Light as Deception
Believe it or not, the sun’s diameter is approximately 864, 575.9 miles making it 400 times larger than the moon! Nonetheless, the two celestial bodies both appear the same size from earth because the sun is 400 times farther away than the moon. Fitzgerald is genius in his illustration of the sun in The Great Gatsby set in the Gilded Age, cleverly adding a new understanding to the novel as a whole. Realist author Mark Twain figuratively referred to this age (in the late 19th century to early 20th century) as an age that appeared golden and extravagant on surface but was dull and corrupt on the inside. The rivalry amongst mega corporations where the wealth accumulated in the hands of the few, bashed the poor into heavy poverty in the Valley of Ashes. The sumptuously stylish men and women of West and East Egg
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When discussing the past with Nick, Gatsby expressed that “. . . one autumn night, five years before, they [Daisy and Gatsby] had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling, and they came to a place where there were no trees and the sidewalk was white with moonlight” (pg 110). This description leading up to the kiss is reflective of Gatsby’s belief in a dream or a platonic dream that cannot be replicated in reality. Nick tries to convince Gatsby of the sheer ridiculousness of the idea of trying to relive the past, but Gatsby is still convinced of the lie. In the scene, the moon shines its natural light onto Daisy and Gatsby’s footpath. Moonlight is representative of the truth of reality and is symbolically shining the truth that Daisy doesn’t have a genuine affection for Gatsby, so the relationship will never come into fruition although Gatsby wants to virtually believes in a false reality. When Tom declares that “the sun 's getting colder every year,” this categorizes the sun in the same class because a cold sun emits coldness, so both the sun and the moon will emit the cold truth contrary to the false American Dream