THE COSTUME
Gatsby’s outfit always played a huge role in his transformation from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is constantly seen in suits and his use of colour symbolises his hope,wealth and dreams. for instance when meeting Daisy for the first time he wears a white suit , illustrating his hope for their love “Gatsby, in a white flannel suit… hurried in.” Gatsby’s dreams are also expressed through his sailors outfit he receives from Dan Cody. this symbolizes the beginning of his dreams and ambition “he took him to Duluth and bought him a blue coat, six pairs of white duck trousers and a sailors cap.”
THE PROPS
Jay Gatsby has many out of the ordinary objects that, in the 1920’s may not have been popular and normal. for example one of these strange objects Gatsby has is his photograph’s. Gatsby keep’s many photographs of Daisy, Dan Cody and his time at Oxford. these photographs symbolize gatsby’s obsession to relive the past and go back in time and these pictures act as a sort of time machine for Gatsby to do this.
SETTING OF THE STAGE
Gatsby’s ‘stage’ in this context is considered his house. The first thing we notice about his house is how elaborate it is and the effort Gatsby has put in to make himself appear extra wealthy. this is shown in the scene during Gatsby’s first party where nick and Jordan find themselves in the library. Owl-eyes, a character found in here, comments on how real the library is by saying that Gatsby is a “regular Belasco” meaning he has put an incredible amount of effort into setting the stage. In the 1920’s it was common for people to buy fake books to appear rich and wealthy but in Gatsby’s case all of the books were real. Another example is the party thrown by Gatsby. This party boast’s his popularity and amazing wealth to be able to host a party like that. These two things in particular contribute to the person of Jay Gatsby that he has created.
SPEECH AND DIALOGUE
the way that a person communicates is generally a reflection on their upbringing. This s not the case with Jay gatsby as his accent and the way he speaks does not reflect the poor upbringing that he has but more of a high class background. Many of Gatsby’s phrases he uses like “old sport” sound very forced as if they are not natural to him. This, we find out later in the novel is because he has taught himself to speak in a way that would show Jay Gatsby as a wealthy person. this is proven in the last chapter where Gatsby’s father shows Nick Gatsby’s timetable from when he was young and on it read “Practice elocution, poise and how to obtain it 5:00pm to 6:00pm.” This schedule shows us that from a young age Gatsby made an effort to change himself into a more respectable man.
THE BACKSTORY
Gatsby’s backstory right from the start seems suspicious with rumours flying everywhere such as being a German spy in the war. Gatsby also makes sure that we get his story and gives us a clear idea of that but it’s not until late in the book that we find out where he got his wealth from. Gatsby’s backstory is very important to him as he creates this new version of himself because however unrealistic it may seem it tells us where he comes from.
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