Automobile motif in the Great Gatsby:
The car is one of Fitzgerald’s key motifs, playing a part of his narrative machine
as well.
Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce is both a positive emblem of elegance and progress and a
sinister portent of death.
The car is also a setting, a place where much of the action occurs
A liminal zone
- The interior of the car is a strangely liminal zone.
o It’s a place which is at once intensely public and exposed to any
number of passers-by (e.g. final smash)
o Also offers an illusion of privacy – sense of being able to see
outside while safe, concealed, and superior inside.
- Drivers consequently put themselves in a position that is simultaneously
powerful and vulnerable.
- Thus, the automobile is a highly ambiguous symbol.
A Touchstone of character
- The automobile frames many of Nick’s interactions with Gatsby.
o Gatsby’s chauffeur is the one who first invites him to a party.
o It is an object of gossip as Gatsby itself, replete with the insignia of
success, a microcosm of the luxury his party guests have come to
see.
- Nick Carraway persistently talks in automotive metaphor
o He describes himself in mechanical terms, reducing him and
Gatsby to automatons.
o This is a counterpoint to his description of Jordon as a rotten
driver.
- Fitzgerald depicts women and cars as a fated combination
o Jordon Baker drives perilously.
o Myrtle and Daisy are reduced to murderer and road-kill
respectively.
o Men have cars for power, for women it’s something dangerous.
The car is one of Fitzgerald’s key motifs, playing a part of his narrative machine
as well.
Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce is both a positive emblem of elegance and progress and a
sinister portent of death.
The car is also a setting, a place where much of the action occurs
A liminal zone
- The interior of the car is a strangely liminal zone.
o It’s a place which is at once intensely public and exposed to any
number of passers-by (e.g. final smash)
o Also offers an illusion of privacy – sense of being able to see
outside while safe, concealed, and superior inside.
- Drivers consequently put themselves in a position that is simultaneously
powerful and vulnerable.
- Thus, the automobile is a highly ambiguous symbol.
A Touchstone of character
- The automobile frames many of Nick’s interactions with Gatsby.
o Gatsby’s chauffeur is the one who first invites him to a party.
o It is an object of gossip as Gatsby itself, replete with the insignia of
success, a microcosm of the luxury his party guests have come to
see.
- Nick Carraway persistently talks in automotive metaphor
o He describes himself in mechanical terms, reducing him and
Gatsby to automatons.
o This is a counterpoint to his description of Jordon as a rotten
driver.
- Fitzgerald depicts women and cars as a fated combination
o Jordon Baker drives perilously.
o Myrtle and Daisy are reduced to murderer and road-kill
respectively.
o Men have cars for power, for women it’s something dangerous.
