Im no meteorologist.
"It's never just rain." (Foster 75)
This whole chapter deals with the obvious fact that the setting plays an important role in determining the tone of any work. As I was reading I couldn't help but agree with everything that was being said. If i were put on the spot I dont think that I could have come up with so many different meaning that rain could have on the tone and mood. It seems pretty obvious but I didnt really think about it.
Thus far that is how book tends to read for me. I read along and I understand what is being said and it makes sense, but I probably would not have thought of things like that.
After reading this I immediately thought of the part of the book when Gatsby meets daisy at Nick's house. It was raining outside and when they first got there then when Nick went out and came back it had stopped raining and there was the pronounced change in Gatsby.
What other kinds of things could the rain have symbolized?
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Joshua Wilks on Im no meteorologist.: I agree with Angela's assessme
Rebecca Marrie on Im no meteorologist.: Like Aja, I didn't relate Fost
Aja Hannah on Im no meteorologist.: That's really interesting beca
Rosalind Blair on Im no meteorologist.: I agree with your assessment o
Angela Saffer on Im no meteorologist.: I also found that a lot of the
Rebecca Marrie on Im no meteorologist.: Like Aja, I didn't relate Fost
Aja Hannah on Im no meteorologist.: That's really interesting beca
Rosalind Blair on Im no meteorologist.: I agree with your assessment o
Angela Saffer on Im no meteorologist.: I also found that a lot of the
I also found that a lot of the time while I was reading it was like "why didn't I think of that?" but I just didn't. It is common sense but we rarely see those things pop out in front of us unless they are put on a page and we are to read them.
I think that the rain in Gatsby produced a feeling of nervousness, dread, possibly even depression, for he did not know if she was really going to show up.
The pronounced change was relief, happiness, an old love reuniting, and I think those all come from the sun coming out and the rain stopping.
I agree with your assessment of Fosters book. When we were assigned this book, I did not feel like it was something I would enjoy reading - but I actually find it really entertaining. In every chapter Foster makes a lot of really valid points that I had never realized or thought of before. I found myself keeping his ideas in mind as I read The Great Gatsby, and it really helped me to interpret what Fitzgerald was trying to say.
That's really interesting because I didn't even think to relate it to Gatsby, but now I see it. I remember reading about the rain and wondering why the author had it raining. Was there some sadness in the meeting?
But, I completely forgot about it until now.
Like Aja, I didn't relate Fosters book to The Great Gatsby either. In fact, when reading the Gatsby, I honestly didn't even realize that it was raining when Gatsby first met Daisy and then ended when "their was a profound change in Gatsby." Although I find valid points in Foster's analytical methods, sometimes I just wonder if the author doesn't just put minor details in his novel which he hopes readers will create their own reasoning for.
I agree with Angela's assessment of the rain. All of those ideas can definitely be applied to the rain. It is interesting to contemplate what did Fitzgerald actually mean by the rain. Regardless of what he actually wanted the rain to symbolize, it is probably more important what we got out of it.