The Bay
Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay. -Nick Carraway
Throughout the Novel...
“Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” (78)
"After the house, we were to see the grounds and the swimming-pool, and the hydroplane and the mid-summer flowers — but outside Gatsby’s window it began to rain again, so we stood in a row looking at the corrugated surface of the Sound." (92)
"Outside the wind was loud and there was a faint flow of thunder along the Sound. All the lights were going on in West Egg now; the electric trains, men-carrying, were plunging home through the rain from New York. It was the hour of a profound human change, and excitement was generating on the air." (95)
"I couldn’t sleep all night; a fog-horn was groaning incessantly on the Sound, and I tossed half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams." (147)
"After the house, we were to see the grounds and the swimming-pool, and the hydroplane and the mid-summer flowers — but outside Gatsby’s window it began to rain again, so we stood in a row looking at the corrugated surface of the Sound." (92)
"Outside the wind was loud and there was a faint flow of thunder along the Sound. All the lights were going on in West Egg now; the electric trains, men-carrying, were plunging home through the rain from New York. It was the hour of a profound human change, and excitement was generating on the air." (95)
"I couldn’t sleep all night; a fog-horn was groaning incessantly on the Sound, and I tossed half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams." (147)
Relevance
The bay doubles as two things: Gatsby and Daisy's separation and Nick's mind.
The bay that separates Gatsby and Daisy has significance in that it represents a literal and figurative separation. Gatsby looks across the bay at the green light for hope. Gatsby wanted to be near to Daisy, yet since he is apart from her, he can never really be with her as he was in his past. He was working desperately to reach an extravagant image to pair with Daisy. The bay is an image that reminds Gatsby that is going to be looking out to something he cannot succeed to cross. His efforts across the bay are to make an iconic name for himself, yet he was not able reach the goal. The idea of reaching Daisy "preys" on Gatsby, and he becomes more aggressive in his attempts to take her for himself, as seen with Tom.
Nick's mind, however, pairs with the weather of the bay. After Myrtle's death, thunder pairs with Nick's frightening dreams. Excitement stirs when the weather becomes more active. The weather is symbolic of the emotion and mood of the events in the novel, as mentioned with heat. Mechanically, the weather works as a foreshadow to the coming events and Nick's tone toward them. If the events are grim, so is the weather. If Nick's view on the event is bright, then the weather mirrors that aspect.
The bay that separates Gatsby and Daisy has significance in that it represents a literal and figurative separation. Gatsby looks across the bay at the green light for hope. Gatsby wanted to be near to Daisy, yet since he is apart from her, he can never really be with her as he was in his past. He was working desperately to reach an extravagant image to pair with Daisy. The bay is an image that reminds Gatsby that is going to be looking out to something he cannot succeed to cross. His efforts across the bay are to make an iconic name for himself, yet he was not able reach the goal. The idea of reaching Daisy "preys" on Gatsby, and he becomes more aggressive in his attempts to take her for himself, as seen with Tom.
Nick's mind, however, pairs with the weather of the bay. After Myrtle's death, thunder pairs with Nick's frightening dreams. Excitement stirs when the weather becomes more active. The weather is symbolic of the emotion and mood of the events in the novel, as mentioned with heat. Mechanically, the weather works as a foreshadow to the coming events and Nick's tone toward them. If the events are grim, so is the weather. If Nick's view on the event is bright, then the weather mirrors that aspect.
Reference (Pre-1925)
Romeo:
There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish'd from the world,
And world's exile is death: then banished,
Is death mis-term'd: calling death banishment,
Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden axe,
And smilest upon the stroke that murders me. (3.3.9-23)
(Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare)
There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish'd from the world,
And world's exile is death: then banished,
Is death mis-term'd: calling death banishment,
Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden axe,
And smilest upon the stroke that murders me. (3.3.9-23)
(Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare)