Ghosts In
this sentence, perhaps the “poor ghosts” are “breathing dreams
like air” because the dead dreams of Gatsby fuel only the dead now.
This raises the question of whether Gatsby is one of these
ghosts, already dead to the world. The
image of ghosts is used frequently throughout The Great Gatsby.
It is difficult to tell if ghosts are symbolic, or if this is
simply a motif that Fitzgerald weaves through the text to draw attention
to important scenes. One
possibility is that this image reminds the reader that Gatsby is living
in a world of ideals, in comparison to which reality must fall short.
The world is pale and “ghostly” in comparison to the “
colossal vitality of his illusions.” (p.101) Mentions
of the words “ghost” and “ghostly” include: p. 30 “[Myrtle] smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye.” p.
59
“…there was a ghostly pause.
Then, very gradually, part by part, a pale dangling individual
stepped out of the wreck…Blinded by the glare of the headlights and
confused by the incessant groaning of the horns the apparition stood
swaying for a moment…” p.
101 “No
amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in
his ghostly heart.” p.
111 “Tom
and Daisy stared, with that peculiarly unreal feeling that accompanies
the recognition of a hitherto ghostly celebrity of the movies.” p.
142 “They
were gone, without a word, snapped out, made accidental, isolated like
ghosts even from our pity.” p.
154 “…once
I tumbled with a sort of splash upon the keys of a ghostly piano.” p.
159 “The
shadow of a tree fell abruptly across the dew and ghostly birds began to
sing among the blue leaves.” p.
166 “His
eyes narrowed and his mouth widened slightly with the ghost of a
superior ‘Hm!’”
Mattie
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