Tom Henson’s Passage Analysis Within Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby:

“There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden; old men pushing young girls backwards in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably, and keeping in the corners—and a great number of single girls dancing individualistically or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps.” (pg 46)

My two favorite scenes in this chapter were the owl eyed man in the library and then again on the side of the road. However even after reading this book once before, this passage contained many symbols that I had noticed for the first time. At first glance, one would think Fitzgerald is describing dancing, but it could be argued that he was describing society in the jazz age.

The older generations with all they had accomplished left nothing for the next generation. Coupled with the accomplishment of “manifest destiny” and the dawn of industrialization, the previous generation had pushed themselves across the frontier and left the younger people to move about blindly and backwards in circles rather than forward towards a goal or principle. The “old rich” were still in arranged relationships, rather than loving ones, but they were also the ones who controlled the fashionable behavior of their society. Their wealth allowed them to remain the “corners” or strength of American culture.

The single girls dancing and performing showed the new independence of women during that period. They did not need a partner or a man and they were not afraid of putting themselves front and center in society. Women during this time as we all know wore clothing that caught society’s’ attention (i.e. clothing that revealed a neckline or the woman’s calf). It is within this concept that we see the women drawing attention to themselves and can draw the parallel between the simple ceremony of dance to the larger picture of the “modern woman’s independence.”

In reference to a “larger picture,” the final point I wish to highlight is that all of this complex symbolism took place on a canvas. Obviously it was not the literal artist’s canvas which I am implying, but the coincidence was far too eye-catching for me to leave it unnoticed. From my interpretation, it was as if Fitzgerald wanted to deconstruct the fundamental aspects of The Great Gatsby’s setting, and the era he lived in…this dude was profound…as the saying goes.

...why do I feel like I wasn't supposed to post this blog here :O