A brief analysis of one of my favourite book quotes, from F.Scott Fitzgerrald's novel The Great Gatsby.
simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life"
This quote, from F.Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favourite quotes. Its purpose, within the context of the novel, is to describe Nick Carraways state of being, in a life filled with loud and vibrant strangers he is unable to feel accepted. Each and every corner of his life is bustling with excitement, however he, not unlike Gatsby, is a spectator unable to break through the glass that separates him from the rest of the crowd.
The quote is reminiscent of Tennyson's Lady of Shallott, as many believe the poem to represent the conflicting life of an artist, attempting to balance the juxtaposing themes of life and art; therefore making the difficult choice of observation or experience. This is not too dissimilar to Nick's predicament. The reader learns that Nick gave up all hopes of becoming an author and traveled to West Egg to learn the bonds business; however, he still hold the mindset of a writer, and appears to simply witnessing life rather than living it.
In the recent film rendition this metaphor is visualized as Carraway stood both in and outside of the New York apartment building, gazing out of the window to find himself on the street bellow looking in. This image perfectly sums up his character as the observer. The version of him stood on the street, gazing into the apartment is Nicks true self and the version within the apartment is simply a shell of himself. As the whole party gets wildly drunk, Nick still finds himself unable to enjoy himself, his mind consumed by Tom's affair and the shaving foam on the face of a man he just met. This sets Nick up as the perfect narrator for the story as the details described appear as he witnesses them.
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