The Great Gatsby Group

Question:

poojpt
poojpt
Student
High School - 10th Grade

In chapter 6 of "The Great Gatby," what is Gatsby giving up when he kisses Daisy and why?

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Posted by poojpt on Sunday April 27, 2008 at 11:29 AM and tagged with chapter 6, daisy, gatsby, kiss, the great gatsby.

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  1. podunc Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    The kiss between Gatsby and Daisy five years before is described in biblical, even metaphysical terms. We are told that Gatsby knows that when he kisses Daisy, and "forever wed[s] his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. . . . Then he kisse[s] her. At his lips' touch she blossom[s] for him like a flower and the incarnation [is] complete."

    There is a sense that Gatsby makes some sort of sacrifice to be in love with Daisy. His dreams are so great that they are unearthly, but Daisy is grounded in the real world, like a flower. Though she is lovely, she will turn his mind away from being a "son of God" who "sprang from his Platonic conception of himself." It seems that, by falling for Daisy, Gatsby has placed his trust and hope in the wrong thing.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby/

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    Posted by podunc on Sunday April 27, 2008 at 1:00 PM