Theme
The Great Gatsyby was about the life of Jay Gatsby and the early 1920s. The book portrays the visions of America and society during the iconic era of the 1920's. There is also themes of love between Gatsby and Daisy
- "I remember the fur coats of the girls returning from miss This-or-that's end and the chatter of frozen breath and the hands waving overhead as we caught sight of old acquaintances... and the murky, yellow cars..." - Chapter 9
- ""Here, deares'." She groped around in a waste-basket she had with her on the bed and pulled out the string of pearls. "Take 'em down-stairs and give 'em back to whoever they belong to. Tell 'em all Daisy's change her mind. Say: 'Daisy's change' her mine!" - Chapter 14
- "The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day." - Chapter 1
Characterization:
Jay Gatsby -
Direct Characterization: "Presumably, Gatsby did kill a man at some point during the war—but the fact that these partiers are so off-base tells us how private his life is. His fabulous lifestyle seems so far removed from the diligent scheduling of James Gatz that it's hard to believe they're the same man In the end, though, no matter how carefully he's disguised his origins, Gatsby can't escape his past"
Indirect characterization: "There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before."
Daisy-
Direct: "I looked back at my cousin who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth"
