In his last moments, Gatsby floats about in his pool waiting for a call from Daisy. Realising that she is not going to call, Gatsby accepts the transition out of his impossible dream into reality. But of course the final moments and thoughts of Gatsby will remain uncertain as it is recounted by Nick Carraway whom Fitzgerald has created to narrate within the story. Nick may not be a reliable narrator but he still makes important links between significant themes in the story. The theme of dreams in the novel is important for Gatsby as it gives him purpose in life. In this particular passage, the theme of realisation appears as Gatsby realises that his dream of having a life together with Daisy was always impossible. He realises the false external
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Gatsby realises that, much like a rose, beauty is conceived in the mind alone. He also realises that the wealth and glamour that surrounded Daisy deceived his mind over time into thinking she was beautiful i.e. his envision of the perfect Daisy. And for this (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.103, The Great Gatsby) “…he found what a grotesque thing a rose is…” and that in actuality, her core virtue was not beautiful such as a rose but simple like a daisy flower. Gatsby’s dream was his purpose in life, without one he had no meaning. He strived for his dream, as shown in chapter one when (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.16, The Great Gatsby) “he stretched out his arms towards the dark water”, but it only existed in the form of the mystical green light and thus the dream of Daisy was impossible; he was trying to grab an intangible object. This sudden realisation redefined his word into “unfamiliar sky”, as his dream, and essentially his life, had died like autumn leaves. Nick Carraway describes Gatsby’s realisation as “the scarcely created grass” being the rare acceptance of reality by people and how “the raw sun” shone upon the truth of reality to allow him to see this grass. The body of the passage explains the theme of Gatsby’s realisation and the ugly reality of his …show more content…
Despite Nick claiming (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.1, The Great Gatsby) “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements” and that the story is told only through his perspective, he creates suppositions about the other characters. In this case Nick left for work just before this passage and after (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.98, The Great Gatsby) “Well, goodbye. We shook hands and I started away”, Nick was not with Gatsby at this time so there was no way for him to know exactly what he was thinking. The reliability of Nick as the narrator is uncertain but since he is the only narrator, he needs to be trusted by the reader. Also, his suppositions still maintain some validity as he basis them on experiences he had with those characters. When one of his servants ask to drain the pool, Gatsby replies by saying (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.97, The Great Gatsby) “Don’t do it today…He turned to me apologetically. You know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer.” (Where ‘me’ refers to Nick) The majority of the novel is set through one summer so Gatsby wanting to swim in the pool suggests that he is still clinging on to his dream. Nick understands that without his dream, Gatsby cannot exist, and this is how he recounted his last thoughts. In Gatsby’s final moment, he stares upon his inevitable doom realising that once he
Gatsby realises that, much like a rose, beauty is conceived in the mind alone. He also realises that the wealth and glamour that surrounded Daisy deceived his mind over time into thinking she was beautiful i.e. his envision of the perfect Daisy. And for this (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.103, The Great Gatsby) “…he found what a grotesque thing a rose is…” and that in actuality, her core virtue was not beautiful such as a rose but simple like a daisy flower. Gatsby’s dream was his purpose in life, without one he had no meaning. He strived for his dream, as shown in chapter one when (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.16, The Great Gatsby) “he stretched out his arms towards the dark water”, but it only existed in the form of the mystical green light and thus the dream of Daisy was impossible; he was trying to grab an intangible object. This sudden realisation redefined his word into “unfamiliar sky”, as his dream, and essentially his life, had died like autumn leaves. Nick Carraway describes Gatsby’s realisation as “the scarcely created grass” being the rare acceptance of reality by people and how “the raw sun” shone upon the truth of reality to allow him to see this grass. The body of the passage explains the theme of Gatsby’s realisation and the ugly reality of his …show more content…
Despite Nick claiming (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.1, The Great Gatsby) “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements” and that the story is told only through his perspective, he creates suppositions about the other characters. In this case Nick left for work just before this passage and after (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.98, The Great Gatsby) “Well, goodbye. We shook hands and I started away”, Nick was not with Gatsby at this time so there was no way for him to know exactly what he was thinking. The reliability of Nick as the narrator is uncertain but since he is the only narrator, he needs to be trusted by the reader. Also, his suppositions still maintain some validity as he basis them on experiences he had with those characters. When one of his servants ask to drain the pool, Gatsby replies by saying (Fitzgerald, 1993, p.97, The Great Gatsby) “Don’t do it today…He turned to me apologetically. You know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer.” (Where ‘me’ refers to Nick) The majority of the novel is set through one summer so Gatsby wanting to swim in the pool suggests that he is still clinging on to his dream. Nick understands that without his dream, Gatsby cannot exist, and this is how he recounted his last thoughts. In Gatsby’s final moment, he stares upon his inevitable doom realising that once he