Weather in The Great Gatsby
The weather and time of day affect the mood of a scene by associating emotions with them. The writing of The Great Gatsby frequently uses weather to describe a situation to intentionally cause and change the mood at any certain time. Daytime and sun are generally seen as positive, and so often lead to positive events. On the opposing side, nighttime, clouds, and rain are often seen as negative, and therefore may lead to death, pain, secrets, and betrayal. There are exceptions to this, but exceptions often also have different sets of language associated with them to paint them as opposite. Even without the assistance of mentioned weather, words themselves hold a positive or negative tone, and tying them into the …show more content…
Different times of the day naturally bring out different parts of one’s behavior and emotions, with tensions and mystery generally being much higher as the sun set and night set in. Due to the cover of darkness, characters may act in a way that they wouldn’t dare to do in the daytime, which uncovers many of the secrets that the characters hold in the book. The rising of the sun is generally seen as positive, such as when Michaelis sat with George Wilson the entire night after his wife was run over. He was nervous during the night when George would mumble about what he knew and he had to distract the grieving man, but “was glad a little later when he noticed a change in the room, a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn wasn’t far off” (159). To Michaelis, dawn seemed like an opportunity to freedom, since he could leave the house to get something to eat and stop watching over George. Dawn, as the beginning of a day, is often seen as synonymous with beginnings and attempts at success. However, even though morning is bright, it can still be given a sinister or odd feel with shadows. Gatsby’s house during a party “was dark… only the bright door sent ten square feet of light volleying out into the soft black morning,” which generally contradicts the bright flaming lights that the house is usually described as having. But here it was being described as “an indefinite procession of shadows,” which in part refers to the uninvited visitors who “rogued and powdered” through the house they didn’t belong in. (107) Closer to night time, on the other hand, was known for its danger. Even driving during twilight, the misty purple zone between sunset and nightfall, was driving “on towards death,” cool and empty and signalling a negative change in the characters’ lives. Evening was described as hurrying in a constant “disappointed anticipation or else in sheer nervous
The weather and time of day affect the mood of a scene by associating emotions with them. The writing of The Great Gatsby frequently uses weather to describe a situation to intentionally cause and change the mood at any certain time. Daytime and sun are generally seen as positive, and so often lead to positive events. On the opposing side, nighttime, clouds, and rain are often seen as negative, and therefore may lead to death, pain, secrets, and betrayal. There are exceptions to this, but exceptions often also have different sets of language associated with them to paint them as opposite. Even without the assistance of mentioned weather, words themselves hold a positive or negative tone, and tying them into the …show more content…
Different times of the day naturally bring out different parts of one’s behavior and emotions, with tensions and mystery generally being much higher as the sun set and night set in. Due to the cover of darkness, characters may act in a way that they wouldn’t dare to do in the daytime, which uncovers many of the secrets that the characters hold in the book. The rising of the sun is generally seen as positive, such as when Michaelis sat with George Wilson the entire night after his wife was run over. He was nervous during the night when George would mumble about what he knew and he had to distract the grieving man, but “was glad a little later when he noticed a change in the room, a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn wasn’t far off” (159). To Michaelis, dawn seemed like an opportunity to freedom, since he could leave the house to get something to eat and stop watching over George. Dawn, as the beginning of a day, is often seen as synonymous with beginnings and attempts at success. However, even though morning is bright, it can still be given a sinister or odd feel with shadows. Gatsby’s house during a party “was dark… only the bright door sent ten square feet of light volleying out into the soft black morning,” which generally contradicts the bright flaming lights that the house is usually described as having. But here it was being described as “an indefinite procession of shadows,” which in part refers to the uninvited visitors who “rogued and powdered” through the house they didn’t belong in. (107) Closer to night time, on the other hand, was known for its danger. Even driving during twilight, the misty purple zone between sunset and nightfall, was driving “on towards death,” cool and empty and signalling a negative change in the characters’ lives. Evening was described as hurrying in a constant “disappointed anticipation or else in sheer nervous