Pathetic Fallacy In The Great Gatsby

“Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes” (91).

He “nearly toppled down a flight of stairs...and.. was running down like an overwound clock”(59). Fitzgerald’s description of Gatsby’s actions present him to be excited like a kid on Christmas and unable to believe the happiness he’s experiencing. He’s As Nick gets ready to leave, he sees an “expression of bewilderment [that] had come back into Gatsby’s face”(61) and realises that there “must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of [Gatsby’s] illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. [Gatsby] had…[decked] it out with every bright feather that drifted his way”(62). Over the past five years, Gatsby grew to expect much more from Daisy than what she can actually offer. As Gatsby got wealthier, he added on more to his idealisation of Daisy till it reached a point where his perfect image of her is completely beyond who she actually is. Fitzgerald puts this into play later in the novel when the situation flips and Daisy cannot meet Gatsby’s expectations.

In chapter five, the very first re-encounter of Gatsby and Daisy brings out the sorrow in him as he reveals that they haven’t seen each other in, “…five years next November.” (96). Counting the years they haven’t seen each other reveals that all he could think about is Daisy and nothing else. Remembering the happy times they shared is also mentioned when Nick listens to Jay talking, “…a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy.”

Before Gatsby reconnects with Daisy after several years, it is pouring rain outside. The rain builds up suspense and Gatsby becomes nervous and eager. Then, it starts to decrease and he finally talks to Daisy. After they talk for a while and become comfortable with each other again, it stops raining and it’s bright outside. The stopping of the rain definitely

     In the text, The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald leads us to sympathize with the central character of the text, Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald evokes our sympathy using non-linear narrative and extended flashbacks as well as imagery, characterization and theme. Through these mediums, Fitzgerald is able to reveal Gatsby as a character who is in an unrelenting pursuit of an unattainable dream. While narrative and imagery reveal him to be a mysterious character, Gatsby's flaw is his ultimate dream which makes him a tragic figure and one with which we sympathize.

The outside area where Nick, Daisy, Tom and Jordan have dinner helps to form the notion of the romantic idealism that seemed to exist at the time. The “rosy-coloured” porch and the way the “last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her (Daisy’s) glowing face” symbolise the naive, miscalculated dream of a perfect world that we later find out perfectly describes Gatsby’s feelings towards Daisy.

After Nick arrives home from a date with Jordan, Nick gets disturbed by Gatsby who tries everything to convince Nick to set up a date with Daisy. Nick finally agrees and invites Daisy for tea. By the time Daisy arrives it starts to rain, Gatsby enters to meet her but it is not successful until a while later they start to warm-up and have a good time. Daisy is the object of desire and passion for Gatsby, she has dominated his life for the past couple years. His original love for her has developed into a love for the idea of her that has let his imagination fill in the blanks which is just setting him up for disappointment. She didn't become emotional with Gatsby until she saw all of his processions, this disappointment will remind Gatsby

On a stormy night Gatsby and Daisy were reuniting after being apart for five years. Ever since they have been apart Gatsby wanted to meet back up with Daisy. When the time finally came they decided to meet at Gatsby's house. To give Daisy and Gatsby time alone Nick, despite the weather, goes outside. He, ".... pulled the door against the increasing rain"(86). Now that Gatsby and Daisy were alone, and gatsby's anxiousness was increasing, the rain began to increase .Nick waited a few minutes outside before going back in. When he entered the house he noticed that, “there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. he literally glowed; without a word or gesture of emulation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room"(89). After just a short amount of time with Daisy, Gatsby's persona had changed and now he had what he’d been longing for for five years.. With Gatsby's

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby to criticize society’s modern custom, hypocrisy. In the story, Fitzgerald emphasizes appearances. The Webster dictionary defines the word as, “an impression given by someone or something”. The author discusses how people love to make things appear as something different, something they dream and yearn for. Fitzgerald uses three major characters to describe the main behaviors of hypocrites in society: first we have those, such as Nick Carraway, that claim to have animosity towards the delusions of society, yet they become accomplices of what they despise. Then we have the individuals who are like Tom, who demand that others follow their virtues, even if they don’t follow them themselves. Finally we

Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose. As the summer progresses, Nick eventually garners an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young man who affects an English accent, has a remarkable smile, and calls everyone “old sport.” Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled, they begin an affair. After a short time,

Rain, heat, fog, the weather had an immense role in both the setting and symbolically. Like Thomas Foster stated, “weather is never just weather. It’s never just rain. And that goes for snow, sun, warmth, cold, and probably sleet.”(Fos) Weather in The Great Gatsby is enriched with meaning and impact to the novel and one example being when Gatsby and Daisy met again after five years. The morning before Gatsby and Daisy were going to meet, after Nick secretly arranged for Daisy to have tea with Gatsby in his house, Gatsby send for Nick’s lawn to be mowed and for a “greenhouse” to be set up in his Nick's house. At “two minutes for four”(Fit) Daisy arrived and it was raining and before Daisy entered the house Gatsby went out through the back

Nicks first sees Gatsby reaching towards the mysterious green light, which he later realizes is the light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He calls himself an Oxford man, and speaks with a visible fake English accent. Gatsby befriends his neighbor Nick with the sole purpose of using him in order to get closer to daisy. With Nick and Jordan’s help, the two are reunited on a rainy afternoon in Nick’s house. Blindly in love, Gatsby acts like a foolish little boy, knocking down Nick’s clock. The long awaited reunion is later moved to Gatsby’s mansion. There he displays his wealth to Daisy. When he exhibits his imported shirts “suddenly with a strained sound Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily” (98). Daisy’s tears are not because the shirts were beautiful; her tears signify her obsession for wealth and money, which is all she cares about.

During the first chapter we learn that from Nick that Gatsby is a very optimistic and hopeful man. He's done his best to prosper in life but we learn that he has hopes for more. Also we learn that his hope is what drives other characters. Then we find out through Jordan that Gatsby wants to meet with Daisy but is afraid. That is why he always holds such lavish parties, Jordan tells Nick,"I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties..,but she never did.". Later in the story after Gatsby has spilled the beans of he and Daisy's affair he hopes and waits for her to come to him. In the end she does not and this is where we actually see a genuine act of despair in Gatsby, "Nothing happened.., I waited, about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute..". Overall, Gatsby goes through having his hopes crushed entirely by the end of the novel. But the hope he actually had was false because all along he knew what he had dreamed for wouldn't really work out and you can see this in many chapters of the book.

Many authors use irony as a way of questioning the reader or emphasizing a central idea. A literary device, such as irony, can only be made simple with the help of examples. Irony can help a reader to better understand certain parts of a novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald helps the reader to recognize and understand his use of irony by giving key examples throughout The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s lush parties, Myrtle’s death, Gatsby’s death, and the title of the novel to demonstrate how irony plays a key role in the development of the plot.

Gatsby is soaking wet and appears to be almost mad. Huffing and puffing, he invites himself back in and fixes his hair, walks right into the living room, and then his eyes meet Daisy’s. There are flowers everywhere, the rain is pounding down on the roof, and they take each other’s breath away. They are “certainly glad to see each other.” When Gatsby and Daisy’s eyes meet for the first time the camera slowly zooms in from a long, establishing shots bordered with flowers, to a mid-shot and then slowly into a close-up of their faces. This is effective as it gives a sense of continuity and how their expressions change as they see each other. They go on to sit down and as Nick pours their tea, Gatsby and Daisy are very short worded and awkward interactions occur. We can assume Nick feels uncomfortable in the situation because he excuses himself, Gatsby follows him in panic and is rethinking the whole thing, saying it was a mistake. Nick talks some sense into him and Gatsby collects his thoughts and proceeds to go back to the woman he desperately craves. There then is a long-shot of Nick standing under a tree. He goes on to narrate, “I was guarding other people’s secrets.” This symbolizes the fact that Gatsby and Daisy are inside and Nick is protecting them from the outside world. Editing techniques are also used in the tea invitation scene of ‘The Great Gatsby’ in order to make it more effective. The scene has many moments where the camera