Question

List four details from the text that Fitzgerald uses to establish the tense and nervous atmosphere in Nick's house as Gatsby first reunites with Daisy. 1

Answer 1

The four details that established the tense and nervous atmosphere in Nick's house were:

1. Gatsby appearance when he arrived at the house.
2. The sheer silence between Gatsby and Daisy.
3. They both pretended not to show their uncomfortablity with each by their artificial talks.
4. The clumsiness in Gatsby when he almost knocked the clock showed that he is nervous.

Step-by-step explanation:

'The Great Gatsby' is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel is about Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy.

In Chapter 5 of the novel, it was the first time when Gatsby and Daisy were reunited. Fitzgerald established the tense and nervous environment in the novel as follow:

• Gatsby looked pale as death with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets. When Gatsby arrived at Nick's home he appeared like a dead man, which shows that he is nervous to be reunited with Daisy. "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes."
• After Gatsby entered the house there was sheer silence between Gatsby and Daisy. "A pause; it endured horribly. I had nothing to do in the hall so I went into the room."
• Gatsby and Daisy, both were uncomfortable in each other's presence yet tried not to show it by pretending. "Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets, was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom. His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock and from this position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy who was sitting frightened but graceful on the edge of a stiff chair."
• Gatsby in his clumsiness almost knocked the clock, also shows that he was nervous. "Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place. Then he sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand."

These instances from the text gears up the tense and nervous atmosphere when Gatsby and Daisy reunited at Nick's house after 5 years.