Gatsby’s illusion of Daisy prevents him from realising that she has changed and that she is not still the same woman that he fell in love with. Both their lives have changed, but for Gatsby time has stood still because of his affection for Daisy.
Fitzgerald presents Gatsby as distraught and perplexed. Gatsby’s confusion and inability to appreciate why Daisy isn’t determined as he is, is emphasised by Fitzgerald through words such as; “crushed”, “discarded” and “desolate”. When Daisy doesn’t understand, Gatsby’s path becomes distorted and he becomes distressed and the language therefore incorporates negative images. These evocative words permit the reader to sympathise with Gatsby, but also show how isolated he is, “if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.” Gatsby also uses images of decay and of things breaking away demonstrate his bewilderment and uncertainty of what is going on and the unhappiness that he feels.
“The light grows brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun,” indicates that Gatsby sees his relationship with Daisy to be destiny and is also conveyed through his kiss with her, as all his dreams, hopes and aspirations are bound to her, it is almost something pre-ordained.
Gatsby’s certainty and fortitude of repeating the past is an embodiment of his vision in an attempt to recreate the past, “can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. Why of course you can!” or “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before.” There seems to be impatience within Gatsby and wants to feel fulfilled, “some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy.”
Nick retells Gatsby’s story and in the extract he describes a night Gatsby and Daisy spent in a remote place together, described as a “place where there were no trees and sidewalk was white with moonlight.” The bright imagery here is used to illustrate the romance between Gatsby and Daisy.
Fitzgerald also uses to great effect, words such as “milk of wonder” and “Daisy’s white face” to provide a sense of innocence and purity and also to illuminate the use of colours in the Great Gatsby. In this instance, the colour white is associated with Daisy as it depicts her virtuousness. The vivid description builds up a buoyant and thus far dramatic atmosphere when ironically Gatsby’s dream is being slowly ripped apart. Daisy is oblivious to the fact that she is everything to Gatsby.
In addition, it is evident that Gatsby died in autumn and it is the same time of year that Gatsby kisses Daisy. This could be interpreted as a way of implying Gatsby’s imminent fate, death.
The short sentence, where there is a great climax, “Then he kissed her” emphasises the impact at that precise moment in time. Gatsby then goes on to describe Daisy as if she “blossomed for him like a flower” – the flower that he refers to indicates the nature of her character as being delicate and frail. The idea of Daisy blossoming symbolises that she is starting to become something else. This highlights the change in Gatsby. Therefore, this is where Gatsby realises what he wants and how much she becomes his dream. Nick writes that Gatsby must have realised what a grotesque thing a rose is. In other words, that a rose is not inherently beautiful, but it is felt to be beautiful by people because they choose to perceive its form as a thing of beauty. The American Dream is much like this rose, an outwardly beautiful visual concept. However, the weaknesses of human nature turn its pursuit into a failed reality. Just as the rose represents Daisy, it can be interpreted that the rose symbolises Gatsby’s dream. Just as the dream is fragile, so is she. Fitzgerald uses “blossom” and “flower” to represent the idea of religion and reincarnation. The “green light” is the connection between all of these symbols, which also links the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. The green light can also be seen as what keeps Gatsby going and is what fuels his dream.
Fitzgerald makes the point that in order for Gatsby to fulfil his American Dream he must love himself first. There is only a small amount of dialogue, therefore this would indicate that there is much tension in the atmosphere, also it would suggest that there is no amount of words that could do justice of his great affection for Daisy, “uncommunicable forever.” The need for hope and dreams give meaning to man’s efforts. Striving towards some ideal is the way which man can feel a sense of his identity. Gatsby shows this through his perseverance in regaining Daisy.
Word Count: 992
