Accused of displaying literary hubris
with this fictional verse, F. Scott Fitzgerald has created his own epigraph
that he has moved from his quasi-autobiographical novel This Side of
Paradise. Also a pen name for Fitzgerald himself, authorities contend that
D'Invilliers represents the poet John Peale Bishop, who was a friend of Fitzgerald's
when he was a student at Princeton. (Bishop was a member of the class of
1917.)
The reference here, of course, is to Jay Gatsby and
Daisy. In his quest for wealth, Gatsby has always sought to win back Daisy; whom, he
declares, is his "grail." But, this grail is a gilded one with a voice "that sounded
like money," Nick Carraway says. Feeling that the only way to win Daisy's love is by
means of material possessions, Gatsby buys a luxurious home, holds fantastic parties,
drives a resplendent car, wears elegant clothes, and has a deliciously decadent
lifestyle in the hopes of reaching the green light. Thus, the epigraph alludes to
Daisy's materialistic nature. If Gatsby would win her, he must "wear the gold hat" and
"bounce high...for her."
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