The Great Gatsby (pg 88-89): How does Fitzgerald make this a significant and symbolic moment in the novel?

by klinh1997 (student)

F.Scott Fitzgerald has made the reunion between Gatsby and Daisy from page 88-89, highly significant and symbolic to criticize the high class society on their immense desire towards materialism and conspicuous consumption during the roaring 1920s, and that during this time love is neglected against the sight of wealth. This significant and symbolic moment is further heightened by Fitzgerald’s skillful use of range of key techniques, including dialogue, characterization, metaphor and symbolisms.

Fitzgerald shows the symbolism of Gatsby’s house by describing the interiors of his house to show its representation of Gatsby’s love and desire. Gatsby’s house is described as “wandered through Marie Antoinette music rooms and Restoration Salons” or “period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers”. These mellifluous images highlight Gatsby’s excessive wealth that he has decorated his own house. The diction such as “Marie Antoinette” , “period bedrooms” implies the fact that Gatsby’s interior contains a range of items imported from Europe, further proving his desire to show off his style of old British aristocrat aspects that are associated with wealth and respect, making Gatsby a man of the riches. However, Gatsby’s carelessness towards materialism is revealed gradually as “his bedroom was the simplest room of all”, the only room he rarely uses, is empty compared to the rest. This suggests a deeper insight of Gatsby’s mere intention in decorating his house is to impress Daisy. Therefore, the readers are able to see that his house is no longer a home, but a prop in Gatsby’s stage design to attract her. His obsession with her is heightened to the point that he attempts to “revalue everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well- loved eyes”. The extremity to which he has gone to impress Daisy shows how she has such huge impacts on his life that she has the capability to control his life without even possibly knowing about it. This is highly significant because this shows that Gatsby’s possessions represents corruption and a false materialism, and the fact that his interiors is a mixture of different styles and periods symbolizes an owner’s uncertainty towards his identity.

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Fitzgerald shows the significance of this scene through the way in which Gatsby and Daisy communicate with one another. Within this small scene, the readers can very much see that there’s not much talking going on between Gatsby and Daisy, and that their conversation is kept at a minimum by Fitzgerald, only at the significant and symbolic moment where Gatsby says: “I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes” and Daisy’s reaction when “she sobbed”. By showing their quietness and inability to speak freely, this might imply the idea of distance that has kept Gatsby and Daisy apart for too long. Though Gatsby has achieved plenty compared to his initial starting point in life, he comes across as being quite insecure. Gatsby feels as though he is not good enough for Daisy and as a result he compensates later on by putting on an extravagant show of wealth. However, now he has achieved it, their conversation are being constricted is highly significant as it suggests the boundary that has emerges between Gatsby and Daisy, and also foreshadows that beneath the surface, Daisy’s feelings to Gatsby is never really there, which is ironic to Gatsby’s feelings towards her, further referring to social class distinctions between the two people, as Gatsby presented himself as the “neveau riche”. By doing this, Fitzgerald might want to show the dry souls of higher class society in the 1920s, who disregards people’s feelings for the sake of their satisfactions on seeing materialisms.

Fitzgerald also shows the significance of this scene through Gatsby’s behavior and thoughts. The description of Nick’s “Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs” of Gatsby highlights his intoxication of love to Daisy. Fitzgerald presents Gatsby as a hopeless romantic as the intensity of his feeling is stretched while “Daisy took the brush with delight”. This fact suggests an inner insight to Gatsby’s character of whether or not it is Daisy’s appearance in the first place is what makes Gatsby falls in love with her, as her seductiveness that is obvious in the Flapper era is what attracts Gatsby. The quote “I can’t- when I try to-“and when “Gatsby laughs freely” imply the honest emotions coming from Gatsby which are caused by his joyous attitude after succeeding in pleasing Daisy. Gatsby accidentally drops his façade and as a result his character comes across as being more genuine yet at the same time defenseless as he has exposed him to others as having come from a low background. This is significant as Fitzgerald for the first time, might want to put off the revelation of Gatsby’s true nature that approves the pure and real nature of individuality, regardless of social standing or gender. Gatsby is then being compared by “he was running down like an over-wound clock.” The diction “clock” here is suggestive as it speaks of the presence of time that is highly significant, revealing Gatsby’s desire and desperation to relive the past during his relationship with Daisy. Fitzgerald implies the parallel between the self-deluding obsession and the sense of time in American culture.

Besides, Fitzgerald also shows the symbolic moment of this scene through Gatsby’s shirts and Daisy’s reaction to them. The quote “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel” has many aspects to it. The “pile of shirts” may suggest Gatsby’s measure of feelings he has for Daisy and “the sheer linen and thick silk” gives an ostentatious and gaudy imagery to the clothing. Fitzgerald’s vivid description of the clothing “shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green,” adds to the attentiveness Daisy shows toward the clothing, exemplifying Daisy’s flawed character. At first, her love for Gatsby seems to be genuine and the reason she married Tom was because she had to, yet this quote clearly shows how important wealth is to Daisy. Then Daisy started crying saying “They’re such beautiful shirts” and “It makes me sad”. The readers can see that these two quotes clearly bring out the shallowness of Daisy’s character, and readers can’t bring themselves but to doubt the sincerity of her relationship with Gatsby. The fact that she’s crying over shirts is Fitzgerald’s way of criticizing the materialism of the 20s, and he’s trying to show Daisy’s love of worldly things and security. This is symbolic as the shirt becomes a metaphor for Gatsby’s wealth. Daisy’s true nature is truly revealed by her actions and “it makes me sad” might be suggestive of her regret towards marrying Tom, because those shirts wouldn’t belong to hers. Therefore, Daisy’s complete focus on the clothing shows that she has lost sight of her true feelings for Gatsby.

In conclusion, I have learnt that through the way and techniques used in significant and symbolic moment is presented in, Fitzgerald is able to weave an intricate web of meanings, interpretations and thoughts on the purpose of serving the readers. By presenting different aspects of this section, we can see that the intense present that Gatsby longs for is an impossible dream. By having the shirt scene the most significant and symbolic, it can be seen that Daisy herself is Gatsby’s American dream. Daisy’s character is shallow, greedy and concerned with nothing but pure wealth and material luxury. Gatsby's failure to realize this represents America’s failure to realize that the American Dream isn't that perfect.