Gatsby’s Webquest

Gatsby as a Savior:

Passages from Chapter 6

 

PASSAGE ONE:

The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic
conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.

 

• The bold-faced words are words that have religious significance. Thus, these words/phrases either carry religious connotations or allude to religious doctrines. Examine the hyperlinks for all of the bold-faced words. Discuss Fitzgerald's message about each bulleted point below by considering what is being conveyed about Gatsby through diction.
  
  • Platonic
    

    
     

    
     

    
     

    
     

  • conception
    

    
     

    
     

    
     

    
     

  • son of God
    

 

 

 

 

• His Father's business
  

 

 

 

 

• conception
  

 

 

 

 

• faithful
  

 

 

 

 

• Next, examine the diction that contributes to further Fitzgerald's development of Gatsby. What is the denotation? What is the connotation?
  
  • vast
    

    
     

    
     

  • vulgar
    

    
     

    
     

  • meretricious
    

CRITICISM (adapted from several internet sources):

When Nick finally describes Gatsby's early history, he uses this striking comparison between Gatsby and Jesus Christ to illuminate Gatsby's creation of his own identity. Several scholars believe that Fitzgerald was influenced by Ernest Renan's The Life of Jesus so much so that he paralleled this text in The Great Gatsby. Renan's book presents Jesus as a figure who decided to make himself the son of God, then brought himself to ruin by REFUSING TO RECOGNIZE THE REALITY that denied his self-conception. This is a suggestive comparison because Gatsby also transforms himself into the ideal that he envisioned for himself (a "Platonic conception of himself") as a youngster and remains committed to that ideal throughout his life.

 

PASSAGE TWO:

Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder. His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God…Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.

 

1. Examine the hyperlink attached to the word "incarnation." What concept does this word further develop? Why?
   

 

 

 

1. Identify the noteworthy diction. Be sure to analyze five words. Discuss the denotation and connotation of each word. Click on the word "denotation" to be directed to Merriam Webster's website.
   

   
    

   
    

   1. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   2. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   3. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   4. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   5. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   6. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

1. What effect does this diction have on mood or character development?
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

   
    

 

PASSAGE THREE:

Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality; a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wings.

 

1. Examine the hyperlink attached to the word "incarnation." What concept does this word further develop? Why?
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

   1. Identify the noteworthy diction. Be sure to analyze five words. Discuss the denotation and connotation of each word. Click on the word "denotation" to be directed to Merriam Webster's website.
      

      
       

      
       

      1. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      2. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      3. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      4. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      5. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      6. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

2. What effect does this diction have on mood or character development?