In the Great Gatsby the theme of love is often used, motifs are utilized by Fitzgerald to advance that theme. A common motif used by Fitzgerald is the weather which he uses to express the theme of love through the use of rain or sunshine depending on the mood of the relationships he is reflecting.
The first demonstration of the connection between love and weather is when Gatsby and
Daisy are getting ready to meet for the first time in 5 years. Their relationship, now very awkward due to how things ended, was at a very fragile place and the weather reflected that because “the day agreed upon [to meet] was pouring rain” (Fitzgerald #83) which dampened the meeting between the two. The onset of the pouring rain symbolized …show more content…
the feeling of unknown surrounding this renewed relationship but after the rain comes a rainbow.
Becoming more comfortable with each other Gatsby and Daisy are starting to feel that spark that they once had 5 years ago after some time alone. To represent this sudden shift in mood around the two Fitzgerald in the midst of the rain exemplified how “the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea”
(Fitzgerald #94), this represents how even with the rain still falling that Gatsby and Daisy’s love has re emerged and that it has been recaptured.
The relationship between the two lovers is back to where it used to be resulting in a budding affair to come in the future.
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With Gatsby and Daisy’s love alive and well again an interesting relationship between
Gatsby and Tom occurs, with Tom being a little suspicious of them two and what they are doing.
A lunch is proposed that will be attended by Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Jordan, and Nick, knowing the activity going on with Daisy and Gatsby this lunch has the promise to get a little heated. this is reflected by the scorching temperatures on the day of the Lunch, “‘It’s so hot,’ [Daisy] complained” (Fitzgerald #125) supposedly the hottest day of the summer which represented the actions that would ensue. Gatsby and Tom would get in a very heated argument bringing
Gatsby to the brink of striking Tom which in turn, turned Daisy off of him and lead to the beginning of the end of their love and of the great Gatsby.
The theme of love is regularly used in The Great Gatsby and is constantly
expressed with the motif of weather by reflecting relationships intertwined with the main love between
Gatsby and Daisy along with that relationship itself. Fitzgerald used this motif to give the reader a feeling for how the characters are relating.