Wednesday 27 August 2014

Why did Fitzgerald begin The Great Gatsby with a quote from Thomas Parke D’Invilliers, a character from Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise?...

D'Invilliers was both a pen name for Fitzgerald and a character based on Fitzgerald's friend, the poet John Peale Bishop. The quote reflects Gatsby's conviction that if he can earn enough money and remake himself, he can win the love of Daisy Buchanan. The "gold hat" in the poem symbolizes Gatsby's fortune and the grand home and enormous parties he throws to attract her attention. As Nick points out using different language, Gatsby was one...

D'Invilliers was both a pen name for Fitzgerald and a character based on Fitzgerald's friend, the poet John Peale Bishop. The quote reflects Gatsby's conviction that if he can earn enough money and remake himself, he can win the love of Daisy Buchanan. The "gold hat" in the poem symbolizes Gatsby's fortune and the grand home and enormous parties he throws to attract her attention. As Nick points out using different language, Gatsby was one to "bounce high," dream big, and aspire to realize a vision. In the epigraph, the narrator is likewise trying to woo his lover with money (the "gold hat") and by "high-bouncing:" trying hard to get her attention. He believes that by doing so the woman will inevitably end up saying, "I must have you." It reflects a very materialistic view of love. Fitzgerald chooses it because this is how Gatsby pursues Daisy, although with less success than the gold-hatted man in this quote.

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