Great Gatsby Quote Banks

Great Gatsby Quote Banks Chapter 1: ‘the less fashionable of the two’ - West Egg - new money - is seen as ingenuine wealth, as they have gained it. The title of nouveau riche isn't as prestigious and disingenuine as old money to old money people. Subordinate to the established and archaic bourgeoisie class as they lack what is truly valued in society - tradition. Fitzgerald comments on the internal biases about wealth, despite the nouveau riche being materialistically similar to the bourgeoisie class. Reflects the morally vacuous nature of the social hierarchy in 1920s America. ‘factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy’ - an impression or caricature of the established bourgeoisie. Despite exuding the same attributes, they lack the sophistication and prestige of old money. ‘Imitation is the highest form of flattery’, they admire and appreciate old money to the extent of imitating them. The newly rich are incessantly desperate for the status and acceptance of old money. They never reserve their heritage. Normandy was considered fashionable and new, rather than old and sophisticated. Fitzgerald met Ernest Hemingway in Normandy and they wrote ‘Baby Shoes for sale, never worn.’ Those buildings are seen as traditional architecture. He experienced these places as a traditional place, but sees people imitate them back in the United States. ‘brand spanking new under a thin beard of ivy’ - ‘spanking new’ implies something that is recently built and freshly minted, suggesting Gatsby's wealth is in fact newly-made. This contrasts with the ‘thin beard of ivy’, which evokes an image of something that has been recently adorned or superficially aged. Ivy often signifies age, sophistication, and establishment, but here it is a ‘thin beard’ and not deeply rooted, highlighting the superficiality and lack of authenticity in Gatsby’s new money. Also mirrors how society, including Gatbsy’s party guests, don't see past the facade of prestige and take it for what it is, unless they are established like Tom. ‘White palaces of fashionable east egg glittered along the water’ - ‘white’ symbolises purity, which shows the belief of old-money families that their wealth is attained in the only ‘pure’ way possible, free from corruption through generations. Social purity where they are beyond reproach. ‘White’ symbolises an element of a facade and a perfect exterior. This is mirrored as the palaces ‘glitter’, which shows their wealth is illustrious and subtle, without having to be flaunted like new money has to portray. ‘Palaces’ connotes an idea of regality, elegance. power and status, which could possibly imply that because the wealth is generational - much like a Royal Family - it deserves to be displayed. Values tradition, social status and solidifies a hierarchy. ‘Consoling proximity of millionaires’ - Implies Nick finds comfort and understanding when surrounded by new money. ‘Proximity’ is used to show distance as well as relationships, which may connote that those of an old-money lifestyle are close and attracted to the new budding life of ‘millionaires. ‘small eyesore’ ‘Squeezed between two huge places’ - rented, not owned. This wealth is fleeting and impermanent, not as solidified as the old money. New money has an implication of a conditional wealth depending on how much they work. ‘Squeezed’ implies new money and old money suffer to coexist beside each other. They both believe in their own moral and economic superiority over another. There’s little room for both, especially in the East Egg. Nick’s house acts as a microcosm for the relationship between new money and old money they feel the other is always beneath them and their life is more significant. ‘colossal affair’ - Gaudy and ostentatious public display of wealth, a commentary on how new money values the outward appearance of their wealth over anything else. Larger than it needs to be, which may imply that new money feels threatened by the generationally solidified power of old money. This attempt to imitate the power of the bourgeoisie is fleeting and unsuccessful. ‘drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo & were rich together’ Tom and Daisy rely on social norms to dictate their life, as they submit to others’ ideals about where to be or what to do. Tom especially is a malleable character, who is shaped by the people around them and think for themselves little. ‘Drift’ implies they both follow no direction in life and lack intrinsic purpose as they follow the actions of others and dwell in dissatisfaction. Travel further than others in a vacuous, shallow lifestyle. ‘Polo’ is a microcosm for the activities of the upper class, makes an elite and exclusive aesthetic which mirror the values and expectations of old money. ‘Were rich together’ creates a sense of a collective and