Full Answer
What does levity mean in The Great Gatsby?
Lightness of manner or speech1. Levity. noun Lightness of manner or speech, especially when inappropriate; frivolity. “frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon…”
What does intimate revelation quivering on the horizon mean?
2) An intimate revelation was looming, still hesitant / wavering, on the horizon (sense less original, metaphorical). Last edited: Mar 18, 2013.
What is intimate revelation?
'Intimate revelations' means that the other young men were telling him private or even secret things about themselves. Nowadays, this phrase usually has a sexual significance: however, in the past it meant simply private matters and I should not think that Fitzgerald intended anything more than that.
Have feigned sleep preoccupation or a hostile levity when I realized?
I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon.
What is unaffected scorn?
unaffected = not influenced, harmed, or interrupted in any way: scorn = a very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something that you think is stupid or has no value. We have double negation: not influenced. feeling of no respect.
What does unsought frequently mean?
: not searched for or sought out unsought compliments.