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Dreams Essentially, the phrase “breathing dreams like
air” describes Gatsby himself. He
lived for his dream of “vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty”
described on page 104. He
confused it with Daisy in the kiss on page 117 (“forever wed his
unutterable visions to her perishable breath”).
When he lost Daisy, his dreams died, and so did he.
The importance of this idea is emphasized by the numerous
references to dreams throughout the novel: p.
6
“…it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the
wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive
sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” p. 101 “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.” p.
143
“But there was Jordan beside me who, unlike Daisy, was too wise
ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age.” p.
162
“The lawn and drive had been crowded with the faces of those who
guessed at his corruption – and he had stood on those steps, concealing
his incorruptible dream, as he waved them goodbye.” p.
189
“Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s
house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human
dreams…”
Mattie
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