AP Language and Composition Period 9

Roni Finkelstein

Mrs. Malanka

June 10, 2010

The Great Gatsby Passage Analysis

Passage:

But he knew that he was in Daisy’s house by a colossal accident. However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders. So he made the most of his time. He took what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously— eventually he took Daisy one still October night, took her because he had no real right to touch her hand.

He might have despised himself, for he had certainly taken her under false pretenses. I don’t mean that he had traded on his phantom millions, but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself—that he was fully able to take care of her. As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities—he had no comfortable family standing behind him, and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the world.

Response/ Analysis:

This passage highlights Gatsby’s dependency on Daisy. Nick realizes how fragile Gatsby is. The passage creates a flimsy image of Gatsby because he “had not comfortable family standing behind him.” The fact that Gatsby is reliant on literally one person makes him subject to any whim. This is a large contrast from Daisy, who is anchored in many ways. She has a husband and a child and a wealthy family to impress. The lonely nature of Gatsby’s life makes him subject to submit to his own fantasies and “[take] what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously” ().

Time with Daisy is not the only thing that Gatsby gathered ravenously as it came. He gathered money in this manner also, through illegal and sometimes immoral means. So desperate to create an image for Daisy, Gatsby does anything he can to make his “phantom millions.” The term Fitzgerald uses to describe Gatsby’s acquired wealth in oddly fitting to the way in which he acquired it. Through the novel, there is a sense of mystery surrounding the way in which Gatsby made his millions and acquired his house. Therefore, the eerie nature of the word “phantom” makes it a suitable description for Gatsby’s wealth.

“Phantom” is also a suitable description for Gatsby’s character. The fact that he is not tethered by anything but his love for Daisy makes him ghost-like. His old life of poverty has died and in its place, a wealthy phantom has risen. This wispy image of a ghost contrasted to Tom’s sturdy stature highlights the contrast between the two men.

It is said that the dead come back as ghosts to take care of unfinished business. Getting Daisy is Gatsby’s unfinished business and when he fails at having her to himself and realizes that she will never be his like she was before, he dies.