Weather as a Motif in The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, as the chosen form of storytelling, events are recounted solely from the point of view of Nick. When depicting events in the novel, Nick repeatedly uses vivid imagery containing motifs that illuminate more significant meanings than what is simply stated. One of the more common motifs in the novel that holds gravity is the weather. In the first seven chapters of The Great Gatsby, the reader can decode the emotions of non-narrative characters and interpret the intensity of the main plot line at that point in the novel by analyzing the weather imagery that Nick uses in his descriptions.
Perhaps the most notable use of weather imagery throughout the entire novel is in chapter five. This chapter marks the first reunion of Gatsby and Daisy since their separation five years prior to the start of Nick's narration. Nick invites Daisy over for tea, not knowing that Gatsby will be showing up. The description of the weather illustrates the anxiety that Gatsby has leading up to the scene. Following a rocky start to the meeting, against his true desires, Gatsby declares: "This [meeting] has been a terrible mistake" (Fitzgerald 87). A few lines later, as the narrator, Nick, states: "Once more it was pouring, and my irregular lawn, well-shaved by Gatsby's gardener, abounded in small muddy swamps and prehistoric marshes" (88). So far, the gloomy tone set by the characters has been enacted by the weather. However, as Daisy and Gatsby become once again comfortable around each other, the mood brightens and the weather follows. Nick tells Gatsby and Daisy: "It's stopped raining" (89). Gatsby responds: "Has it?' When he realized what I was talking about, t...
