In my perspective, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that seemed empty at first, but progressively became more intricate as relationships were revealed and new characters were introduced. The entire storyline seemed to be one turning point after another, and there was little time to think about what just happened since another instrumental event occurred moments after the previous one. I believe that the speed that the novel picked up within the first few chapters added to a sense of urgency in the novel; and not until the very last page is it clear what the author’s intention was to writing such a complex and disturbing plot. The author was daring enough to explore eminent themes such as love and “the American Dream;” and by showing the negative aspects of the two, he was able to portray the less thought of notions regarding the motifs. I personally feel that a majority of the book contrived a dreary mood, and the purpose still remains unclear to me. I could not associate my own life with any of the characters, and thus I tended to lose interest quickly due to the foreign nature of both the occurrences and the personas. I felt little impact from the story, and I feel that the themes that the author tried to portray did not transcend as heavily to the readers as they might have been intended to. However, the descriptions of the city and characters were very detailed, and I thought Fitzgerald did a commendable job of painting a mental picture for the audience through descriptive words and imagery. Overall, The Great Gatsby is a novel that I see as having an intriguing storyline with characters that stay cryptic until the very end, when the true personalities are finally revealed and the story comes to a close.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Blog 4: Text Connections
In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald continuously questions the notion of the “American Dream,” as well as the ideologies that founded our country, through the experiences and actions of Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Nick. Distraught over the aristocratic society and established class structure that prevailed England in the 18th century, many left to make the voyage to the New World; a place where opportunities were abundant and the concept of bettering yourself through hard work in order to achieve your dreams was encouraged. In the novel, Gatsby started off as a boy with no resources who was intrigued by the idea of being successful and wealthy in order to stabilize himself in society. Although his cravings for materialism and luxury were ultimately satisfied, Gatsby was never able to fulfill his desire for marrying Daisy, the love of his life. By instilling a dramatic end to Gatsby’s interpretation of the “American Dream,” the author shows how even though it was a predominant notion of the time, unfortunately, it never turned into reality for most Americans. Throughout history, the West has been a land traditionally associated with promise and fortuity. Although it is depicted as dreary and desolate in the book, society there is permeated with values and morals, as seen through Nick, the one honest and caring character in the novel. On the other hand, the industrial East, although alluring and glamorous on the surface, was constituted on the greed and the need for individuals to attain high living standards. Tom and Daisy are emblems of this very ideal, and are constantly contrasted with Nick and the values he represents. By relating the characters of the novel back to the beliefs and principles that America was founded on and developed over time, F. Scott Fitzgerald doubts if it is possible for the “American Dream” to ever be attained, and delineates between the mindsets present in different regions of our country.
Blog 3: The Influence of Syntax on Purpose
· “I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the Park through the soft twilight, but each time I tried to go, I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back, as if with ropes, into my chair. Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” (35).
The author’s use of complex sentences mirrors the confusion Nick feels in the scenario and aids in showing the readers one of the varieties of city life. He is distraught over how Tom can lead a double life and how everyone behaves in such a rude and selfish way. Nick also observes that to people walking on the street, the lights from their windows seem mysterious, but mentally, he is also one of them, even though he is physically in the room, since he is lost in a maze of words and foreign behaviors. By contradicting himself and saying he is “within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled,” the notion that the people he is with inside the hotel suite are symbols of duality and disorder is denoted by the author.
· “Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (93).
Fitzgerald’s use of anaphora and short sentences in the excerpt serve the purpose of not only characterizing Daisy, but also allowing the readers to better understand the emotions that Gatsby has towards her. By using diction such as “star,” and “enchanted,” Daisy is portrayed as a woman who Gatsby sees as dream-like; someone who is alluring and the embodiment of infatuation and innocence. Using the repetition of “it had,” the author establishes that before Gatsby had the courage to talk to Daisy, she was a fantasy of his that seemed out of reach and impossible to attain. In addition, the simplicity of the sentences reflect the modest and pure love Gatsby has for Daisy, and by using lucid language, the author is able to get his point across clearly and effortlessly. This subtle use of syntax directly correlates to Daisy’s character and Gatsby’s passion, and Fitzgerald effectively depicts the simplicity and enchantment that envelops their relationship.
