Ms.+Rocco+Gatsby


 * [[image:chsroccoenglish11/long_island1.jpg width="377" height="244"]] || The Dave Matthews’ Band song “The Space Between” conjures up the image of Gatsby standing at the end of his bay with his arms “stretched out…toward the dark water in a curious way” (25). The speaker in the song appears to be in denial that the relationship with his beloved has ended. He opens the song insisting “you cannot quit me so quickly,” while still expressing his insecurity about their love, asking if there is “no corner you could squeeze me?” because he is so desperate to be in her life. Gatsby, too, lives in disbelief that Daisy moved on with her life, but he shows his desire to win her love by standing on his dock wistfully looking toward her green light.

The speaker of the song emphasizes the murky morals which are involved in their relationship. He repeats the phrase “the space between” and uses it to express how he feels caught between two distinct, perhaps opposing forces. For example, he notes “the space between/ the tears we cry /is the laughter keeps us coming back for more,” so he feels stuck between “what’s wrong and right.” Gatsby, too, lives in an uncertain state. When he is first reunited with Daisy, his confidence melts and he appears “pale as death” as he contemplates how Daisy will react to the reunion. Later when Gatsby tries to force Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him, he discovers Daisy has loved her husband all along. As his realization grows, he expresses “a touch of panic” (140) as he is suspended between his fantasy life and the reality again while Daisy wavers about who she loves more. In the end Gatsby is left “hiding, waiting for [her]” as he is “standing there in the moonlight – watching over nothing” (153) still believing Daisy will walk out of the Buchanan house and right into his arms. ||
 * "[|The Space Between" by Dave Matthews Band] || Lyrics ||