The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby Chapter Six
TASK 55
Nick suggests that Gatsby’s sleep was haunted by ‘A universe of
ineffable gaudiness’; the use of the word “gaudy” echoes the overall
effect that is created at Gatsby’s parties which we are told resemble
little more than an amusement park. Gatsby is presented as being at
the centre of his own illusion as he conjures up images of himself and
the possibilities wealth will create. Nick comments that ‘these reveries
provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of
the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was
founded securely on a fairy’s wing.’ This bathetic comment
emphasises the tenuous nature of Gatsby’s dream; it suggests that it
is nothing more than fantasy and illusion that could be shattered at the
very touch of “cold philosophy” (Keats, Lamia). In the telling of
Gatsby’s history we hear Nick creating Gatsby’s story and presenting
to us his idea of how Gatsby behaved or what he thought. Like
Daisy’s, Gatsby’s story is filtered through another character and
Fitzgerald never allows the reader to engage first hand with the
emotions and feelings of this character.
We learn that Gatsby was tricked out of his inheritance from Dan Cody
by Ella Kaye who, like Wolfsheim and Tom, is the true heir of the
world created by men like Cody. She, like these other men, represents
the world of power and greed and in this sense Gatsby is no match for
her. He was left, we are told, with only his construction of himself as
the ‘vague contour of Jay Gatsby had filled out to the substantiality of
a man.’
The narrative returns to Gatsby’s party where Tom is a guest. Tom
has commented that women ‘run around too much these days to suit
me’ and in consequence he accompanies Daisy to the party. What we
see here is of course Tom’s moral hypocrisy as he is always keen to
enter into a variety of dalliances. Nick comments that Tom’s presence
gave the evening a ‘peculiar quality of oppressiveness’ and the
atmosphere is characterised by ‘an unpleasantness in the air, a
pervading harshness that hadn’t been there before.’ The tensions and
conflict appear to be surfacing as the characters are seen together
interacting with one another.
How does Nick now see the party and its guests? Consider how he is
becoming increasingly in tune with Gatsby’s and Daisy’s feelings and
emotions.
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