Seasons


 * Seasons**

In //The Great Gatsby// by F. Scott Fitzgerald, seasons are employed in order to reflect the progression and deterioration of relationships between characters. The cycle of seasons symbolizes not only the change in relationship statuses, however, but also illustrates the manner in which the relationships often form a cyclical pattern. Most of the novel ocupies the seasons of summer and autumn, eventually transitioning to winter at the very end. The Great Gatsby portrays summer as a time for the discovery of new people and the establishment of new relationships. Through such relationships, characters experience a revelation and discover the hidden persona of various people. When autumn rolls around however, the relationships are ultimately destroyed; characters realize that the discovery of identities was not as rewarding as it seemed and summer becomes a sort of fantasy of lush green trees, a fantasy that is only to be blown away by the autumn winds, bringing characters back to the winter of eventual reality of loss and emptiness of identities in the time to come.

= Summer =

=== The season of summer acts as a falsely jovial mask over the truly cynical and uncouth relationships and identities of characters by favoring their more attractive appearances over their truly gruesome ones. ===
 * TOPIC SENTENCE:**

//"A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and between the numbers people were doing ‘stunts’ all over the garden, while happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky." (51)//
 * Conveys the cheerful nature of the summer with jazz, stunts and "happy vacuous bursts of laughter"
 * Extravagance of Gatsby's party conveys his wealthy and generous facade
 * At Gatsby's party, there are many guests. Whenever they are acting unhappily or possess negative emotions, however, they are hidden in one of the many rooms of Gatsby's mansions

// "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees—just as things grow in fast movies—I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." (8) //
 * Suggests that summer is like a new beginning, a season unlike any other
 * Similar to the conventional view of summer being somehow 'different' and more relaxing than other seasons
 * Longer days, and therefore a false perception that there is more time to spend and loiter (out of ordinary relationships that are short-lived and destroyed by the end of summer)
 * More things done for short term pleasure than long term benefits

Original relationships: Relationships created throughout the summer:
 * Daisy and Tom
 * George and Myrtle
 * Jordan
 * Nick
 * Gatsby
 * Tom and Myrtle (affair)
 * Jordan and Nick (strained and indirect)
 * Daisy and Gatsby (recreated from the past)

However, the above relationships created during the summer season are largely for short term benefits and pleasures only. By the last day of summer (hottest day), we witness the relationships beginning to fall apart as the midsummer heat kicks in and brings about the truly negative emotions of characters. The following traits of characters lead to an unwinding of summer relationships.

//"The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer.//" (120)
 * Last day of the summer, signifies the coming of autumn, foreshadowing an ultimate revealing of identities
 * Tension and irritating nature of heat causes characters to reflect emotions of annoyance and anxiety
 * Tom: Hypocrisy, jealousy, selfishness, not truly caring about Myrtle
 * Daisy: Artificiality, already moved on from the past, not as in love with Daisy anymore
 * Jordan: Arrogant about her athletic skills and fame
 * Gatsby: Unable to let go of the past (thus ultimately incompatible with Daisy)
 * Myrtle and George: largely unaware of their surroundings

SUMMARY === Even with some obviously artificial or uncouth natures of characters' relationships that are established at the beginning of the summer (e.g. affairs, Gatsby's inability to forget the past, Daisy's artificiality), none of the characters are judged by Nick; he seems to accept everything that is going on, possibly because to all characters, everything seems fine at the moment. Daisy does not act unhappily because Tom is having an affair. George Wilson is unaware of Myrtle's affair. Myrtle and Tom are able to be together without others' prevention or unhappiness interrupting them. So far, summer has proved a successfully happy fantasy.... === === However, as the summer becomes warmer, the heat causes anxiety and tension, ultimately causing characters to reveal more about their concealed natures. The end of summer heat also marks the coming of autumn, foreshadowing the time when characters will be judged and their identities discovered. ===

= Autumn =


 * TOPIC SENTENCE:**

As the autumn winds arrive, they blow away the lush green leaves that had hidden the summer's truths, replacing it with reality and ultimately reveal each character's true identity.
At breakfast with Gatsby, Nick learns in a more clarified way Gatsby's **true identity** (i.e. his life in the army, at Oxford, and his true feelings about Daisy, that he loved her and felt married to her (158-160)): //"The night had made a sharp difference in the weather and there was an autumn flavor in the air." (161)//
 * After learning about Gatsby's truth, Nick notices the autumn flavor in the air
 * Symbolizes not only the coming of autumn, but also the beginning of discovering the TRUTH of each character
 * A strong and direct contrast from the "new beginnings of summer" prospected at the beginning of the novel
 * Emphasizes the significant change in not only weather but also character relationships and identities

//"When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart." (6)//
 * Realizing that his move to East Egg, as well as his discoveries of others' truths was not as rewarding as he thought it would be.
 * Discovered the cynical truths that had been hidden from him through the jubilant mask of summer
 * "I felt that I wanted....I wanted" shows Nick's expression of opinion
 * Represents Nick's change in the novel; begins to judge other characters more directly based on their actions
 * The ultimate unmasking of characters
 * "Came back" shows that Nick returned to where he had been before the summer
 * Represents general characters revert back to original relationships
 * Symbolic of the reality, reverting back to their normal lives
 * The short lived nature of summer relationships
 * The reality of characters' lives, the reality that autumn portrays
 * Characters still alive seem to forget what has happened and become distant again; the way things were at the beginning of the summer
 * Tom and Daisy together
 * Jordan distant and far away

//Interesting Note: All deaths take place in the autumn, not the summer. While the summer was warm and cheerful (apart from the last few days' heat--transition to autumn) the autumn became cooler and less so. The falling leaves and cooling of general climate symbolize death and thus provide a perfect environment for characters to disappear. Such death is not only physical death but also death of morality and identity. The deaths of the characters also serve the purpose of allowing Daisy and Tom to reconcile and continue on with their relationship and lives (no more 'distractions' from their daily lives).//

=== The true identities of characters are ultimately revealed through the coming of the autumn season, which is symbolic of reality. The reality that is brought about strongly contrasts with the fantasy of summer. At the end of the autumn season, the characters who remain alive revert back to their original states and styles of living. ===
 * //SUMMARY//**

Winter[[image:http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs15/i/2007/005/1/d/Winter_by_marquis73.jpg width="359" height="228" align="right" caption="Winter Scene"]]

 * TOPIC SENTENCE:**

As winter approaches, the snow arrives, allowing the characters of the novel to escape by once again cover up their identities and blend back into their surroundings.
//"We drew in deep breaths of [the cold winter night], unutterably aware of our identity with this country for one strange hour before we melted indistinguishably into it again." (184)//


 * The fact that "we" were "unutterably aware of our identity [...] for one strange hour" shows the abnormality in having clear-defined identities, the abnormality of the past few seasons
 * Implies that "melt[ing] indistinguishably" into the background is the norm and the best way to go; not knowing one's identity or that of others
 * Similar to rumors (mentioned in the first "Winter"), shows that people's true identities are rarely revealed; largely hidden by the surrounding environment

__Image Sources:__ http://scotto.deviantart.com/art/Summer-88263125?q=boost%3Apopular+summer&qo=23 http://paweldomaradzki.deviantart.com/art/fall-65544066?q=boost%3Apopular+fall&qo=4 http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=winter#/dre450