The Role Of Mood In The Great Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, during the falling action chapters the novel became dark, and the mood of the story contradicted the mood of the previous chapters. The tension that had been brewing between Tom and Gatsby peaked, but it was the environment around them that created this intense atmosphere. Fitzgerald wanted to use these factors to make novel even more dramatic, as a result the weather played an important role in the development of the story again. Other items, such as alcohol, also played a key role in creating greater tension between the characters. The mood was also impacted by the paranoia of Tom and Gatsby, both had different rationale, but both equally impacted the mood of the story via the central conflict, …show more content…
That was not the only thing that troubled Tom however, it was his affair with Myrtle that Fitzgerald used to erupt chaos onto Gatsby, which led to Gatsby’s demise. During chapter seven Fitzgerald gave Buchanan this fiery confidence when challenged, and it was almost like there was some dramatic irony implemented into that chapter, as a result of Tom’s confidence; he already knew he had defeated Gatsby. What also made Tom into this alpha-male presence was his ability to know his place, and he knew he was top of the food chain, so for Gatsby to challenge Tom for Daisy was like bringing a knife to a gunfight, Tom obliterated Gatsby because of his strong bravado and arrogance, it overwhelmed Gatsby. Not to mention his intimidating presence that Fitzgerald established in the rising action chapters, but Tom was ultimately Fitzgerald's weapon to destroy Gatsby’s hope, and he was …show more content…
It was odd that Fitzgerald used the color yellow so frequently in chapter seven, but perhaps he was trying to emphasize the moral decay and thirst for wealth of Gatsby. Fitzgerald used the imagery of Gatsby’s car to elaborate on how luxurious it was, but since Gatsby was driving the car it became a symbol for new money, which had a direct impact on Gatsby’s moral decay. The color yellow was perceived as an evil color by the end of chapter seven after Daisy hit Myrtle with Gatsby’s car in front of the yellow eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg.
During chapter eight, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg had developed a new meaning in George Wilson’s prospective, comparing them to the eyes of god. George had lost a couple screws in his head as a result of his late wife's death, but because of this George took it upon himself to avenge his wife’s death using the eyes as one his reasons why he wanted to murder the individual who took his most precious possession away from him. The eyes watched over the Valley of Ashes, and he elaborated about how the eyes were like the eyes of god, and they watched all of its residents commit