“A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the washstand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor” (99).
“…the sidewalk was white with moonlight… the blocks of the sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees---he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder” (110).
The moon is seen by reflected light, so the light it gives off is reflected light; therefore, it illuminates things in an almost unrealistic way. It is not the moon illuminating earth, but it is the moon’s redirection of light that irradiates objects. The use of the moon in flashbacks to Gatsby’s early life illustrates that his imagination, his “moon,” redirected the realities of life. Yes the moon was illuminating the sidewalk, but it is Gatsby’s imagination that transforms that sidewalk into a “ladder.” Gatsby’s mind (the moon) receives reality (light) and redirects it to transform it to be what he desires.
Mary-A very nice reading of a couple of images of moonlight in chapter 6. There is more to be said about Gatsby's imagination here, though, isn't there?
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