Blog 2: How Diction Creates Tone
When Nick is describing the moment he saw the pool that Gatsby died in mere moments before, the diction used creates a morbid tone that portrays to the readers that “the holocaust was complete” (162). It is depicted that “there was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water as the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other” (162). The use of the words “faint” and “barely perceptible” indicate how Gatsby’s death could not have been predicted by anyone, and was caused by a random occurrence of events catalyzed by misinformation. This creates a morbid tone in that it shows how one’s life can end at any moment due to a misunderstanding on someone else’s part; and how it is unfortunate that Gatsby, who dreamt of starting a new life, as seen through the use of the word “fresh,” was unable to, and everything he had been working for went down “the drain.” A gloomy tone is further represented when Nick states that “a small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with its accidental burden” (162). The “small gust of wind” symbolizes the innocent vision Gatsby had of marrying Daisy, and how this emotion, which “scarcely corrugated” him physically, eventually led to his demise due to the “accidental” events that came about from his quest to regaining his true love. The author portrays how fortuitous events can evoke pain and suffering so great that inexorably, the only way one can escape it is through death, a theme which in turn formulates a “disturb[ed]” and morbid tone. He also goes on to detail how there were “little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves” (162). The “ripples” represent the minor events in our lives that may unknowingly become “waves” that cast “shadows” on our future. The use of diction with such negative connotation establishes a dreary tone by revealing how every action has a consequence that may drastically alter the course of our lives. By implementing somber diction in Nick’s description of the scene of Gatsby’s death, F. Scott Fitzgerald not only formulates a morbid tone, but is concurrently able to integrate one of the novel’s major thematic concepts.
Blog 1: Effect of Rhetorical Strategies on Style
· Allusion:
o “I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew” (4).
o “The last swimmers have come in from the beach now, and are dressing up-stairs; the cars from New York are parked five feet deep in the drive, and already the halls and the salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors, and hair shorn in strange ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile” (40).
o “This fella’s a regular Belasco” (45).
o “It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night – and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over” (113).
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s consistent use of mythological and historical allusions is used in order to characterize Jay Gatsby; and by connecting him with figures of affluence, the author is able to represent the significance of his persona in the novel. His style of correlation references to Gatsby’s’ personality is prevalent and is effective in depicting the prestige Gatsby holds in society, as well as the splendor he lives in. Midas, a greedy king in a Greek legend, was given the power to turn anything he touched into gold; which is portrayed in the novel through Gatsby’s wealth. Castile is a region in Spain that was home to a former medieval kingdom; in turn, this reference displays the power and authority that Gatsby has on West Egg. When Gatsby is described as “Belasco,” a theatrical producer of the late 19c, Fitzgerald is subtly implying that Gatsby’s mansion was a center of attraction, and that he provided lavish parties and celebrations for others, simply because he wanted to entertain in hopes of finding Daisy. Finally, the author uses his style of constantly employing allusions to describe Gatsby as “Trimalchio,” a character in a Roman novel who attained power and wealth through perseverance and hard work; a figure whose story directly correlates with Gatsby’s. By utilizing various allusions from history and literature, the author is able to bring subtle references to the novel, which become prominent features of his writing style.
· Parallelism: “There were the same people, or at least the same sort of people, the same profusion of champagne, the same many-colored, many-keyed combination” (104).
· Hyperbole/Personification: “On Sunday morning while the church bells rang in the villages alongshore, the world and its mistress returned to Gatsby’s house and twinkled hilariously on his lawn” (61).
Fitzgerald’s use of hyperbole enables him to use over-exaggerated descriptions in order to convey the decadence and merriment that could be found at Gatsby’s parties. By saying that “the world…returned to Gatsby’s house,” he is implying that it was always a lavish event, and that anyone who had a high status in society would be present there. However, he contradicts the excitement of Gatsby’s celebrations by utilizing parallelism, which adds a monotonous tone to his writing. His use of rhetorical strategies to eventually contradict precious statements becomes a notable aspect of his writing style, and effectively gets his message across to the readers.
· Anaphora:
o “Filled with faces dead and gone. Filled with friends now gone forever” (70).
o “I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride” (177).
Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes anaphora to depict the disparities present before and after turning points in the plot. From the beginning, he establishes Nick as an honest character who always seems to know the difference between right and wrong, and is firm in his beliefs. However, after the car accident, when he talks to Jordan, she speaks through the author’s integration of parallelism, showing that what she “thought” is difference than reality, which is that all along, Nick was willing to compromise his morals and values. Furthermore, in a different passage, the author writes with this literary device in order to illustrate how even though certain places in the city are empty, they are “filled” with remnants of the past. Overall, Fitzgerald’s use of anaphora to depict passage of time is a stylistic component of his writing that aids in delineating the plot.
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