Creating Mood In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a variety of imagery to create contrasting moods. Three settings in the novel showcase this: the Buchanan’s estate, Gatsby’s mansion, and the Valley of Ashes. At the Buchanans’ luxurious estate, Fitzgerald brings the home and its inhabitants to life by creating a depthless sense of affluence. The manor is initially portrayed as a beautiful place, with Nick describing it as a “cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion” (Fitzgerald 9). However, once entered, a different mood is present, and the Buchanans are quick to show their superficiality as well as apathy for their enormous wealth. For example, during the dinner scene in the mansion, Nick describes Daisy and Jordan as speaking “unobtrusively

In the dialogue below, Daisy moves, in quick succession, from talking about the candles, to the summer solstice, to planning, and finally her injured pinky finger.

"Why candles?” objected Daisy, frowning. She snapped them out with her fingers. “In two weeks it’ll be the longest day in the year.” She looked at us all radiantly. “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss

Both the ash-covered scene and menacing billboard symbolize the disparity between the haves and have-nots, a theme echoed throughout the novel. While the Valley of Ashes shows the immense gap between the wealthy and poor, Fitzgerald also exhibits the differences between old money (people who’ve had money in their family for a long time) and new money (those who’ve recently become wealthy). Throughout the novel, Gatsby strives to be equal in the eyes of old money, although he is never able to fully achieve it. One example of Gatsby’s efforts are at his mansion, in his ornate library. Nick and Jordan enter the library to find a man looking over Gatsby’s books, astonished that they are real.

A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books. As we entered he wheeled excitedly around and examined Jordan from head to foot.
“What do you think?” he demanded impetuously. “About what?” He waved his hand toward the