(A quote to spark some thinkin')
"I jumped out of bed and began to dress--I felt I had something to tell him, something to warn him about and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald, 154)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Chapter VIII
As opposed to earlier chapters, where time seems to by almost halted, in this chapter the reader sees time as "running out". How does Fitzgerald use foreshadowing, imagery, and vocabulary to convey this very important point to the reader?
(A quote to spark some thinkin')
"I jumped out of bed and began to dress--I felt I had something to tell him, something to warn him about and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald, 154)
(A quote to spark some thinkin')
"I jumped out of bed and began to dress--I felt I had something to tell him, something to warn him about and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald, 154)
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First off, I believe the whole concept of time “running out” to be foreshadowing of Gatsby’s death, for he is literally running out of time. That said, the concept of time running out is recurrent in the chapter. In the very first paragraph, Nick says “I couldn’t sleep all night” (154). While this might seem to be nothing at first, if you play the image this sentence creates in your mind, you can see how it is an example of time running out. Typically you can’t sleep when you have something that has to be done/is on your mind, as can be seen by the very next sentence, in which Nick "jumped out of bed and began to dress--I felt I had something to tell him, something to warn him about and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald, 154). There is a rush to tell Gatsby, to get to him. Though at this point we have no reason to suspect that Gatsby won’t be there to hear, doubt is introduced about that certainty.
ReplyDeleteIn the context of the chapter, the uncertainty would seem to come from how the police are searching for the hit and run driver. In fact, Nick tells Gatsby, to ““Go away now” (155). The authorities are closing in on Gatsby and he should leave immediately. But Gatsby shows no signs of leaving; rather, he lounges around his house with Nick and waits for a phone call which never comes. It is said that “he made the most of his time” (156), but I feel that the contrary is true – Gatsby procrastinated up to the very end. If you look at the situation in terms of our lives, when our time is limited, we tend to work faster and with greater focus. Aka after you procrastinate on essays, you write the whole thing the night before it’s due.
Not only did Gatsby exhibit this tendency, but Daisy too. In the story told by Gatsby, Daisy procrastinated in her decision of who to marry to the end. “She was feeling the pressure of the world outside…She wanted her life shaped now, immediately – and the decision must be made by some force – of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality – that was close at hand” (158-159). Daisy felt pressured by those around her into being married, and though she held off for the longest time, the pressure mounted until time ran out and she was forced to take that which was closest at hand (aka Tom).
Finally, there is the sense that not only is time running out, but it is moving too fast. “But it was all going by too fast now” (160). Gatsby wasn’t able to be there for Daisy/she wasn’t able to be with him because time moved too fast and by the time he was able to, life had rushed by him. It is similar to the Butler’s comment that “I’m going to drain the pool today, Mr. Gatsby. Leaves’ll start falling pretty soon and then there’s always trouble with the pipes” (161). Summer is coming to an end and there are plenty of things that need to be done before fall. At first the season begins to change slowly – during the hot chapter previously we began to see darker and longer days, but now that change accelerates towards the finale (the leaves falling, which is the true indicator of fall (falling leaves = fall)).
The essence of time is made very clear in this chapter. The most interesting indicator of this "time running out" feeling is in the sentence "Someone kind or curios took her in his car and drove her in the wake of her sister's body"(164). In class we talked about waves being a measurement of time. In this segment, instead of Myrtle's sister riding on the wave or just before the wave breaks or something like that, Fitzgerald chooses the word "wake"- the mark left after the wave has already past. Taking into consideration the question posted, I viewed this as Fitzgerald's hint to the reader that many are trying to catch up with time, or in other words, time is running out. Myrtle's sister is left behind and therefore trying desperately to catch up with time that has already past and already left its mark/impact on reality.
ReplyDeleteThe way that Fitzgerald wrote this chapter was very different from all of the others. I felt that this chapter almost seemed rushed in the sense that (as posted in the question) it seems as though time is running out, almost a race to the end. The entire chapter is clearly leading up to the final sentences which go back to feeling as though time is frozen, "The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of a compass, a thin red circle in the water," (Fitzgerald 170). Its as though the pace of the chapter continues to pick up speed until this moment in which Fitzgerald is describing Gatsby being shot.
