The epigraph of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, written by Thomas Parke D’Invilliers, gives an insight to the overarching idea of using wealth to attain the interest of a lover in the book and the events that may take place and reads:
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,I must have you!”
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can be interpreted to signify the idea that the only way to win the attention of a girl is to use material deception. In other words, one must make oneself extravagant and flamboyant. This extravagance and flamboyance draws the visual attention of all because the gold hat would reflect the sunlight, creating a halo around the head and increasing the interest of the man dressed captivatingly. Further than that, the women would psychologically be attracted to the idea of financial security and the idea of the man being able to spoil her with luxurious material comforts. However, this poem, like all poems, can be interpreted in many ways, all of which significant and dependent on the reader. This epigraph represents the absurdity of the situation, the bouncing man and bouncing woman, foreshadowing an upcoming series of events and demonstrating the disastrous ending which could possibly be the conclusion. Additionally, the poem demonstrates and insinuates a presence of dishonest appearance and the presence of a facade worn by a character within the novel. The poem, symbolizes the importance of material objects in the pursuit of winning the heart and attention of a girl. In addition, the poem subtly uncovers the disorder and chaos of a man parading his wealth to achieve his desired lover, as well as the misrepresentation …
…he main motif of the book to be the distinction between distinguished appearance, what merely seems to be true, and reality, what is truthful.
As the poem suggests, Gatsby uses his wealth to live a luxurious life to impress Daisy. He flaunts his expensive material possessions rather than his personality for the means of attaining more of Daisy’s interest than her husband. Gatsby also uses his newly earned money to raise his social standing and elevate to the economic and social status equivalent of Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald disguising himself as Thomas Parke D’Invilliers reveals the major motif of the book, which is the distinction of what is truly real and what only seems to be true, exhibited as James Gatz creates a facade for himself of the elegant and refined Jay Gatsby.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
