The Great Gatsby Chapters 5 and 6

"If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock."
Daisy put her arm through his abruptly but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her,almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon, now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one" (Fitzgerald 98).


Before I begin analyzing this particular paragraph, I must note that I picked this part because of how it connects to previous references to personified"enchanted objects". One such instance is on page 91: "Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head." The construction of this sentence emphasizes the clock over Gatsby. On page 73 it says,"A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms".One could argue that this passage emphasizes man over object, but I believe that the moving car is shown to be more alive then the immobile corpse of a dead man. This personification seems to highlight the loneliness and isolation felt by all. That Gatsby's house is full of ghosts of former guests makes it seem lonelier not warmer. These objects retain almost human-like significance in the eyes of their beholder to fill up the void left by the lack of fulfilling relationships between the characters and those around them.

The green light represented Daisy to Gatsby. However the light loses all significance when she becomes reality, standing next to him. I think Gatsby might also realizes that if the light is "almost touching her", it is still not actually touching her nor is it within her she never was the light at all. Then the green light loses even more significance. It is an interesting analogy that the light seemed as close as a star to the moment. When a person looks from earth to the the sky they perceive that the stars and moon are close but in reality they are light years apart.This could correspond to Gatsby's realization that Daisy and the light were never really related at all. His perception differed from reality.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 2

"It's really his wife that's keeping them apart. She's a Catholic and they don't believe in divorce"
Daisy was not a Catholic and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of this lie" (Fitzgerald 38).
I think these lines are important for a few reasons.
First, it gives the reader a new perspective of Tom Buchanan's personality. Obviously there is something that is making Tom aprehensive about leaving Daisy.This reminds me of the whole idea of reserving judgement that Tom brought up in the first chapter. It makes me wonder whether the reader sees Tom as he really is while the narrator's vision isskewed or if the readers perception of Tom will change throughout the book.

Second, it brings up the idea of lies and trustworthiness. It has already been hinted at that this elitist world is not all that it seems, especially when in chapter one the irony is obvious in the line "I think the home influence will be good for her" when we already see the dsicontent of their home in Tom's mistress and an attitude towards Daisy that seems only tolerant. This reminds me of The Age of Innocence , I am intersted in seeing how much of this world will fall apart.