to be separate from everyone else in society. The dismissive tone reflects the nonchalant attitude they have towards life - money makes them carefree, inconsiderate, complacent. ‘drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence’ - Whilst it appears Tom is well in his life, he appears to follow a sense of hedonism and yearns for more at whatever point he is at in life. This reveals plenty about why he engages with Myrtle and involves himself in scandal and hatred, as he desires more from life. ‘Dramatic’ implies Tom’s life is stagnant and. ‘Drift’ implies Tom follows no direction in life and lacks intrinsic purpose as he follows the actions of others and dwells in dissatisfaction. ‘Supercilious manner’ - Tom believes that he has authority over and is superior to others and has an overbearingly pompous and arrogant manner . His attitude mirrors how the aristocracy felt superior to new money. Reflects Fitzgerald’s insecurity of becoming poor again and the resentment that Fitzgerald felt at the time for old money because he had experience being poor himself. Tom’s unlikeable and arrogant manner stems from Tom’s character being inspired by his first love’s husband, who had superiority over Fitzgerad in his first love’s decision in leaving Fitzgerlad because of his lack of wealth. ‘a cheerful red and georgian colonial mansion overlooking the bay’ Chapter 2: ‘less remotely rich’ - ‘remotely’, Nick usually feels distant and disconnected from Tom and Daisy because of their old money. It is unusual for him to feel close to them. ‘Rich’ - Nick associates them with wealth, it's the superficiality that he is most focused on. The distance Nick feels between Tom and Daisy mirrors the rejection Fitzgerald experiences in the old money world. He experiences feelings of inferiority about the upper class as he himself identifies with being new money. ‘come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens’ - ‘his’ connotes how possessive and confident Gatsby is that he is entitled to own. His confidence shows he believes he is the epitome of new money and harbours established status. He sees materialism as fuelling his egocentric personality and public image. His confidence also parallels his hedonistic personality as he solely seeks to own the things that bring him pleasure and joy - Daisy. The fact that he owns a part of ‘the local heavens’ symbolises his status and place in the hierarchy amongst the newly rich. His possessive nature highlights how he strongly believes that he can have anything he desires. ‘Heaven’ highlights an opportunity for the newly rich to want to be seen as god-like. Heaven is no longer associated with morality and righteousness rather than wealth. It has replaced religion. Fitzgerald critiques the excessive confidence of New Money and how the economic prosperity in the Roaring Twenties has skewed faith and spirituality to focus on hedonism and materialism. ‘it was nine o’clock – almost immediately afterward I looked at my watch and found it was ten’ - Nick’s narrative becomes unreliable, chaotic and disjointed due to heavy drinking. The significant time jump from ‘nine o’clock’ to ‘ten’ suggests a loss of memory and sense of time. Nick’s indulgence in hedonistic and self-indulgent behaviour, a typically bourgeoisie activity, meant he doesn't have to worry about time. ‘Immediately’ is a stark statement that can't be trusted, completely jumped from his mind and Nick has therefore become an unreliable narrator in the validity of his story. Also reflects carelessness and frivolousness of old money as they do not have to worry about time nor responsibilities. This is a direct result of hedonistic values of old money in 1920s America and exposes the immorality of the time as they are drinking despite the prohibition of alcohol. ‘the bottle of whiskey was now in constant demand by all present’ - ‘Whiskey’ connotes distinct luxury and wealth. A single bottle connoted the idea that they know their desires are legally wrong, as they are excessively and frivolously spent on indulging . They spend a lot of their wealth on it as they view materialism and pleasures above morality, therefore making them morally vacuous. ‘All’ connotes a collective idea of hedonism and they're all fueled by an idea of chasing desires at the cost of morality and humanity. Further reflects the immorality of the time as they are drinking despite the prohibition of alcohol. ‘men who move and are already crumbling’ - ‘crumbling’ is associated with decaying, fracturing, and disintegrating. Men are disintegrated by their expected work and their mental decay, they lose a sense of hope and view existence as relentless. ‘grotesque gardens’ - oxymoronic, seen as picturesque, sanctuary and compared to being seen as decayed or vile. Materialism, therefore, corrupts the good of society