Presentation on theme: "The Great Gatsby, Chapter Eight. At four in the morning Gatsby says to Nick, I've been waiting, and around four o'clock she came to the window and got up."— Presentation transcript:
1 The Great Gatsby Chapter Eight
2 Four o'clock Gatsby tells Nick the next morning: I was waiting and about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned off the light. The 4 p.m. hour is repeated at important points in the novel: Daisy is reunited with Gatsby at 4 p.m. in chapter 5, she symbolically "turns off the lights" during her vigil to search the hero's house in the previous chapter, and he later dies around four in the afternoon. This motif is perhaps recurring in pointing to nature's sympathetic pattern in how she responds to Gatsby's life. We've already seen the weather reflect Gatsby's fortunes – now it appears that the day's cyclical pattern seems consistent with his trouble spots.
3 Attraction to Daisy In Gatsby's story, we are at least beginning to understand his obsession with her. She represents wealth and privilege, and we know that Gatsby has long idolized materialism. For Gatsby, Daisy is the physical embodiment of that. Her voice represents the spiritual side of materialism, the essence of its dream. However, by investing such power in Daisy, Gatsby's dream is reduced to a mere motivation for material gain.
4 Attraction to Daisy The first thing that attracted Gatsby was Daisy's wealth—her house in particular (“there was a lot of mystery”). This eliminates the idea that he was attracted to Daisy. He was - and still is - attracted to the "money" inside her. He liked the fact that other men liked her when he first met her - "It increased her worth in his eyes". Notice your initial tendency to treat them like an object. He almost sees it as his property. Do we admire that quality in him? Gatsby never intended to fall in love with Daisy. At first he wanted to "take what he could and go". His intentions were not noble at first.
5 Attraction to Daisy He was a "man with no money and no past" when he met her. As the novel progresses, we discover that no matter how well Gatsby can fix the first mistake, he can't fix the second. The case was doomed from the start. Gatsby was clearly guilty of DUPLICITY in his initial affair with Daisy: he had certainly taken her under false pretenses... he was fully capable of taking care of her.
6 Gatsby The idea of Daisy's quest is not really that of an ordinary woman, but a DREAM - the American dream of wealth and self-improvement. Gatsby pursues a spiritual dream while searching for Daisy. By pursuing the "spiritual" beauty of what Daisy represents, by having the idealism to devote oneself to something beyond himself, Gatsby renews our belief in human nature. He reminds us of our ability to wait.
7 Nick and Gatsby Though Nick again claims to have disapproved of Gatsby "from beginning to end," there is a definite shift between the two. Nick feels almost paternal and protective towards him - what is he protecting him from? Daisy? Oneself? your delusions? No doubt there is a new sense of vulnerability in Gatsby that may not have been seen before, and Nick shows him kindness at a time in society when there was very little of that. It is significant that Gatsby is open and honest - there is obviously an unconscious sense of achievement in him, but Gatsby only confesses these truths to keep his dream alive - his own conscience and devotion to his dream will never allow him to to accept him. is dead.
8 Nick and Gatsby Discuss the following quotes with your group and explain why you think Nick said that and what it says about your feelings towards Gatsby: "You're a lousy mob...together you're worth the whole damn group." "I was always glad I said that. It was the only compliment I paid him because I disapproved of him from start to finish.
9 Nick and Gatsby Nick sees Gatsby as a man of vision and ideals. He is someone to be admired above the trivial selfishness of others. Nick notes that in his disillusionment, Gatsby "must feel he's lost the warm old world and paid a heavy price for living on a single dream for too long". Here is a verbal echo of Nick's earlier observation that after the war the Midwest was no longer "the hot center of the world" for him. There is a shared experience of displacement that brings men closer together.
10 Nick and Gatsby Nick remarks: "Gatsby was well aware of youth, and of the mystery that confines and preserves wealth, of the freshness of many dresses, and of Daisy shining like silver, sure and proud above the heated struggles of the poor." This is an extremely important quote (remember it!) that not only highlights the injustice of the American class system, but also the limitations that even enormous wealth can bring. This ties directly into the main theme of the novel. Note the use of the word "prison" - isn't it ironic that it's the rich, not the poor, who aren't free. Here, too, there is a hint that the "beaten struggle of the poor" is an almost noble pursuit, something empowering, perhaps because it reflects the grueling and hard early work of the original pioneers.
11 The weather The heat – and so has Daisy's passion for Gatsby – has subsided. The fire in Gatsby's life is out and autumn is fast approaching. Gatsby's insistence on swimming in the pool is an apparent attempt at going back in time. His downfall is the direct result of his utter refusal to accept what he cannot accept - the passage of time.
12 Doctor TJ Eckleburg's Eyes These eyes are used again in this chapter to symbolize something else. In groups, discuss what George Wilson believes the eyes represent. Think about it: how he relates to her. Your state of mind and the events that just happened. The deepest meaning you could put into it.
13 The Eyes of Doctor TJ Eckleburg In Wilson's confused grief, the eyes briefly and disturbingly represent the eyes of God, prompting him to tell of the vengeance for Myrtle's death - "God sees all." If, of course, materialism is the new religion then the billboard symbolizes God in a broader sense. The eyes are ambiguous, but ultimately they gaze upon a world devoid of meaning, worth, and beauty - a world where dreams are exposed as illusions and cruel, unworthy men triumph at the expense of dreamers like Wilson and Gatsby.
