The Great Gatsby: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Key Quotes

Introduction to the Setting:

“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs…a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.” The phrase starkly contrasts the reality of Gatsby’s world, unveiling a sense of unreality and illusion about Gatsby’s life and his infatuation with Daisy.

Descriptions of Characters:

“He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” Gatsby’s unabashed devotion towards Daisy is made evident in this quote, showing his infatuation and the lengths he goes to please her.
“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.” This underscores Gatsby’s idealisation of Daisy, thus highlighting his inability to accept her as a real, flawed human being.

Introduction to Themes:

“They’re such beautiful shirts, she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such - such beautiful shirts before…“ Daisy’s emotional response to Gatsby’s opulence can be argued to highlight themes of materialism and wealth in the society of the 1920s.
“Her voice is full of money.” The attribution of material wealth to Daisy’s voice underlines the conflation of love and wealth in the novel, highlighting Gatsby’s perception of Daisy as the epitome of wealth and status he aspires to.

Use of Symbolism:

“Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets, was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, his head among the dusty, cluttered universe of the mantelpiece.” The mantelpiece and Gatsby’s relation to it symbolises his strained efforts to present himself as relaxed and comfortable in an elaborate, fake charade.
“I saw them in Santa Barbara when they came back, and I thought I’d never seen a girl so mad about her husband. If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door.” This example of the clock symbolises the passage of time, emphasising the lost love between Gatsby and Daisy and the fact that they cannot turn back time and repeat the past.