and infects what benefits society. Whilst some attain aesthetic materialistic goods, there is a consequence. Emotive word of disgust, Fitzgerald intends to expose the faults of materialism. Paradise, moronic as it ‘fantastic farms where ashes grow like wheat’ - simile ashes, subverts natural imagery, replaces greenery with ashes. Materialism is as abundant as life which was before. Fricative, harsh sound of ‘f’ mirrors the ‘valley of ashes’ - Valley of Death, a biblical reference to refer to Hell and purgatory. Fitzgerald represents the byproduct of materialism as evil and vile in the hands of the prosperous and affluent in society. The abuse of the proletariat is comparable to the torture of purgatory and eternal suffering. Chapter 3: ‘men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars’ - ‘moths’ idiom of moth to a flame, see the life of hedonism and luxury, artificial and alluring as attractive. No personal agency and vacuity, they become reliant on the parties and need materialism to survive because it's their only source of light and joy, entrapped by the alluring light. Once they reach this, they burn in the sense that it is reflective of hedonism and materialism, through excessive drinking and indulgence to where it is melancholy and intoxicating. Distorts perception of the world, in a way that is maladaptive and changing in a way that is harmful to themselves. Parties corrupt perception because they lose morality. Moths have a short life span, so it reflects the frequent ‘came and went’ from parties highlighting Gatsby's desperate need to impress chase he is showing off to as many different people as possible. ‘Men and girls’ - women become more independent, emancipation from domestic sphere and sexuality, Fitzgerald comments on the accessory of ‘girls’, critiquing that the notion of the new woman has not progressed as far as seen. Gatsby’s parties expose the vacuous nature of 1920s America ‘two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler’s thumb’ - ‘two hundred times’ suggests that the proletariat are forced to repeat something mundane, monotonous and continuous to appease the needs of the bourgeoisie, mirrors the long-lasting effects of exploitation of the working class and how they thrive off of the melancholy labour of the working class. ‘Butler’ alienated, dehumanised. Shows that the upper class do not value the workers as people but only as commodities and tools to repair their ‘ravages’. ‘Little’ - insignificant, making their labour seem insignificant, unnecessary. Overly decadent. ‘stocked with gins and liquors’ - ignoring the prohibition of alcohol, prioritising their pleasures, opulence and hedonism because they need to be intoxicated . ‘Liquors’ - expensive luxury, they continue to indulge relative to their wealth and status because they rely on it so heavily. They view alcohol as a priority to spend their wealth on. ‘Stocked’ - overbearing, abundant and excessive, their greed has made them collect it over time. They engage in a white-collar crime, which they feel won't affect them and cause any dire consequence, they view their hedonism as above morality and law itself. ‘gaudy with primary colours’ - ‘gaudy’ performative and theatrical, connotes how new money is often correlated with the idea of being an ‘impression’ of old-money’s prestige. ‘Primary’ - can make every colour, may mirror Gatsby’s insecurity and having to appeal to everyone, his loneliness beneath. ‘yellow cocktail music’... ‘yellow dresses’ - ‘Yellow’ colour symbolism and imagery connotes luxury, decadence, greed, prestige and materialism. ‘Yellow dresses’, bright and bold, exudes joy and happiness of new women. Flapper girls feel liberated as they show off their glamour and elite privileges. ‘Cocktail music’ - celebration, lively, frenetic. Gatsby’s ‘brisk yellow bug’ mirrors this, as he tries to exude an air of luxury and wealth. highlighting the moral decay of the guests which comes from their self indulgence. Also reflects the distatefulness of this display of extravagance because it is a sickly colour. ‘this fella’s a regular Belasco’ - Gatsby is seen as a performative person, makes everything appear flawless and impressive to appease other people. He makes his life appear theatrical and alluring to draw in attention, as he allows people to consume and watch his life as a dramatised and sensationalised person all for entertainment. Could reflect how the newly-rich have the desire to push their narrative of opulence to appear as well-versed and established as old-money. They distract from their real lives with alluring, illusionist ideas to hide the truth lying beneath the surface. David Belasco was a famous theatre producer, well known for his intensely realistic stages and sets. Reflects the societal attitudes that new money has to mimic the bourgeoisie.