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What Does The Weather Symbolize In Chapter 5 Of The Great Gatsby

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In the climactic passage of Chapter 5 of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, former lovers Gatsby and Daisy see each other for the first time in many years, and what follows is an awkward encounter that offers insight to the two character’s contrasting personalities and a major theme of the book. When they are first reunited, Gatsby and Daisy seem to be acutely aware of the time that has passed between them and are unable to control their feelings, which leads them to both use defense mechanisms to deflect their true emotions. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of weather and the symbol of time throughout the scene to establish a theme of change and uses sparse dialogue between Daisy and Gatsby to shed light on the true nature of their relationship, which is full of joy and longing. …show more content…

Firstly, the “day agreed upon was pouring rain (pg. 88)”, which immediately shows that, before the two meet, the world is dark, stormy, and depressing, a fact which is reflected in the weather and in the emptiness and quality of Gatsby and Daisy’s lives. But, by the end of the scene Gatsby and Daisy are reaquanted and “the sun shone again (pg. 93),” showing that now they are together the world and their lives will be illuminated and bright. Finally, when Gatsby brings the fact of the change in weather up to Daisy, she is very glad and “her throat...told only of her unexpected joy (94),” which shows that Gatsby coming in to her life has brightened her life and made her full of joy, which leads her to realize how unhappy she had been with her life before Gatsby re-entered

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