80 likes | 201 Views
The Great Gatsby. Chapter 1 Character Analysis, Themes, and Motifs. Motifs (reoccurring imagery and patterns ) in The Great Gatsby. Marine (pertaining to water, oceans, boating, etc.) Dust Ashes Bright colors: yellow, green, blue, purple, etc. Ghosts Eyes Noses Alcohol
E N D
The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Character Analysis, Themes, and Motifs
Motifs (reoccurring imagery and patterns) in The Great Gatsby • Marine (pertaining to water, oceans, boating, etc.) • Dust • Ashes • Bright colors: yellow, green, blue, purple, etc. • Ghosts • Eyes • Noses • Alcohol • Masculine women • Feminine men • Cars • GARDENS (fruit, greenery, shrubs, plants, etc.)
Subjects in The Great Gatsby(what we learn about them will become the THEMES of the novel) • Love • Money • Hypocrisy • Time • Friendship • Carelessness • Dishonesty • The American Dream
Nick Carraway • First-person narrator of The Great Gatsby. • 29 years old • From the Midwest • Raised in a privileged family • Taught to reserve judgments of people • Sarcastic and witty • Rents a house on West Egg for the summer • Second cousin, once removed to Daisy Buchanan • “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements…” (5). • “I was confused and a little disgusted as I drove away” (25).
Tom Buchanan • “A sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a hard mouth and a supercilious manner” (11). • Muscular, “cruel” body • “Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (11). • “Enormously wealthy” (10). • Old money, blue-blood • Married to Daisy • trying to recapture his football glory days • Arrogant, sexist, racist • Has a mistress • “As for Tom the fact that he ‘had some woman in New York’ was really less surprising than that he had been depressedby a book” (25).
Daisy Buchanan • About 23 years old • Very lovely, very charming • She has “an absurd, charming little laugh” and a “low, thrilling voice.” • She speaks in exaggerate phrases and talks low so that people must be close to her in order to hear her. • She knows but ignores the fact that Tom has a mistress. • “… ‘that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool’” (21).
Jordan Baker • About 21 years old • Slender, small-breasted • Erect carriage…holds shoulders back like a soldier • Grey sun-strained eyes • Arrogant and contemptuous, but Nick finds her attractive • Professional golfer
Jay Gatsby • Nick’s neighbor • Daisy might know him • Millionaire • He has an “extraordinary gift for hope” and a “romantic readiness” that Nick admires (6). • Was reaching for “a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (26).