Great Gatsby
Throughout novels there are recurring elements and literary devices that are known as motifs. Motifs are integral to a novel for they help to develop the novel's major theme. Weather is a motif that can be frequently and fundamentally used over the course of a novel. In many instances, weather can be a pace setter for the emotional tone of a certain time, such as on a rainy day the mood may be melancholy. Weather may also be used as a metaphor. Weather is used as a motif in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the weather to set the emotional tone of the novel and as a metaphor. In The Great Gatsby, when the climactic confrontation between Tom and Gatsby occurs on the hottest day of the year, weather is used to set the emotional tone for this particular time. The conflict is perpetuated by the heat which symbolizes the confusion and tension of that time. One particular scene that illustrates the heat perpetuating the confusion of the time is when Daisy says "'But it's so hot,' ...'And everything's so confused'"(125). Daisy is attributing the hea
blowing Gatsby lay dead on the mattress, and that there was a pile of leaves around him. With all of this occurring on the first day of autumn, the dead leaves floating around a dead Gatsby were a metaphor for death. Weather is used as a metaphor to help portray the overall theme of the novel. This statement regarding the room's climate directly reflects the current argument. At this time, the conflict was brewing and stifling just like that of the room. This illustrates the value of weather, by using the term stifling, as a motif throughout the novel. Weather was used to set the emotional tone in the confrontation between Tom and Gatsby, but weather also played a prominent role in other situations. Furthermore, when the love of Gatsby and Daisy reawakens, weather is used to illustrate this symbolically. When Gatsby and Daisy meet there is a steady rain, which demonstrates the awkwardness and melancholy situation that they were in. However, as Gatsby and Daisy become more reacquainted, their love awakens like the sun. Fitzgerald relates this awaking love to the weather when he states "but
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Approximate Word count = 746
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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