The Great Gatsby Quote Analysis
• “I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew.” (4)
The name Midas is a classical allusion that refers to King Midas, the man who was given the ability to turn anything he touched to gold. Morgan is a historical allusion to J. Pierpont Morgan, a successful, wealthy banker and financer, who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation. J. Pierpont Morgan was also an avid art and book collector. Mæcenas is a historical reference to Gaius Mæcenas, a roman diplomat and wealthy supporter of celebrated poets including Virgil and Horace.
These three people were all wealthy, successful people, such as those that live on Long Island. In this quote, Nick says he “bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities,” with the intention of becoming as successful as Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas, or at least his fellow Long Islanders. This quote reveals to the reader Nick’s aspiration and determination to be like his wealthy and successful “friends” that are not worth anything near how rich they are. So I wonder why Nick would want to be like them.
• “They [East and West Eggs of Long Island] are not perfect ovals – like the egg in the Columbus story, they are both crushed flat at the contact end – but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly over head.” (5)
The egg in the Columbus story is a historical allusion to Christopher Columbus’ journey around the world. One time, at a dinner party in Columbus’ honor, some men began to mock him. Columbus gives the men a task; to make an egg stand up straight. After each man had tried and declared the impossibility of doing such a thing, Columbus takes the egg and makes it stand straight by crushing the shell. He then says, “gentlemen, what is easier than to do
The name Midas is a classical allusion that refers to King Midas, the man who was given the ability to turn anything he touched to gold. Morgan is a historical allusion to J. Pierpont Morgan, a successful, wealthy banker and financer, who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation. J. Pierpont Morgan was also an avid art and book collector. Mæcenas is a historical reference to Gaius Mæcenas, a roman diplomat and wealthy supporter of celebrated poets including Virgil and Horace.
These three people were all wealthy, successful people, such as those that live on Long Island. In this quote, Nick says he “bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities,” with the intention of becoming as successful as Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas, or at least his fellow Long Islanders. This quote reveals to the reader Nick’s aspiration and determination to be like his wealthy and successful “friends” that are not worth anything near how rich they are. So I wonder why Nick would want to be like them.
• “They [East and West Eggs of Long Island] are not perfect ovals – like the egg in the Columbus story, they are both crushed flat at the contact end – but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly over head.” (5)
The egg in the Columbus story is a historical allusion to Christopher Columbus’ journey around the world. One time, at a dinner party in Columbus’ honor, some men began to mock him. Columbus gives the men a task; to make an egg stand up straight. After each man had tried and declared the impossibility of doing such a thing, Columbus takes the egg and makes it stand straight by crushing the shell. He then says, “gentlemen, what is easier than to do