ReplyDeleteSome vocabulary i found that exhibits this quick paced, almost nervous, and seemingly limited time is right after the quote chosen in the question. "we hunted through the great rooms for cigarettes. we pushed aside curtains that were like pavilions and felt over innumerable feet of dark wall for electric light switches - once i tumbled wiht a sort of splash upon the keys of a ghostly piano."(Fitzgerald 154)
This little mini scene and image we get of Nick and Gatsby frantically searching for cigarettes and light in Gatsby's house begins the chapter in this way that does make us feel as though time is "running out". by using words such as "hunted" rather than "looked" and "pushed" rather than perhaps "moved" Fitzgerald creates this feeling of panic and rushing, over little things such as cigarettes and turning on a light. This image and language choice sets the mood for the rest of the chapter.
Also contributing to this feeling of hurriedness, were the breaks between paragraphs that occurred. Within this chapter, the point of view went back and forth between the present Gatsby and Nick sitting in Gatsbys house talking about Gatsby's life, to Gatsby actually telling the story and also to Nick telling Gatsby's story. A new paragraph marks each of these shifts and the spacing between these larger paragraphs really dramatically separates the ideas and in my opinion sped up the chapter as the reader had to jump from one point of view to the next quickly and almost without notice, except for the paragraph breaks. For instance, this quote goes from Nick describing Gatsby's view of Daisy's porch, back to Gatsby's home... "But it was all going by too fast now for his blurred eyes and he knew that he had lost that part of it, the freshest and the best, forever.
It was nine o'clock when we finished breakfast and went out on the porch"( Fitzgerald 160)
I felt that this quote showed the way this chapter jumped from perspective to perspective and time to time so abruptly, making the chapter speed to its finish.
Anna, I love your reference to specific words in the passage (DICTION!). And, I agree with what all three of you have said--that chapter 8 brings an increased sense of urgency. Why do you think this is?
ReplyDeleteI think that the urgency is clearly leading up to Gatsby's death. And its interesting because as the reader we are able to almost connect with this sense of urgency since we know that Mr. Wilson is on his way to Gatsby's house and is basically in a crazed state as he realizes it was Gatsby who killed his wife. As we are able to see both sides ( wilson on his way, Gatsby at home, and Nick pretty much warning Gatsby to get away from here) the feeling of tension and urgency is increased as we suspect these two sides are bound to come together...and conflict with one another directly. So, because of our awareness of what is occurring, perhaps we are able to sense even a greater, heightened sense of the urgency of the chapter
ReplyDeleteThere is also another infliction on the "time running out" aspect of this chapter. Although Taylor mentioned this, I want to go more into depth with it. When Gatsby reflects on not using his pool all summer, he presents a tone that is altogether regretful and mournful. "I'm going to drain the pool today, Mr. Gatsby. Leaves'll start falling pretty soon and then there's always trouble with the pipes." (161) Although Taylor already connected it to Fall and the passing of time I would like to further that comment and bring it back to this idea of water. The water in the pool is trapped and sealed and makes no waves unless someone jumps in. By illustrating how Gatsby continually traps himself in his own alternate realities and images, this can be represented by the pool. The butler then says he is going to drain it, through the realization that no one has jumped in or caused the slightest ripple in it's waters, Gatsby realizes how time was wasted and how time will soon run out and there will be no more chances to have time or make an impact. I feel like I'm not making a whole lot of sense... Does this make any sense to you guys? Any thoughts or ways to make it clearer??
ReplyDeleteAlso, speaking of diction, Fitzgerald uses the word "ghostly" or "ghost" countless times. Is this almost like a realization of the past that has past? And a sudden awarenss of true time?
ReplyDeletesorry i dont get it...haha
ReplyDeleteit probably makes sense...and im just over tired
Me too... so it probably makes no sense anyway, so don't even bother
ReplyDeletehaha oh gosh
ReplyDeletebut about the pool, i feel like that has something to do with time. and the fact that Gatsby didn't want it drained, even though he never used it. Its almost like the way he held on to his memory of Daisy despite the fact that she had left him for five years and married Tom...
And then because he didnt allow the pool to be drained and took a swim (or lay down on the float) he was more vulnerable to the attack of Wilson. Had he been inside, perhaps Wilson wouldnt have killed him as easily or at all. This relates to the way Gatsby held on to Daisy, it made him more vulnerable when they met once again which is why he seemed so hurt after he left her house that night.
