The Great Gatsby Shadows Essay

Erik Hall

Foster

American Literature

25 May 2023

From The Shadows Want a book that covers lots of different aspects of life in the 1920s? This is a novel that covers this through many different lenses. By reading it in this way the reader gets to see a different aspect of what it was like living in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is a novel about many different things such as corruption, the importance of wealth, as well as many intricate relationships and love triangles. Though its central topic is the love story and reuniting between Jay Gatsby And Daisy Buchanan, or so it would seem. This novel has many different angles it could be read from, each one gives a different one of the themes mentioned. This essay was written through a queer lens

Nick is a little over the top as he describes his features this is first evident when he says “not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body, he seemed to fill those glistening boots until her straightened the top lacing and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulders moved under his thin coat” (7) this marks the beginning of Nick's feelings for Gatsby even if he hasn’t realized it yet he continues describing him likes this and noticing these types of unnecessary details throughout the rest of the book this is further emphasized later when he described his facial features he goes “he was a blonde spiritless man anemic and faintly handsome”(2). Nick again describes him in such a way that another man specific detail when he could have just said he was handsome or good looking These two examples, some of how Nick talks about Gatsby throughout the rest of the novel, these over the top, unnecessary, visual descriptions. Are a staple throughout the book and are just the beginning stages of Nick’s true feelings for

This is shown when Nick says “they had forgotten me, but Daisy held out her hand and gas. He didn’t know me at all. Now I looked once more at them, and they looked at me remotely possessed by intense life. Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them there together” ( ) Nick’s jealousy over Gatsby‘s relationship with Daisy can be interpreted in two ways one that he’s envious of what they have and the happiness they have and that he wishes he had that with Jasmine so also they’re loving their happiness. They have something he can’t truly have himself not being able to be openly gay he won’t ever get to experience that, his jealousy is further seen later, when he talks about being reminded of that feeling a long time ago, Nick sees their love as something he had and still wants. It isn’t clear who is who is reminded of but it’s likely an ex-lover who was also gay perhaps Gastsby reminds him of that man in some way, he reminisces and says “I was reminded of something an elusive rhythm, a fragment of Lost words that I had heard somewhere a long time ago what I had almost remembered it was an Ani communicable forever ago”() the way he says on communicable makes a point that it could’ve been a man since he wouldn’t have been able to openly love them, but I had to of done so in secret away from the public eye we