egg is no less splendid, with white palatial mansions dotted along tree-lined avenues, with wealthy evident everywhere. Gatsby is part of 'nouveau riche', where people have made their fortune from scratch, emerging from poverty to become the 'self-made man' of the American Dream.Both Eggs are described as being bashed in at the top, and this could represent how life seems perfect in these places, but if one was to remove themselves from the situation and see it from a bird's eye view, then they would realise the eggs are not perfectly shaped, and neither are the lives of their inhabitants. Nick is removing himself from society (and he is also removed at the end of the novel, the events of which have already occurred at the time of its writing). The Eggs could be so called 'Eggs' as a symbol of new life, and a fresh start.

Regardless of the wealth of both Eggs, snobbery still exists between them. This shows that a class system can be created within a class system, as a reminder that someone will always be looking down on you and your achievements, despite how much success you attain. This type of class division is particularly interesting in light of the American Dream. The Dream relates to the idea of America as a Land of Opportunity, stating that any man if willing to work hard and improve himself will find means to be successful. (Notice that it says man, not person - this shows that women have more passive, humble role.) This is the founding principle of the country - success is a reward for hard work. Because the 'winners' of new money are considered second class citizens in East Egg, this shows the American Dream to be fundamentally flawed.

We are quickly introduced to a further setting in Chapter Two called the Valley of the Ashes. Lying halfway between the Eggs and New York itself, the Valley of Ashes symbolises the ‘edge’ of society. Myrtle, (Tom's mistress) and her husband Wilson own a garage there. The Valley of Ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents a kind of purgatory – a place in limbo but also symbolises the shameful underbelly of American capitalism. These men are devoid of colour, working ceaselessly to maintain the status quo of the 'Tom Buchanans' who don’t seem to work at all. It also represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The Valley of Ashes also symbolises the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.Main Images and IdeasASH:The connotation of this word is related to the debris of a fire, therefore the setting may include an element of destruction in some way. This could be a reference to the enormous amount of waste involved in American industry. Ash also covers the area, representing the inability of the residents to elevate their social status, despite what the meritocratic ideology of the American Dream may tell them.The type of people who live there are working class and have manual jobs, clearing the waste from factories or working within the factories themselves. The lives they lead are modest and monotonous, as Myrtle is keen to leave the Valley of Ashes and elevate her status and wealth.The word 'ashes' signifies a vast amount of waste in this industrialised zone, which is symbolic of the destruction of society. Ash has a traditionally negative association with decay/waste/dirt – think of crematoriums, ‘ashes to ashes dust to dust’, cigarette trays. But it has positive connotations too – the phoenix rising from the ashes for example. This can perhaps symbolise the redemptive nature of humanity – the ability of men to pull through circumstances of great hardship and suffering. The ash-grey men at work in this place symbolise the downtrodden working class chained forever to industry and monotony. They move ‘dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air;. Living out a mere half-life, a million miles from the splendour and indulgence of the Buchanans’ environment. LACK OF COLOUR AND DEFINITION:The residents of the Valley of Ashes are viewed as a homogenous group who have a single identity as workers for richer employers. The residents of East and West Eggs would look down on these people as their sheer wealth causes them to feel superior to lower classes.For this social class, life is presented as dull and meaningless, as work is monotonous, with no hope on the horizon of a bright future. Instead, they are socially immobile in their status and occupation. This relates to the American Dream because the people who live in the Valley of Ashes are unable to achieve the American Dream of accumulating wealth for themselves by their own self-discipline. The connotations of the colour grey include a connection to shadow and smoke. Shadows are caused by blocking out light, and light is often associated with positivity and representations of God, which could mean that the Valley of Ashes is full of immorality and negativity. The representation of God links to the connotations the description of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, noting that it was almost as if God has abandoned America. Smoke casts a haze over what people can see, which links to the negativity covering the thoughts of the people in the Valley of Ashes, as they know they cannot leave their homes in search of a better life, and they cannot reach a high social status by their own efforts. "A line of grey cards crawls along an invisible track… immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight."This perhaps represents the idea that this section of society is deliberately hidden from view (notice how the train curls away from the Valley, as if it ‘shrinks away’ from having to confront it.) In modern industrial society, the polarisation between the haves and have-nots, between the slaves and the masters, grows ever stronger. By repeating images of greyness, obscuring cloud and blindness, Fitzgerald emphasises the tendency of the privileged to casually ‘overlook’ the reality of hellholes such as these.

The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg"…above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg…[his] eyes…are blue and gigantic – their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose…his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days, under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping group." The sign on the hill is ambiguous – Fitzgerald gives no overt explanation of its relevance in the move – and yet it pervades the consciousness of the reader as we pass through the Valley of Ashes into the life of the Wilsons. Reminds us – by its sheer size and the incongruity of its surroundings – of the importance and influence of advertising in modern culture. These eyes have no natural place on the hillside, and yet they dominate the landscape, being its most prominent feature. Fitzgerald has deliberately chosen an advert for optometry in order to point out the modern man’s inability to see the corruption of our society and environment. This lack of vision applies to all of the characters in the book, each of all fail to ‘see’ the basic futility of their hopes and dreams. The billboard shows how consumerism and materialism has taken the place of traditional spiritual values.

