All 3 Uses of
despair
in
The Great Gatsby
- Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders.
p. 32..2 (definition 1)despair = hopelessness
- When he had gone half way he turned around and stared at the scene — his wife and Catherine scolding and consoling as they stumbled here and there among the crowded furniture with articles of aid, and the despairing figure on the couch, bleeding fluently, and trying to spread a copy of "Town Tattle." over the tapestry scenes of Versailles.
p. 37..6 (definition 2) *despairing = causing distress and loss of hope
- He was worried now — there was a quality of nervous despair in Daisy's letters.
p. 151..1 (definition 1) *despair = hopelessness and distress
Definitions:
-
(1) (despair as in: she felt despair) hopelessness; or distress (such as extreme worry or sadness from feeling powerless to change a bad situation)
-
(2) (despair as in: she was the despair of the team) something that causes hopelessness or great distress