3.6.2
Chapter Six: Love & Historical Context
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Chapter Six - Love, Historical Context and Historicism
For specification A, you are specifically interested in the implication of texts in history and how the ideology of love is presented in this text. Here are some ideas relevant to that reading:
Significance of the reporter
- The reporter from New York suggests that the world of media was opening up at this point and was important to celebrities such as Gatsby. This flicks forward to Gatsby’s death and how the media swarm around it. Love is best kept out of this world.
Dan Cody's business dealings
- Clearly, Dan Cody also had some shady business dealings and it is also important for the narrative that Gatsby does not receive the money left to him.
- This was an Age when wills and legal matters such as this were becoming more important.
'Self-made' man
- We learn more of the ethos of the ‘self-made’ man here, which dominates the image of American society during this period.
- For Gatsby, making it means he can then love again. He has felt throughout his life that he lost Daisy through the will of ‘old money’.
Gatsby's social awareness
- The formal world of dinner invitations is considered here. Gatsby however, is not aware that he is not really welcome. This lack of social awareness is ominous.
Chapter Six - Love, Historical Context and Historicism
For specification A, you are specifically interested in the implication of texts in history and how the ideology of love is presented in this text. Here are some ideas relevant to that reading:
Clash: 'old' and 'new' money
- At Gatsby’s party, we as readers see the overt clash between Gatsby’s crowd of ‘new money’ and Tom’s ‘old money’.
- It is almost as if Gatsby is doing this on purpose to see how Tom will respond. The two men are still competing over the love of Daisy.
Significance of 'drug-stores'
- When Tom is suspicious about how Gatsby has accumulated his wealth, Nick defends Gatsby, saying that he made his fortune through owning ‘drug-stores’, and not through anything illegal.
- This sequence shows the developing phenomenon of drug stores as a business enterprise, even though this is invented by Nick to cover for Gatsby.
Nature of love fixations
- Historical comparison tends to tell us that love fixations, such as Gatsby and Daisy's, usually have mixed results.
- In this sense, Gatsby and Daisy are ‘star-crossed lovers’. Their love did not work out before, so why should it work out again in the present?
- Gatsby believes that despite the historical and economic conditions of their love, it can persist. This may well be unrealistic.
Clash to come
- As the novel moves to its climax, inevitably there is a going to be a greater clash of old money and new money over love.
- The novel debates love in this particular historical context.
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Jump to other topics
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Practice questions on Chapter Six: Love & Historical Context
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- 1
- 2What do we learn in Chapter Six?True / false
- 3What are Tom and Gatsby competing over?Multiple choice
- 4
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