Don't give up on the ghosts... not necessarily something you need to sort out on the blog, but the idea of what, exactly, is haunting this (these) piece(s) of literature is something we'll come back to (cough cough... in our summative assessment at the end of the unit)
ReplyDeleteJust quickly about the ghost thing: "He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, dried fortuitously about...like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward through the amorphous trees." (169) I think Fitzgerald refers to things as "ghostly" (like the ghostly heart) because they are "material without being real". Like Gatsby's love.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to post more in a bit
In this chapter, we get the sense of time running out through the characters of Gatsby and Daisy
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, when Nick starts recounting again the previous goings-on on Gatsby's life, it seems like time had already run out previously for the two characters. When Gatsby met Daisy and started to strive for her love, he was described as taking what "he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously," making "the most of his time," showing a very ambitious aura within Gatsby (Fitzgerald 156). After losing Daisy to Tom, Nick says that Gatsby's life was going by "all too fast" and that he had lost the "freshest and the best" part of love he had had with Daisy (161). This revelation of of Gatsby's that his chance at love as gone really explains his character for the precedence of the novel. Aside from socializing with Nick, Gatsby never seems to do much other than hold parties that he hardly participates in. He acts as if his life is already over, and the fact that he's recounting his own personal memoir to Nick really starts to provide an air of closure to the novel.
As I said, the same element surrounds Daisy. After Gatsby goes to war, Daisy suddenly has the realization that with Gatsby gone, she has to enjoy her life to the maximum while she's still young. Nick describes her as moving again "with the season" in a "twilight universe," implying that she's living her life as if her last days had arrived (158). As the novel describes, she wanted her life "shaped now" and "immediately," and that it had to be done so by "some force" that was "close at hand," and because of this she immediately decided to settle in with Tom (59). It seems like her rapid decision to secure a life of love without really taking into account the kind of man she wanted was what led to her depression throughout the novel. According to her, "everything's terrible anyhow," and she's "been everywhere," "seen everything," and "done everything," proving that she feels her life ended back then, and establishing an air around her similar to Gatsby's (22). The fact that she's now killed someone and Gatsby is willing to take the fall with her really shows this foreboding yet almost poetic sense of their lives coming to an end. The two already feel and act as if their lives were extinguished long ago, and now they've been brought back together again in a circumstance that may assure that their lives really are over.
By the way, I really like what Taylor said about the apparent procrastination within the two. Since they forced themselves to work so hard for the lives they wanted at the very last moment, it could be the reason why they did so little with their lives afterward. Since they both knew what it was like to try and work so hard yet fail, they most likely lost all desire to every try again, and this time there one last effort to be together was shot down by the car accident, as if the universe were finally punishing them for waiting so long to advance with their lives.
Eric: absolutely!
ReplyDeleteKaare: what that Daisy says (or does) makes you think she REALLY wants to be with Gatsby? (or anyone, for that matter)
Also... is Gatsby recounting his own personal memoir or is Nick inventing it?
ReplyDeleteWait... this blog post is titled IX. You are supposed to be blogging about Chapter 8. Is this question about Chapter 8 or Chapter 9?
ReplyDeletei've been talking about 8...
ReplyDeleteand im pretty sure everyone elses quotes have been from 8 too!!
ReplyDeleteAnna, I agree with all of your points! I agree completely with your feeling that it seems like Fitzgerald wrote this chapter a lot differently than earlier chapters. I agree that the entire chapter feels rushed, I thought the flowery language (perhaps the over- the- top flowery language as argued in class) was less prevalent, and I also felt like it was written like a race to the end of the book, and Gatsby's death is obviously the icing on the cake. Ms. Parrish, I think that’s what you mentioned in class too, that you were irritated/annoyed at every chapter following, it feels like this chapter just didn't fit in the context of the rest of the novel.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the race certainly delivers a culminating scene/s , Gatsby's death and, as Taylor mentioned, the turning of the season. I also saw a sense of limited time, or a sense that time is of essence, when Nick tells Gatsby's story about his past with Daisy and his dilemma about their relationship, the pressure/need to make a decision at that point: "What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?" (157).
