The Great Gatsby Chapter 8

The Great GatsbyChapter 8By: Ambika Gosyne L6LIndu Singh L6GPoint of ViewNick Carraway is our first-person narrator, but he's not the center of the storyand that makes him a peripheral narrator, someone who's always on the outside looking in. He tells us at the beginning of the first chapter that "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores" (1.3). People like to tell Nick their stories. Example; Gatsby's story, Tom's story, Jordan's story, Daisy's story, and even the story of the Wilsons.Ultimately, Nick's major character trait reserving judgment allows him to be almost an "invisible" narrator, similar to a traditional third-person omniscient point of view.

Characterisation (George Wilson)He is the only person who does not belong to the rich class, and thus highlights the contrast between the rich and the poor and what the rich characters might lack. He is also the second tragic figure in the novel (Gatsby is the first) because he is at the mercy of rich people. Tom treats him condescendingly and he acts as a victim of the rich peoples game in the novel. George Wilson works hard to give Myrtle a better life and never cheats on he; in contrast, his wife never really loves him and doesnt even respect him. Despite this, he still blames himself for his wifes death and suffers terrible emotional pain, which strongly contrasts the more shallow, materialistic love that other characters display.ThemesIsolation He stayed there a week, walking the streets where their footsteps had clicked together through the November night and revisiting the out-of-the-way places to which they had driven in her white car. (8.28)ThemesSociety and classWe 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 Gatsbydespite his ill-gotten moneyis.ThemesViolenceThe 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.SettingIn 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.

SettingFurthermore, Wilson kills Gatsby on the first day of autumn among the yellowing trees (Fitzgerald, 161), at the time where Gatsby was floating in his pool despite a chill in the air. This is a symbolic attempt to stop time and restore his relationship with Daisy, but in the end his hopes and dreams get put to rest by a gunshot from the barrel of Wilson.

Plot Outline Nick finds Gatsby in his home after he had waited all night for a sign from Daisy. Nick suggests Gatsby leave or else his car may be traced. "Flashback" about Daisy- Gatsby meeting Daisy, being with Daisy... Flashback/Recall of Gatsby in the war, at Oxford, away and worried about Daisy. Nick leaves Gatsby, complementing him and seeing him alive for the last time. Conversation between Nick and Jordan Baker over the phone.

Plot Outline Nick passes by the "valley of ashes" - tells reader about what happened the night before there. Description on Wilson and his emotional/mental condition. Several men and Michaelis watched over him since the incident, Michaelis ultimately remained. Michaelis realizes Wilson is gone, attempts to find him. Gatsby goes for a dive in his pool. Gatsby's chaffeur and other staff members hear a shot. Nick arrives, and all of them discover Gatsby and Wilson dead.

SymbolismThe 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. SymbolismGray in this book has been used to symbolize utter hopelessness, and blue is used to signify hope for the future. In this sentence, Fitzgerald shows that although the past is gone, the new day is already dawning in lost dreams and situations; there are still ghosts of Gatsbys hope left. Still holding on to his dream of being with Daisy, though it will soon be overwhelmed by the daylight of harsh reality.Doctor T.J. Eckleburgs eyesFrom Wilsons sorrowed eyes, Doctor T.J. Eckleburgs eyes are the eyes of God, which he says [know] everything, meaning Myrtle couldt hide her sin from the eyes of God. Wilson tells Michaelis that before Myrtle died, he confronted her about her affair and told her that God knows what [shes] been doing and that she could fool [him] but [she couldnt] fool God. Wilson takes Dr. T.J Eckleburgs eyes for the all-seeing eyes and derives his misguided belief that Myrtles killer must have been her lover. He decides that the eyes represent a moral standard and that God demands revenge for the sin Myrtle has convicted and leaves to track down the owner of the car.FlashbackGatsby, 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.MotifsThe green lightStruck with insomnia, Nick rushes to Gatsbys house with the urge to tell him something important. When he arrives, Gatsby immediately tells Nick how he was waiting outside of the Buchanans house earlier. He says that she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light. At first Gatsby sees Daisy in the green light through the window which represents Gatsbys dream. But when she turns off the lights, the darkness represents the realities of Gatsbys dream and his failure to succeed in achieving his American Dream and happiness.

The End