The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The passage begins ‘One autumn night’, autumn is commonly thought of as a season of death and renewal, when the leaves fall from the trees, so do the metaphorical leaves that are referred to throughout the novel, in many places where the theme of nature is prevalent. The garden itself is commonly used as a symbol for Gatsby’s social standing, and the vibrancy of his life. Now that the ‘leaves are falling’, we can see that daisy has captured his ‘godlike’ attention, as it is portrayed throughout the novel, but also his heart. As the life of his garden is given to the ground, so is his life given to daisy, whose name itself refers to the theme of nature.

Soon after, they come to a ‘place where there were no trees’, this may be represent that they have reached a place in their unusual relationship where the vibrant yet fake façade of their social lives is laid bare, and there are no longer trees blocking their view of each other. Gatsby seemingly inherent power over nature has removed the leaves that clouded the true perception in their relationship.

The sidewalk here is described as ‘white with moonlight’. White, usually thought to be a symbol of purity and goodness, intermingling with the moonlight, which throughout the book is symbolically shown to be controlled by Gatsby’s ‘godlike’ presence. The colour white is used throughout the novel to represent innocence, and even the steps to Gatsby’s house is white, this ‘heavenly’ colour provides a clear contrast to the reader between the ‘purity’ of Gatsby’s love for daisy, and the corruption that stains both his past, and Daisy’s obvious failings. The fact that they themselves walk upon a sidewalk shows that they are, at least in their own beliefs, above even this high social stand...

... middle of paper ...

...imself to an ancient Greek god, or hero.

He refers to daisy as a ‘girl’, as women are commonly labelled throughout the novel. This implies that daisy herself is naïve, and is woman in body only, and not in spirit or intelligence. It also implies that she is not as developed, and perhaps civilised as Gatsby, and is like a child in her dogmatic adherence to her social ‘chains’, and her reluctance to mingle with ‘new money’.

Nick describes how Gatsby ‘wed his unutterable visions to her’. The word ‘wed’ implies that his desires involve marriage, and shows that he feels a connection to daisy through his words that cannot currently be expressed physically. His ‘visions’ being named as ‘unutterable’ hints at his shady occupation, and implies that his intentions towards daisy may not be as white and pure as the white imagery throughout the novel would have you believe.