Nick's observation of Gatsby at the beginning of the chapter, "He was clutching at some last hope" (155), also suggests that time is running out/of great importance, implying that all notions of hope are about to cease. The fact that Nick is reflecting in this chapter and ruminating over his past time spent with Gatsby I think also lends to foreshadowing of an end, Gatsby's death (as Taylor mentioned): "I thought of the night when I first came to his ancestral home three months before. The lawn and drive had been crowded with the faces of those who guessed at his corruption- and he stood on those steps, concealing his incorruptible dream, as he waved them goodbye. I thanked him for his hospitality. We were always thanking him for that- I and the others." (162)
ReplyDeleteA lot of other points in the chapter make it seem like Nick/Gatsby's story is about to come to an abrupt end, that the season is turning, that time is coming full circle and either completely ending, or beginning in a new chapter in life. And Anna, your point about the fact that our awareness of what is occurring (the novel at this point feels solid to me, most of our lingering questions on the surface about Gatsby have been answered etc., so maybe this is a point where we finally feel almost entirely aware) makes us feel a “greater, heightened sense of urgency” because we see the state of all of the characters that are about to come together and we as readers can therefore connect with that sense of urgency, is so good! And also very important.
My bad, i wrote the wrong number...its about chapter 8. VIII.
ReplyDeleteyeah... def 8.
ReplyDeletelasdkfha osfiwue r. I JUST FOUND A QUOTE TO SUPPURT MY LITTLE POOL WAVE THING THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING.
"There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water as the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other. With little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves, the laden mattress moved irregularly down the pool." (170)
Keep those waves on the radar screen for the final chapter! (The final sentence of the novel!)
ReplyDeleteAnother word on the ghosts, George is described when his friend is trying to convince him that it was all an accident: "His eyes narrowed and his mouth widened slightly with the ghost of a superior 'Hm!'" (166). The ghost of superior, what does that mean??? I was thinking it had something to do with the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg when they are mentioned shortly after that quote as having emerged "pale and enormous from the dissolving night" (167) ?
ReplyDeleteGrace: "A lot of other points in the chapter make it seem like Nick/Gatsby's story is about to come to an abrupt end, that the season is turning, that time is coming full circle and either completely ending, or beginning in a new chapter in life."
ReplyDeleteGreat point... so where does Gatsby's story end and Nick's begin? Why?
I feel like what really creates the sense of closure and time running out in this passage is this final story that Gatsby tells Nick in which he reveals the origins of his relationship with Daisy--much of which has been sprinkled about and rumored throughout the novel. The story that Nick re-tells to us reminded me a lot of a superhero movie or something when throughout the story we see hints of the villain's evil plot and then at the end, when we know everything is about to go down, the villain reveals his plot in its entirety. No, Gatsby is not an evil villain, but from this story we learn the most about Gatsby's relationship with Daisy. Thus far, the nature of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship has merely been hinted to us through vague recollections of what happened five years ago and through their behavior when together. However, now when Gatsby is about to meet his demise, the facts are revealed to us. Along with this sense of closure that is conveyed in the story, there is absolutely the sense of urgency. As Grace pointed out, many elements in the chapter such as the seasonal changes and the idea of "all the characters coming together" absolutely conveys a sense of time running out and of closure.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, i meant to say "in this chapter we learn the most about Gatsby's relationship with Daisy". sorry
ReplyDeleteOOOH! And I have to write this even though it appears somewhat unrelated...
ReplyDelete"It was the only complement I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end" (162)
"'Of course she might have loved him, just for a minute, when they were first married- and loved me more even then, do you see?'
Suddenly he came out with a curious remark:
'In any case', he said, 'it was just personal'.
What could you make of that, except to suspect some intensity of his conception of the affair that couldn't be measured?" (159-160)
(and I also think the above quote is really important but I haven't made sense of it all and wouldn't do a very good job at articulating that...)
I marked this because I thought it related to what we were talking about in class today... Throughout the entire novel (as we discussed) Gatsby is Nick's creation, and we only get to know Nick through his descriptions/observations of Gatsby and his opinions/ thoughts on Gatsby. The quote that began "out of the corner of his eye" makes it feel like Nick and Gatsby are one. I thought these were some of the points in chapter 8, in a nutshell (as the rest of the chapter documents) showed how Nick and Gatsby have both changed, and how now they appear more separate, or Nick appears (as it could be one-sided as we also talked about in class) to view himself and view Gatsby from an angle that feels farther disconnected from Gatsby's character. Also, since it feels like Gatsby and Nick are changed and more separate now, that could also be a factor that contributes to the different feel of this chapter, or why it feels so out of sorts with all the others-or from a broader standpoint, that all of the characters and their relationships with each other have drastically changed.
