All 8 Uses of
grave
in
The Great Gatsby
- All my aunts and uncles talked it over as if they were choosing a prep school for me, and finally said, "Why — ye-es," with very grave, hesitant faces.
p. 3.7grave = serious and solemn
- We shook hands with him gravely and went back outdoors.
p. 46.5gravely = in a serious and solemn manner
- Then in a grave murmur: "His name is Ferdie."
p. 85.8grave = serious and solemn
- A change had come over him, and he spoke gravely, and with decision.
p. 141.9 *gravely = in a serious and solemn manner
- Gravely the men turn in at a house — the wrong house.
p. 176.8
Uses with a meaning too common or too rare to warrant foucs:
- A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog, and one of those cute little ash-trays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother's grave that'll last all summer.
p. 36.7grave = burial spot
- I was relieved too, for that seemed to promise another friend at Gatsby's grave.
p. 168.9
- The rain poured down his thick glasses, and he took them off and wiped them to see the protecting canvas unrolled from Gatsby's grave.
p. 174.8 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(grave as in: Her manner was grave.) serious and/or solemnThe exact meaning of this sense of grave can depend upon its context. For example:
- "This is a grave problem," or "a situation of the utmost gravity." -- important, dangerous, or causing worry
- "She was in a grave mood upon returning from the funeral." -- sad or solemn
- "She looked me in the eye and gravely promised." -- in a sincere and serious manner
-
(2)
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Better known meanings of grave and gravity:Less common meanings of grave:
- grave -- a place where a dead body is buried
- gravity -- in the sense of physics to refer to the force of attraction between all masses in the universe--especially the force that causes things to fall toward the earth
- death -- as in "A message from beyond the grave."
- describing a color as dark
- to sculpt with a chisel
- to clean and coat the bottom of a wooden ship with pitch
- grave accent -- a punctuation mark (`) that is used in some non-English languages, and that is placed over some letters of the alphabet to tell how they are pronounced.
- grave musical direction -- in a slow and solemn manner