I am a meteorology major and wanted to include weather and climate into this project. During the time period that The Great Gatsby takes place, one of the hottest summers was well underway. I chose this to be my theme for this assignment and I feel that it goes well with the fight scene that takes place in the Plaza Hotel, where tensions are “hot.”
It’s an extremely hot day. Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway, and Jordan Baker all go into the city to escape the heat. They rent a suite in the Plaza Hotel where Tom confronts Gatsby about Daisy and tensions quickly match the heat outside. So the Plaza sign sweating isn’t necessarily due to the heat outside, it’s due to the heat and tension inside. I chose the hellish look around the sign because the scene unfolding inside the walls of the hotel is “hellish.”