I entirely agree with T.P's first post. Adding on to his ideas of 'time is running out/time is moving too fast,' is the tension that is building up within the characters. As we have spoken about in class, tension is a major focus of the novel. As the novel progresses, it seems as though the tension remains consistent, between the characters. However, as the novel progresses, there is more tension found within the characters. In simple terms, there is always tension between Nick and Tom, as Nick explains, "It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end" (Fitzgerald 154). As time begins to proceed faster and faster, there is more tension within the characters. They feel the need to do something before their time is up. The characters seem to be clueless in what needs to be done with their desire for progressive actions, but they are unsure of what needs to be done.
ReplyDelete"I felt that I had something to tell him, something to warn him about, and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald 147)
Nick never mentions/ hints to the audience what needs to be done, but we know that there is a need to do something. Looking back, Nick explains,
"I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him" (Fitzgerald 154).
However I am unsure what to take of the last line of the chapter,
"and the holocaust was complete"
ANY IDEAS???
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMs. Parrish
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is not only Nick's and Gatsby's story that is coming to an end, but also their friendship. It seems to me that there is going to be many unresolved, problems and dilemmas, that we are going to be left with, wondering, because Nick is not part of the 'action' any more.
ya Brooke!!!! The "holocaust was complete"....WHAT IS THAT!!!?
ReplyDeleteOk this is going to be my official day off. I just got home from an intense game, and I am exhausted. Ms. Parrish, I will be dressing up for Halloween.
ReplyDeleteOk, maybe it can be said that Gatsby's story ends at death, and Nick's begins after Gatsby dies? when he can be separate from this person who had such a great influence on him that he couldn't see himself clearly?
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe, if you approach that quote,"It was the only complement I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end" (162)- as if Nick was once a part of Gatsby/ saw a part of himself in Gatsby/ Nick and Gatsby were the same person- you could think like Nick is admitting that "They're a rotten crowd...You're worth the whole damn bunch put together" (162) is the only complement he's ever given himself? As he is so fixated on focusing, judging (or it seems like it) Gatsby's every move (or if they are the same, judging himself), interestingly from a man who claimed at the beginning to be the only honest person he's ever known, and that he prides himself on withholding judgement. So maybe, the fact that he's giving himself his first complement, or starting to judge things (as the complement is a judgement in itself), this is Nick's story starting after Gatsby? Because he can finally view himself/view the world through an individual lense...oooh and then maybe this can lead to the question of/Fitszgerald's point that Nick proves/finds out that it is necessary to judge others for the well-being of the individual?? I might not be making any sense.
I agree with everyone that stated the concept of time running out is a foreshadowing of Gatsby's , and also believe that with time running out, it is more difficult to make fulfilling, or rational decisions. Therefore, I'm not sure if Daisy truly wants to be with Gatsby, or if she is led to believe she does due to the emptiness in her life and time running out. I thought Anna's point about the pool and how it had to do with memory and time was interesting and it reminded me of how Gatsby's grass was cut earlier in the story. Both draining the pool and cutting the grass could be symbolic of letting go of the memories of the past and moving on into the present, or future. I also agree with Kaare's idea that Daisy's rapid decision to secure a life of love without truly taking into account the kind of man she wanted to be with ultimately led to her unhappiness. I think this also relates back to my point made on the blog yesterday, that if someones safety needs are taken away (in this case a sense of running out of time), they cannot properly fulfill or logically consider important aspects of their life. It seemed the moments Fitzgerald described as still were the moments which were most fulfilling and when characters were closer to love (but not necessarily in love). "They had never been closer in their month of love nor communicated more profoundly with one another, than when she brushed silent lips against his coat's shoulders or when he touched the end of her fingers, gently, as though she were asleep" (158). I think that this presents a paradox, because love is found at a time of logic, and stillness. Therefore, Fitzgerald is claiming love is practical. But love is often irrational because people risk everything, and it is strange that we do not see love emphasized in parts of the novel that seemed completely rushed.
ReplyDeleteSome things to think about:
ReplyDelete1. What does Gatsby represent that could be dying in Nick/leaving Nick?
