"He smiled understandingly-- much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced-- or seemed to face-- the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrate on you with and irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of that, at your best, you hoped to convey."
In this passage Gatsby's smile is being described. He is the only person who has their smile described in the whole book. Mostly in the people are described by their eyes, and often the eyes are bleak. The way Gatsby's smile made Nick feel was unique. No where else did Nick feel as comfortable about himself as when Gatsby smiled at him. This feeling is a metaphor for the shallowness of people. The people at Gatsby's parties are usually rich, sometimes famous, and always colorful. These people are living the American Dream, and yet, they are not happy with themselves. At the end of the night people are drunk and depressed. Husbands are escorting flirting wives out, wives have to watch while their husbands flirt with other women. Nick sees all this, but the thing he describes the most and with the most affection is Gatsby's smile. Nick felt good about himself when Gatsby smiled at him. He never mentioned anywhere else in the book that he felt this good. The italisized word you really stands out. Fitzgerald did this so that we would remember it. Gatsby's smile made you feel like you were perfect the way you are. It understands you, believes you, and saw the best of you. No human in this book did this besides Gatsby. The rest of the characters were shallow and saw in you what could help them. People told Nick secrets because they felt like they could, but Nick didn't tell anyone secrets. So when he met Gatsby and felt like he could trust him, because of the smile, he took hold of it. By having Nick latch on to this Fitzgerald was pointing out the flaw in people. People don't accept themselves unless they are accepted by others.
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I like that you connected this paragraph to the party because it helps the reader (in this case, me) understand where you're coming from on your conclusions and what you notice.
ReplyDeleteI was confused as to what was the "metaphor for the shallowness of people". Was it the feeling of comfort that Nick got from Gatsby's smile?
Did Nick feel like he wasn't accepted by society until Gatsby smiled at him? Does this mean that Nick accepts everybody? Not trying to get confusing but I just want to see where you're coming from.
I think that Nick describes Gatsby's smile instead of his eyes because he wants to separate him from everybody else in the book. Towards the beginning Nick says "only Gatsby was exempt from my reaction" Only Gatsby had a true purpose in this book. Nick never could get himself to really love Jordan in this way because compared to Gatsby she seemed so plain and without purpose in the world.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think you're right Caitlin. I think Gatsby is the only person in this book who really has something going for him. He wants the right things for the right reason and Nick sees that. All the other people, the people at his parties are very shallow and all they want is money. You can see when they get drunk they all go after something else because they are not happy with what they have. Gatsby really loves Daisy and he fights to get to her. Nick is impressed by this because no one else lives for the right reasons.
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