Jonathan Swift, a famous author from the 1700’s, set a loose guideline concerning wealth when he stated: “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.” During the 1920’s, it seems as though many did not heed this advice, which is distinctly depicted in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel that takes place during this time. As told from Nick Carraway’s perspective, The Great Gatsby illuminates the social connections, values, and lifestyles of the upper class in New York City. The book follows the life of the newly rich Jay Gatsby in his complicated quest to be reunited with his past love, Daisy Buchanan. The two are brought together when Nick invites Daisy over for tea upon Gatsby’s request, and being Nick’s neighbor, Gatsby
…show more content…
The moment when Gatsby and Daisy are reunited after five years of separation reveals Gatsby’s inability to let his old dream go and the illusion of his social standing, similar to the rest of the novel as a whole. The time when Gatsby and Daisy meet again over tea encompasses Gatsby 's tight hold on his dream of recapturing a previous form of himself and a previous form of his relationship with Daisy. Specifically, Nick’s mantelpiece clock effectively demonstrates the nature of Gatsby’s dream. When Gatsby is in the living room he casually leans against the mantel, and further rests his head “against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock,” the first indication that Gatsby’s dream is an old one. The act of resting his head on the clock exposes that he is relying on time to win back Daisy. In this strategy, Gatsby foolishly assumes that nothing has changed in the last five years, and that Daisy has remained the same girl as when they first met. Daisy’s maturation and development as a person should be clear evidence to Gatsby that his dream is outdated, but he blindly pursues anyhow. What is more, the clock that Gatsby leans on is broken to begin …show more content…
The time when Gatsby and Daisy reconvene exemplifies Gatsby’s subterfuge; he presents himself to be a different person than he actually is, using his appearance to do so because he recognizes the fact that Daisy makes judgement based off of superficial aspects. Although he is nervous to see Daisy again, he manages to contain his feelings and maintains an image that Nick describes as a “strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom.” That is, Gatsby is presenting himself to be more desirable to Daisy, or of “perfect ease,” though has to go to greater measures to achieve this fake quality. To attain it, Gatsby has spent time observing and picking up on rich people’s lifestyles and manners. He tries to behave in a similar fashion; by way of example, when Daisy speaks her voice is “on a clear artificial note,” demonstrating a similar sense of fallacy that Gatsby also adopts, and seems to be a common characteristic in many people of the upper class. In addition to acting fakely, Gatsby’s deliberate boredom is another clue that he is attempting to behave more like Daisy and other wealthy people. On numerous occasions Daisy and Jordan make remarks regarding how bored they are and often express their disinterest with body language, such as when the two first meet Nick and are laying on the couch, or when Jordan Baker constantly yawns. This particular behaviour in this
The moment when Gatsby and Daisy are reunited after five years of separation reveals Gatsby’s inability to let his old dream go and the illusion of his social standing, similar to the rest of the novel as a whole. The time when Gatsby and Daisy meet again over tea encompasses Gatsby 's tight hold on his dream of recapturing a previous form of himself and a previous form of his relationship with Daisy. Specifically, Nick’s mantelpiece clock effectively demonstrates the nature of Gatsby’s dream. When Gatsby is in the living room he casually leans against the mantel, and further rests his head “against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock,” the first indication that Gatsby’s dream is an old one. The act of resting his head on the clock exposes that he is relying on time to win back Daisy. In this strategy, Gatsby foolishly assumes that nothing has changed in the last five years, and that Daisy has remained the same girl as when they first met. Daisy’s maturation and development as a person should be clear evidence to Gatsby that his dream is outdated, but he blindly pursues anyhow. What is more, the clock that Gatsby leans on is broken to begin …show more content…
The time when Gatsby and Daisy reconvene exemplifies Gatsby’s subterfuge; he presents himself to be a different person than he actually is, using his appearance to do so because he recognizes the fact that Daisy makes judgement based off of superficial aspects. Although he is nervous to see Daisy again, he manages to contain his feelings and maintains an image that Nick describes as a “strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom.” That is, Gatsby is presenting himself to be more desirable to Daisy, or of “perfect ease,” though has to go to greater measures to achieve this fake quality. To attain it, Gatsby has spent time observing and picking up on rich people’s lifestyles and manners. He tries to behave in a similar fashion; by way of example, when Daisy speaks her voice is “on a clear artificial note,” demonstrating a similar sense of fallacy that Gatsby also adopts, and seems to be a common characteristic in many people of the upper class. In addition to acting fakely, Gatsby’s deliberate boredom is another clue that he is attempting to behave more like Daisy and other wealthy people. On numerous occasions Daisy and Jordan make remarks regarding how bored they are and often express their disinterest with body language, such as when the two first meet Nick and are laying on the couch, or when Jordan Baker constantly yawns. This particular behaviour in this