Chapter 8
By: Ambika Gosyne L6L
Indu Singh L6G
Point of View
Themes
Isolation
He stayed there a week, walking the streets
where their footsteps had clicked together through
the November night and revisiting the out-of-theway places to which they had driven in her white
car. (8.28)
Themes
Society and class
We shook hands and I started away. Just before I
reached the hedge I remembered something and
turned around.
"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the
lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put
together." (8.44-45)
Daisy and Tom may have been born with money,
but they're not "worth" anything. But Gatsby
despite his ill-gotten moneyis.
Themes
Violence
The end of the novel, of course, consists of
violence against Gatsby. The choice of handgun as
a weapon suggests Gatsby's shady past, but it is
symbolic that it is his love affair, not his business
life, that kills Gatsby in the end.
Setting
In the previous chapter, Gatsbys confrontation
with Tom took place on the hottest day of the
summer and showed both frustration and
destruction. On the other hand, the cooler weather
in chapter 8 illustrates calming things down. Now
that the fire has gone out of Gatsbys life with
Daisys decision to remain with Tom, the weather
suddenly cools, and autumn creeps into the air and
the leaves [will] start falling pretty soon. In the
same way that he is attached to the hope of
making Daisy love him the way she used to, he
insists on swimming in the pool as though it were
still summer, trying to hold on to memories of the
past and reliving those days.
Setting
Plot Outline
Nick finds Gatsby in his home after he had waited
Plot Outline
Nick passes by the "valley of ashes" - tells reader
Symbolism
The colour silver is also used Daisy, gleaming like
silver, safe and proud above the struggles of the
poor. (p150) and A hundred pairs of golden and
silver slippers shuffled the shining dust. (p151) In
this case silver is used to symbolize not only wealth,
but the carelessness and untaintedness of the object
which it is described with. Daisy, although surrounded
by poor, gives no thought to them as she has never
been subject to that style of life, but only the
extravagant. The slippers highlight that point once
again as they are carelessly dancing in the dust,
without a care about the dirtiness, but only revelling
in the beauty and splendour of themselves.
Symbolism
Flashback
Gatsby, in his misery, tells Nick the story of his
first meeting with Daisy. He does so even though it
patently gives the lie to his earlier account of his
past. Gatsby and Daisy first met in Louisville in
1917; Gatsby was instantly smitten with her
wealth, her beauty, and her youthful innocence.
Realizing that Daisy would spurn him if she knew
of his poverty, Gatsby determined to lie to her
about his past and his circumstances. Before he
left for the war, Daisy promised to wait for him;
the two then slept together, as though to seal their
pact. Of course, Daisy did not wait; she married
Tom, who was her social equal and the choice of
her parents. This is shown through a flashback.
Motifs
The green light
The End