First Impressions and Character Profiles

Tom Buchanan 'standing with legs apart' - dominant, with confidence that intimidates, stable position (financial?) 'turning me around by one arm' - enjoys his strength and having power over others Nick and Tom are very different; Tom values his strength; 'just because I'm more of a man than you are', but he values something Nick has (perhaps something he lacks); 'wanted me to like him with some harsh, defiant wistfulness his own.' 'his eyes were flashing about restlessly'; 'I felt Tom would drift on forever, seeking'; he is never satisfied with the current situation, always wanting the next thing

Daisy Buchanan Nick is empathetic towards her She has a nervous energy as she keeps up appearances; 'It couldn't be helped!' Passive; she cried when she had a daughter, as she cannot have her own path in life. She seems insubstantial, unable to be held onto, (floating white dress) She comes across as simultaneously false but also truthful ('I hope she'll be a fool') Daisy's main flaw is that she is intelligent enough to see how aimless and shallow her entire existence is yet won't (or can't) do anything to change it. Her growth as a human has literally been halted and she is indeed 'p-paralysed.' Almost immediately we are made aware that Tom is having an affair, reinforcing a central theme that everything from the outside looks perfect but the real truth is far from perfection. Daisy has a willingness to scoff and undermine her husband's racism. Her sarcastic remarks about 'her beautiful white girlhood' deliberately mocks his fecklessness and stupidity. 'I hope she be a fool... a beautiful little fool' - her relationship with her daughter seem empty of natural affection and empathy but she has enough intelligence to realise that her life is meaningless and she doesn't want her daughter to realise that her life will be the same. 'I'm p-paralysed with happiness,' - This is the first line Daisy says in the novel, but it sees contradictory, which shows how lifeless she is and has very little energy to show any real feelings.

Jordan Baker Nick withholds a scandalous story of her, perhaps trying not to taint our impression of her. Independent, pro-golfer, but still relies on Tom (reading the paper to him)

Myrtle and George WilsonThe only impoverished characters in the novel live in the Valley of the Ashes. Notably their home is made of yellow brick. Again the symbolism of colour is both complex and revealing.Just like the yellow brick road in L Frank Baum's 1900 classic The Wizard of Oz, the façade of the Wilsons’ home is a symbol of false promise in the midst of despair. We know Myrtle has aspirations beyond the ash heap – despite the impossibility of any permanent match between them, she sees Tom Buchanan has her ticket to a lifelong party; by contrast, George is one of the ash-grey men, and his only source of joy is, ironically, the wife who is cheating on him: "A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in his vicinity – except his wife, who moved close to Tom."MyrtleMyrtle represents the idea of escape in the novel, but like other characters, her dream is false and filled with illusion. Both she and her ghost-like husband are locked to the Valley of the Ashes by the very nature of their impoverishment. Thus, the yellowness of their home could also suggest decay and atrophy (gradual decline/wasting away).

Myrtle’s transformation emphasises her desire to be accepted into Tom’s world. She believes in illusion and in looking the part, yet this existence is a façade. The irony is she metamorphoses into her interpretation of an East Egger but she becomes more grotesque – until eventually she is little more than a ridiculous parody of herself."Mrs Wilson … was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream coloured chiffon … with the influence of the dress, her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality … was covered into impressive hauteur. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions become more violently affected… and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her, until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air."The change of dress is symbolic of the nature of falsity and pretence that pervades the whole novel. Her movement from her real self (represented by the full-blooded blue of her previous dress) to her ‘desired’ self (seen in the pastel cream of a dress which might be worn by Daisy) is indicative of her inability to face the truth about her life. She is pretending to be the one person in the world who she cannot hope to emulate – her lover's wife. Myrtle and DaisyWe are presented with a great contrast between Daisy and Myrtle. Daisy is presented as faintly ephemeral. Dressed in pale pastels with her ‘low, thrilling voice’, Whereas Myrtle is charged with sensual and verbal energy. When she comes down the stairs, Nick notes her ‘immediate perceptible vitality… as if her nerves were continually smouldering’. Unlike Daisy, she wears bold, saturated colours to reveal her hot-blooded temperament and her robust femininity. She is straight forward, commanding and overtly sexual, licking her lips at Tom as she approaches him. It is only when she changed her dress that her character alters as Nick observes through a drunken surreal haze.

Character QuotesTom 'I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied.' 'Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body.' (p. 6) Jordan 'Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face.' (p. 9) 'She held my hand impersonally, as a promise that she'd take care of me in a minute.' (p. 28) Daisy '...her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as a listened.' (p. 11) 'Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it.' (p. 8) 'And I know, I've been everywhere and see everything and done everything.' (p. 13) Nick 'We heard it from three people, so it must be true.' (p. 15) 'I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.' Gatsby 'It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.' (p. 32) 'Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.' (p. 29) Myrtle '...there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her...' (p. 18) '...she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air.' 'The only crazy I was was when I married him.' (p. 24) Wilson 'He's so dumb he doesn't know he's alive.' (p.18) 'The only crazy I was was when I married him.' (p. 24)

Key Scenes in the Novel