proximity n distance

point 1 - TGG: physical distance metaphor

physical distance as a metaphor for emotional and social barriers

point 1 quotation - TGG: Valley of Ashes purpose » social n moral boundary

“This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens.” (Ch 2)

point 1 quotation - TGG: Gatsby’s attempt at bridging emotional divide

“Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” (Ch 4)

point 1 quotation - TGG: permanent emotional distance

“If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay… You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.” (Ch. 5)

point 1 quotation - TGG: insurmountable emotional n social distance

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness.” (Ch. 9)po

point 1 AO3 - TGG: wealth cannot overcome class divisions

The 1920s American Dream promised social mobility, but Fitzgerald critiques this by showing that wealth alone cannot overcome class divisions. Gatsby, despite his riches, remains an outsider to the old money world of Daisy and Tom\

point 1 AO4 - TGG: compare to who so list

wyatt’s persona is also separated from his lover by marriage and social conventions

point 1 AO5 - TGG: Marxist criticism » class struggle = permanent divide

Marxist critics argue that the physical distance between Gatsby and Daisy symbolises class struggle—no matter how much Gatsby achieves, he can never fully belong to Daisy’s world

point 2 - Who so list: distance causation

distance through marriage and convention

point 2 quotation - WSL: tiresome hunt

“the vayne travaill hath weried me so sore,/I ame of them that farthest cometh behinde”

point 2 quotation - WSL: persistent hunt

“but as she fleeth afore/Faynting I followe”

point 2 quotation - WSL: the beginning of the endless hunt

“who so list to hountn I knowe where is an hynde”

point 2 quotation - WSL: marriage as a barrier = distance

“ ‘noli me tangere for Cesars I ame’ ”

point 2 AO3 - WSL: courtly n Petrarchan love in response to distance

‘courtly love’ = drawn out, distant love/Petrarchan love = intense, passionate attempts. only used when there is distance at allp

point 2 AO4 - WSL: compare to TGG » Gatsby n Wyatt same obstructions

much like Wyatt’s persona, Gatsby is obstructed by Daisy’s married state and the fact that both husbands are of higher status

point 2 AO5 - WSL: feminist criticism: woman holds power

woman holds power in having more than one partner at her disposal, something expected and accepted of men

point 3 - TGG: significance of tangibly present love

emotional proximity vs physical distance in Gatsby n Daisy’s relationship

point 3 quotation - TGG: Gatsby = emotionally distant

“He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity.” (ch5)

point 3 quotation - TGG: Gatsby’s delusion

“Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (Ch6)

point 3 quotation - TGG: Daisy’s acknowledgement of a gap between her and Gatsby

“Oh, you want too much!” she cried to Gatsby. “I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.” (ch7)

point 3 quotation - TGG: Gatsby’s emotional distance from reality

“He must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.” (ch8)

point 3 AO3 - TGG: Jazz Age’s extravagant love affairs

The Jazz Age emphasised fleeting, extravagant love affairs, contrasting Gatsby’s romantic idealism with the more pragmatic approach to relationships of Tom and Daisy

point 3 AO4 - TGG: compare to song (ae fond kiss)

the turmoil that Gatsby experiences, being apart from the woman he has loved for so long, is reflected in Burns’ persona here

point 3 AO5 - TGG: feminist criticism: female financial security

Feminist critics argue that Daisy’s choices reflect women’s dependence on financial security in a patriarchal society—she is not just choosing between two men but between two lifestyles

point 4 - song (ae fond kiss) » depression at relationship’s end

lamentation of parting and distance between a couple

point 4 quotation - song (AFK): emotional turmoil in parting

“ae fond kiss, and then we sever”

point 4 quotation - song (AFK): hurt but able to still pledge love

“deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee/warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee”

point 4 quotation - song (AFK): optimism for future happiness

“who shall say that Fortune grieves him/while the star of hope she leaves him?”

point 4 quotation - song (AFK): universal effect that his lover has » rendered helpless

“naething could resist my Nancy;/but to see her was to love her”

point 4 AO3 - song (afk): agnes ‘nancy’ mcLehose » married but in love

agnes was married but estranged from her husband whilst engaging passionately with robert. eventually, she left to go to Jamaica to reunite w her husband

point 4 AO4 - song (afk): compare to TGG » also centred high optimise for future happiness

Gatsby’s optimism for regaining Daisy is what fuels him and perhaps makes him delusional » keep despair at bay

point 4 AO5 - song (afk): Romantic criticism: intense emotion, focus on personal experience n idealised love

reflects the Romantic idea of love as an overpowering force, transcending reason and rationality + melancholic tone and imagery of fate and sorrow = love is beautiful and destructive, as it leads to inevitable heartbreak