Examples Of Heat In The Great Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, contrasting ideas of hot and cold clearly display the sharp separation of the life each character portrays from their reality. Heat symbolizes a forbidden passion or conflict that is believed to be unsophisticated. Tom and Daisy are made up of this heat, but shame has pushed them to create the breeze of a mature and refined appearance. The use of imagery such as “broiling” and “ singing breeze of the fans” not only visualizes the weather to the reader but also allows them to feel the burning heat that has been buried for so long and the comfort of the cool, singing breeze(114, 115). The audience can then better understand each perspective and decision. Fitzgerald’s imagery and combination of hot and

Daisy, Tom, Jordan and Nick lounge around the house in the heat’s unmotivating grasp when Tom picks up the phone. “As Tom took up the receiver the compressed heat exploded into sound and we were listening to the portentous chords of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from the ballroom below” (127). The compressed heat exploding foreshadows the extent of the harms that will be made by unveiling of their actions. This explosion takes out everything and everyone in its path, a path made from secrets. Anyone with traits deemed immature is at risk of catching flame in this explosion of conflict. This specific explosion releases the portentous sound of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. The use of the word portentous makes these sounds of warning with almost a threatening aspect. Mendelssohn’s Wedding March is essentially warning the bride and groom of the inferno of marriage ahead. The theme of marriage is reinstated as Jordan responds to this explosion of sound with, “Imagine marrying anybody in this heat!” (127). While Jordan is referring to the current weather, it symbolizes her skepticism of the idea that any relationship should work upon a bases of conflict. To be married in such heat would be to form a marriage in the flames of passion. Daisy states that she and Tom got married in similar weather, so hot

The fake coldness of Tom and Daisy is originally seen as arrogant. Its icy grasp can be looked upon as the side effect of materialistic values. But the heat opens up the reader's mind to the complexity of the situation. We watch as the heat takes control over each character, forcing the truth to be spoken. But by the end of the chapter, they drive away, letting all conflict die off behind them. Imagery has shattered the idea that Tom and Daisy are ignorant towards heat replacing it with the realization that Tom and Daisy simply understand heat’s overall insignificance. And as heat is trivial in the end, their need to appear “cool” becomes more plausible. Fitzgerald’s meticulous choice of words pushes the reader to not only see the chaos, but feel the emotions behind it, encouraging them to form an opinion of Tom and Daisy’s denial with an understanding for their logical and emotional