2. Think about the idea of myth and Gatsby (esp. in relation to the "Ameican Adam" piece I gave you during GoW)
3. How reliable of a narrator is Nick? Does this matter? Why or why not?
Luke, I bet you could make a turtle costume pretty easily...
NOOO i just wrote a really long response that took me literally an hour and it got erased.
ReplyDeleteOk, Ms Parrish I'm finally here! I just wanted to let you know, because I probably won't finish posting/reading everyone's comments until after 10...
ReplyDeleteOkay I'm like really furious right now, and I talked all about the relationship between Gatsby and nick and how I really dont think its a true friendship and how the tensions in the book are carried all the way through and how Brooke mentioned the unresolved conflicts and problems after Gatsbys death....but in response to Ms PArrish's question I dont think Nick is a reliable narrator. And it totally matters. Nick is our way in to the society in which Gatsby and Daisy live, and the fact that he may have some prejudices coming from a small midwestern town and not living a similar lifestyle could contribute to the vailidity of his stories. If Nick really believes he is one of the "Few honest people he is ever known," how does he define honesty? It seems to me that his definition is not in sync with other definitons of the word or concept. If we were to watch a video of the events that have happened throughout the book, I dont think they would match up wth the way Nick describes them. Also, I wasnt in class today, but the weird sense that Nick and Gatsby are one definitely contributes to the way Nick writes and talks about Gatsby. Also Brooke about the holocaust quote, it could mean that one death (Gatsby's) was so significant that it felt like a holocaust to someone like Nick, who rearranged his world to follow Gastby. Just something to think about....but this is a very important sentence.
ReplyDeleteAlright, well most of the main points have already been discussed and emphasized, so I think i'm just going to go off of a few people's ideas--sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I'm absolutely exhausted...
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what everyone has said about the chapter rushing along until the end. From the beginning of the chapter, I thought that it was pretty clear that something very important to development of the novel was going to occur, and events kept occurring up until the climax of the chapter- the double deaths. I agree that the sense of rushing was foreshadowing of Gatsby's death, and honestly, I was expecting someone to die in this chapter, but I thought it was only going to be a suicide for Wilson (which did happen, but only after Gatsby was killed first). That being said, I'd like to comment on the quote about the "holocaust being over". I don't really think that anyone has come up with a concrete idea of what exactly this means, but i was thinking that it was (obviously) a relation tot he actual holocaust, in which the Germans under Hitler aimed to get rid of the unwanted subjects in the world, in order to create a more balanced life. In relation to the novel, I thought that Wilson wanted Gatsby dead, because he believed him to be the man that his former wife had be cheating with, so of course he would want him to be dead and gone. However, once Gatsby was killed, I don't think that Wilson was quite satisfied, and he felt that in order for the action to be complete, he too had to be dead. When I say action, I mean the action of destroying the evidence of the supposed affair. Wilson had hoped that by killing Gatsby, he would feel more accomplished and worth something; he felt awful for not realizing that something was going on with his wife, and his guilt was overwhelming.
To support this, there is a quote on page 164 that reads, "..he blurted out that a couple of months ago his wife had come home from the city with her face bruised and her nose swollen. But when he heard himself say this he flinched and began to cry 'Oh My God!' again in his groaning voice." Clearly, Wilson is suddenly crushed by a ridiculous wave of guilt, and he probably felt that the death was partially his fault for not recognizing the occurrence of the affair.
Adding on to that, there is a continual sense of rushing after Wilson decides that he is going to "seek and destroy" the man in the yellow car. "then for three hours he disappeared from view...he 'had a way of finding out,'...perhaps he had an easier, surer way of finding out what he wanted to know. By half past two he was in West Egg where he asked someone the way to Gatsby's house. So by that time he knew Gastby's name" (168). This shows the speed of time in the chapter and its events, because normally, for someone to figure out who owns what kind of car, where it is from, who they are and where they live could take up to days, or even weeks. But in Wilson's case, he is speeding through the process, determined to find this man and get rid of him. The fact that he made it all the way from across the valley of ashes to West Egg on foot in such a short time, clearly shows that there was absolutely no time to waste, and that he feared that if he were not to kill Gatsby by a certain time, he would not actually be able to do it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that made any sense at all, but it's just a few thoughts on the idea of the holocaust..
So this is my day off...I'll dress up on Halloween
ReplyDeleteAnd then you'll forget to dress up on Halloween.
ReplyDelete