"I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart." (p.11)
Interpretation:
Nick, who "writes" this novel in retrospect, basically contrasts he wants from the world (the uniform and moral attention bit) to what he found after coming back from the war to what he discovered in Long Island. Carraway desires order and discipline, something often associated with military conduct. However, the "riotous excursions" at Long Island proved to be unruly. One could say that this contrast between what Nick wants and what he finds are reflectant on the morals of the Jazz Age that Fitzgerald notices.
Importance of this statement: Allusion (to WWI)
To first note, "I came back from the East last autumn" refers to the summer of the story's setting; the entire Gatsby fiasco only did last one summer. In this statement, Fitzgerald uses diction like "at a sort of moral attention", "to be in uniform", or even "excursions" to allude to the military. When one is reading, do keep in mind that Fitzgerald was part of the generation that fought/trained the Great War. And as such, he is also a writer that is considered to be part of "the lost generation".
On a side note: The quote is very elegantly written. Before the semicolon, there's a nice allusion to WWI. After the semicolon, Fitzgerald creates almost an iambic rhythm with the words "riotous excursions", "privileged glimpses", and "human heart".
Nick, who "writes" this novel in retrospect, basically contrasts he wants from the world (the uniform and moral attention bit) to what he found after coming back from the war to what he discovered in Long Island. Carraway desires order and discipline, something often associated with military conduct. However, the "riotous excursions" at Long Island proved to be unruly. One could say that this contrast between what Nick wants and what he finds are reflectant on the morals of the Jazz Age that Fitzgerald notices.
Importance of this statement: Allusion (to WWI)
To first note, "I came back from the East last autumn" refers to the summer of the story's setting; the entire Gatsby fiasco only did last one summer. In this statement, Fitzgerald uses diction like "at a sort of moral attention", "to be in uniform", or even "excursions" to allude to the military. When one is reading, do keep in mind that Fitzgerald was part of the generation that fought/trained the Great War. And as such, he is also a writer that is considered to be part of "the lost generation".
On a side note: The quote is very elegantly written. Before the semicolon, there's a nice allusion to WWI. After the semicolon, Fitzgerald creates almost an iambic rhythm with the words "riotous excursions", "privileged glimpses", and "human heart".