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the meaning of "spectroscopic gayety"
What is the meaning of "spectroscopic gayety" in the following passage?
Why does it have to be guarded against?
[
Instead of rambling, this party had preserved a dignified homogeneity, and assumed to itself the function of representing the staid nobility of the country-side — East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic gayety.
]
Ch.3
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/complete.html#chapter3
Nov 6, 2012 7:37 AM
Answers · 1
1
East Egg represented old money - people that had inherited it. West Egg refers to new money - people that had recently gotten wealthy. People from old money looked down on people with new money. "Spectroscopic gayety" refers to loud or boisterous celebration - some observable sign that you came from new money. "Spectroscopic" I think refers to 'observable', something you could analyze - in this case analyze a person's class.
November 6, 2012
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Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
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English
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