The Great Gatsby Weather Analysis

Fitzgerald appeals to his audience's senses by describing the weather conditions and depicting the season changes. This creates a nostalgic tone by relating to the readers similar experiences. During summer, the days get longer and night becomes more distant, the sun gets hotter and the warmth lingers into the later hours—you set out on an adventure and the sun follows behind. Wistful moods are overcome by beautiful weather. “Sunshine” is associated with happiness and warmth which relates to Gatsby’s inner feelings and emotions. The sunshine reflects Gatsby’s mood; he is ecstatic, yet nervous, to see Daisy again—it has been five long, hard-working, anticipating years—and he needs to impress her. You wait all year for summer, through three undesirable seasons because it is associated with unforgettable memories, like the memories Gatsby shared with Daisy before he had to go to war.

Fitzgerald suggests that summer is a time of renewal and the vibrancy of life with all of the lush vegetation which brings hopeful intentions. During the summer, Gatsby thinks that time has stopped and his hopes of having his chance with Daisy remain high. The reader can relate to a scorching hot-summer day where tension between guests and friends boils over much like on the “hottest day of the summer” where Gatsby’s hopes for getting Daisy back were melted and revoked by Tom.
The drastic transition between the sweltering summer and the chilling fall represents Daisy’s change in emotions; she realizes that she cannot leave her husband for a love that faded five years prior.

For Gatsby, the moment when the leaves start to change is when his life restarts, and the possibility of him getting Daisy back into his life wilts away like the orange and red leaves falling off the vibrant trees. Gatsby tries to mask the fact that his mood has changed, much like the weather, by still participating in summer-like activities. Fitzgerald’s deliberate use of diction allows the reader to visualize what is happening to the earth—the leaves on the trees are losing their liveliness. Referring to fall as “crisp” instead of something like “cold” associates the season with a positive experience like the crunch of the leaves under your feet whereas “cold” has a bitter connotation. Similar to the way leaves die, to Gatsby, autumn refers to false hopes and the death of his happiness. The reader can relate to Gatsby’s broken heart and the yearning he has for his blooming flower,

Daisy.