1.The
spirit of the twenties (1920’s)/the jazz age
2. Weather
3. Gatsby’s books at the library= pages uncut
4- The Owl-eyed Man
5. Yellow
1.
The Roaring
Twenties is a term used to refer to the 1920s in the United States, Canada, and
the United Kingdom, characterizing the decade's distinctive cultural edge in
New York City, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, and many other
major cities during a period of sustained economic prosperity. French speakers
called it the "années folles" ("Crazy Years"), emphasizing
the era's social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Normalcy returned to politics
in the wake of hyper-emotional patriotism after World War I, jazz music
blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood and Art Deco peaked.
Economically the era saw the large-scale use of automobiles, telephones, motion
pictures, electricity, unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer
demand and aspirations, plus significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The
media focused on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars, as
cities rooted for their home teams and filled the new palatial cinemas and
gigantic stadiums. In most major countries women won the right to vote.
However, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the era, as the Great Depression
set in bringing years of worldwide gloom and hardship.
The social
and cultural features known as the Roaring Twenties began in leading
metropolitan centers, especially Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York
City, Philadelphia, Paris and London; then spread widely in the aftermath of
World War I. The United States gained dominance in world finance. Thus, when
Germany could no longer afford war reparations to Britain, France and other
Allies, the Americans came up with the Dawes Plan and Wall Street invested
heavily in Germany, which repaid its reparations to nations that in turn used
the dollars to pay off their war debts to Washington. By the middle of the
decade prosperity was widespread, with the second half of the decade later
becoming known as the "Golden Twenties".
The spirit
of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity
associated with modernity and a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be
feasible through modern technology. New technologies, especially automobiles,
moving pictures and radio proliferated "modernity" to a large part of
the population. Formal decorative frills were shed in favor of practicality in
both daily life and architecture. At the same time, jazz and dancing rose in
popularity, in opposition to the mood of the specter of World War I. As such,
the period is also often referred to as the Jazz Age.
The Jazz
Age was a feature of the 1920s (ending with The Great Depression) when jazz
music and dance became popular. This occurred particularly in the United
States, but also in Britain, France and elsewhere. Jazz played a significant
part in wider cultural changes during the period, and its influence on pop
culture continued long afterwards. Jazz music originated mainly in New Orleans,
and is/was a fusion of African and European music. The Jazz Age is often
referred to in conjunction with the phenomenon referred to as the Roaring
Twenties.
2.Weather
O clima no enredo é uma marca que enfatiza os sentimentos
dos personagens. Nesse caso, quando eles estão felizes, o clima está bom.
Quando começam as tragédias, o tempo piora. Destaca-se a chuva durante a festa
de Gatsby, como se estivesse lá para “esfriar” os humores e a lascívia dos convidados.
Também o calor extremo, usado como desculpa para os personagens irem à cidade
no fatídico dia em que Daisy supostamente abandonaria seu marido e, no mesmo
dia, ela atropelou a amante dele. Esse calor pode representar o inferno que
passou a ser a convivência com a situação em que eles se encontravam. Foi por conta
do mesmo calor que Jay Gatsby entrou na piscina, local onde foi assassinado. O
clima é, portanto, um fator extremamente simbólico e relevante no enredo.
3.
Os livros na biblioteca de Gatsby eram reais, não eram
feitos de papelão e não tinham as páginas cortadas. Esta foi uma clara
comparação entre os livros e as pessoas que frequentavam as festas de Gatsby,
que eram falsas.
Symbolism,
Imagery, Allegory
Speaking of
those books, what's up with that guy in the library? We did list the owl-eyed
man as a character, but we're not so sure that he really qualifies. Even Nick
reduces him from a man to a pair of eyes. So we're thinking he's really more of
a symbol than a full-blown character.
And, yes,
we are getting to the point. First, there's the owl bit; owls are a symbol of
wisdom, but can also be an omen of death (we don't know how that came about,
either, but we're thinking someone got their signals crossed). Did you notice
that it was the owl-eyed man who had the car accident outside of Gatsby's
house? And that, shortly after he got out of the car, he revealed that someone
else was driving? He really is acting as an omen, or a harbinger, of death.
Spooky, right?
4- Four Eyed
But it's
really the glasses bit that has our hearts beating faster right now. A man with
large eyes and spectacles would be expected to be more perceptive than those
around him, right? And Fitzgerald makes sure we notice the glasses; the guy is
always taking them off and wiping them: "He took off his glasses and wiped
them again, outside and in" (9.118). Is all that wiping the reason that
the owl-eyed man is the only one of Gatsby's guests who really gets him?
Well, he is
the only guest who, in doubting Gatsby, is also wise enough to investigate
further. And when he does investigate, he understands what he sees:
"See!" he cried triumphantly. "It's a bona-fide piece of printed
matter. It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What
thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too – didn't cut the pages. But
what do you want? What do you expect?" (3.41-49).
There's a
lot stuffed into that paragraph, so let's unpack it: first, the owl-eyed man is
surprised (and a little delighted) to find out that the books are real. So,
Gatsby's done his due diligence in trying to fool people: he's actually gone
out and purchased real books. But, as the man discovers, he hasn't cut the
pages and actually read them. That's because he's the perfect Belasco, a
reference to theater producer David Belasco. Gatsby knows how much he has to do
to fool people, and he knows that he doesn't need to cut the pages. Nobody in
this crowd is going to check, because they're just as fake as he is. That's
what the owl-eyed man sees.
Goodbye, Gatsby
If you're
as interested in the owl-eyed man as we are, you should check out the scene at
the end where he's the only former guest to come to Gatsby's funeral. Why
would that be? Exactly.
5-Yellow
Yellow and
Gold: Money, Money, Money. Oh, and Death.
First off,
we've got yellows and golds, which we're thinking has something to do with…gold
(in the cash money sense). Why gold and not green? Because we're talking about
the real stuff, the authentic, traditional, "old money" – not these
new-fangled dollar bills. So you have Gatsby's party, where the turkeys are
"bewitched to dark gold," and Jordan's "slender golden
arm[s]" (3.19), and Daisy the "golden girl" (7.99), and Gatsby
wearing a gold tie to see Daisy at Nick's house.
But yellow
is different. Yellow is fake gold; it's veneer and show rather than substance.
We see that with the "yellow cocktail music" at Gatsby's party and
the "two girls in twin yellow dresses" who aren't as alluring as the
golden Jordan (3.15). Also yellow? Gatsby's car, symbol of his desire—and
failure—to enter New York's high society. And if that weren't enough, T. J.
Eckleburg's glasses, looking over the wasteland of America, are yellow.
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