14 Gatsby's Revelation and Death To truly fulfill the role of tragic hero, Gatsby needs revelation - a moment of utter clarity in which to find enlightenment and accept his failure. Reread the moments when Gatsby "pushed the mattress to death" and discuss what you think his revelation was. It refers to the "dream".
fifteen Gatsby's Epiphany and Death In his time at the pool, Gatsby is “purified; of the sins of materialism and has a moment of true fulfillment. He waits for Daisy's call until 4 a.m., the time of his death. He's clinging to the last notion that Daisy will want him somehow, but Nick believes that Gatsby finally saw the truth at the bitter end before he died.
16 Gatsby's Epiphany and Death This is intentionally ambiguous, but Nick delivers that, at least indirectly, when he says that Gatsby must have realized what a grotesque thing a rose is: maybe he didn't care... he must have felt that he had lost his warm old world... he must have looked through frightening leaves into an unfamiliar sky and shuddered to discover what a grotesque thing a rose is and how harsh the sunlight was on the ill-cut grass. Nick suggests that roses are not inherently beautiful and that's how people see them. Daisy is just as grotesque - just because Gatsby gave her beauty and meaning by making her the object of his dream. It was Gatsby who enhanced Daisy's worth and importance - without him she would be just another bored, idle, wealthy young woman with no moral strength.
17 Gatsby's revelation and death Gatsby realizes that his dream was corrupt and terrified. He realizes that he lives: A new world, material without being real, where poor spirits, breathing dreams like air, roamed about at random... like this gray and fantastical figure gliding towards him through the amorphous trees. As Wilson the spirit glides towards him, he sees the reality of the ash world that Wilson belongs to. The "new world" Gatsby longed for is a valley of ashes, unreal and filled with pain. In the moments leading up to his death, Nick imagines that Gatsby has realized the emptiness of his dream: Daisy's emptiness and the horrors of the material world.
18 Central Tragedy The central tragedy of the book is that the best characters - those born into poverty and loving idealistically - are brought down by the relentless oppression and selfishness of the rich.
Download ppt "The Great Gatsby, Chapter Eight. At four in the morning Gatsby says to Nick, I've been waiting, and about four o'clock she came to the window and got up."
FAQs
What does Gatsby tell Nick about chapter8? ›
Gatsby, melancholy, tells Nick about courting Daisy in Louisville in 1917. He says that he loved her for her youth and vitality, and idolized her social position, wealth, and popularity.
What does the clock mean in The Great Gatsby? ›Nick's Mantle Clock
During the gathering, Gatsby almost knocks the clock off the mantel, which of course would have caused it to break. This symbolizes his desire to return to a previous time, the time when he and Daisy had been together, back to before she married Tom Buchanan, but when Gatsby did not have money.
Nick suggested that Gatsby go away because he believes that the police will track his car. Gatsby's repsonse is no because he didnt want to leave Daisy. While Gatsby was in war, what did Daisy do? She waited for him until she couldn't anymore.
What does Jordan tell Nick at the end of Chapter 4? ›Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby bought his Mansion so that it would be directly across the bay from Daisy and Tom's house.
What is Gatsby waiting for in Chapter 8? ›He is still waiting for a call from Daisy. Nick tries to imagine what it must have been like to be Gatsby and know that your dream was lost. Gatsby's chauffeur hears gunshots just as Nick pulls up to the house. In the pool, they see Gatsby's dead body, and a little way off in the grass, they see Wilson's body.
What does Gatsby tell Nick? ›Gatsby tells Nick an origin story: he's the son of wealthy now-dead Midwesterners, he went to Oxford, and then he fought bravely in WWI. Not only that, but he has a medal and a photograph to prove it!
Did Gatsby break Nick's clock? ›At first, Gatsby's reunion with Daisy is terribly awkward. Gatsby knocks Nick's clock over and tells Nick sorrowfully that the meeting was a mistake.
Does Gatsby break Nick's clock? ›Gatsby drops the clock right before he and Daisy restart their relationship. The clock breaking is meant to signify this temporary relationship that is about to ensue.
What happens to Nick's clock in The Great Gatsby? ›At one point, in his nervousness, he knocks a broken clock off the mantel, catching it just before it hits the ground. The symbolic nature of this act cannot be overlooked. Although on one level it is just another awkward incident caused by Gatsby's nervousness, it goes beyond that.
What does Nick suggest that Gatsby do at the beginning of Chapter 8? ›Nick suggests Gatsby leave town for a while, certain Gatsby's car would be identified as the "death car." Nick's comments make Gatsby reveal the story of his past, "because 'Jay Gatsby' had broken up like glass against Tom's hard malice." Daisy, Gatsby reveals, was his social superior, yet they fell deeply in love.
What was the only compliment Nick gave to Gatsby in Chapter 8? ›
“You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.” I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end.” Nick addresses these words to Gatsby the last time he sees his neighbor alive, in Chapter 8.
Does Nick Carraway sleep with McKee? ›McKee did not sleep together or even if Fitzgerald did not mean to imply as much, the fact that Mr. McKee and Nick are together in their underwear is not typical for two heterosexual men in the 1920s.
What is a memorable quote from Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby? ›If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.