The Great Gatsby chapter 6 Essay Example

itself a dream. He thinks of her as the sweet girl who loved him in Louisville, blinding himself to the reality that she would never desert her own class and background to be with him. Fitzgerald makes us very aware of Gatsby's insecurities and the guard that he is willing to put up to prevent anyone from learning about his past that he is so ashamed of. Even the grandness of the house with its books and structure imported from the continent, hidden by thinly veiled ivy are a metaphor for the nature of Gatsby's lifestyle.

Fitzgerald continues to explore the theme of social class by illustrating the contempt with which the aristocratic East Eggers, Tom and the Sloanes, regard Gatsby. Even though Gatsby seems to have as much money as they do, he lacks their sense of social nuance and easy, aristocratic grace. As a result, they mock and despise him for being “new money.” As the division between East Egg and West Egg shows, even among the very rich there are class distinctions. However the very sad thing about this all is the East Eggers blasé attitude to leaching off Gatsby's possessions, whilst they supposedly dislike him greatly they are also very willing to come to his house and nose about, drinking his wine whilst gossiping about him. Perhaps their disbelief is foreshadowing to the end of the book where everything is reviled and no one cares anymore, not even enough to attend his funeral.

It is worth noting that Fitzgerald never shows the reader a single scene from Gatsby’s affair with Daisy. The narrative is Nick’s questionable story, and, aside from when they remake

each other’s acquaintance, Nick never sees Gatsby and Daisy alone together. Perhaps Nick’s friendship with Gatsby allows him to empathise with his pain at not having Daisy, and that Nick refrains from depicting their affair out of a desire not to malign him. This is a good example of the fact that Nick is an unreliable narrator and that we as readers are never sure of exactly what happens between Gatsby and Daisy. Whatever the reason, Fitzgerald leaves the details of their affair to the reader’s imagination, and instead exposes the menacing suspicion and mistrust on Tom’s part that will eventually lead to a confrontation. Perhaps again foreshadowing the end of the novel.