Personal Review

        F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, was an intriguing story of two lovers. The characters portrayed in this novel were described with detailed descriptions that made them relatable and likable. While the characters were conveyed with remarkable detail, I felt that the delivery of the story was, at times, hard to follow. By jumping between the past and the present in an unorganized way, it made one have to slow the pace of the reading and at times re-read a section. However, even though I did not enjoy the way it was delivered, I still found it to be an interesting organizational method that the author utilized. What I found to be extremely aggravating was the way the novel ended. For Daisy and Tom to sneak away in the middle of the night showed a shallowness that I expected to find in Tom, but that I believed was less present in Daisy. I had enjoyed Daisy’s character throughout the novel, however, her inability to express her emotions with confidence in the hotel room and running away from her problems in the end left me completely dissatisfied. Also, I was disappointed that Mr. Gatsby’s job and income were not revealed at the end. However, the novel was enjoyable overall; it was not my favorite, but it was definitely not the worst.

Text Connections

In order to connect with his readers, F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes text connections in his novel, The Great Gatsby. The first connection is text-to-world, which allows the reader to relate to the story through past and present worldwide events. During a latter part of the novel, a man named Wilson presumes that Gatsby killed his wife by running her over with his car. However, it was actually Daisy who had been driving Gatsby’s car and killed Wilson’s wife. When Nick arrives at Mr. Gatsby’s house, the next day, he finds Gatsby dead in his pool and “it was after [they] started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (162). The text-to-world connection uses the widely known tragedies with Hitler and World War II to the great tragedy that happened in the novel. This connection enables the reader to picture the horrible seen that Fitzgerald depicts. A second connection is text-to-text. By relating The Great Gatsby to A Tale of Two Cities, Fitzgerald allows his readers to compare the two novels and have a greater understanding of the plots. In A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is in love with Lucie Manette while in The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan; both of these men are in love with a woman who loves them with only part of her heart for she is already married to another. Similarly, both men die for the girl that they love; Sydney Carton dies to save Charles Darnay and Gatsby dies because he took the blame for the fatal car accident. Through text-to-world and text-to-text connections, the reader is able to grasp a better understanding of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby.

Syntax

·         “They were gone, without a word, snapped out, made accidental, isolated, like ghosts, even from our pity” (135).

This example of unique syntax demonstrates the havoc of emotions that so recently had been let out, but was now internalized again. The short choppy phrases illustrate the passions of Daisy and Gatsby, for they have just admitted their love publicly, but nothing truly changed as a result. Once they realized the mistake of expressing their emotions aloud, their feelings for each other were quickly suppressed. The rapid change in their emotions and relationship is seen through the above syntax. This syntax creates a desperate tone, for it shows that as quickly as they let their feelings known they were forced to hide them once more.

·         “He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room” (89).

Through this example of syntax, the joy of Jay Gatsby is made known. After five years, Gatsby is able to become acquainted with his true love once more. Before their reunion, Gatsby is worried that Daisy might not love him anymore since she has already been wed to another. However, Gatsby learns that his love is returned and is ecstatic with joy. His pure joy is emphasized by a semicolon in the beginning of the sentence. This semicolon separates the statement of his jubilance to bring it to the reader’s main focus.

Diction

            In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the prominent female role is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is characterized as a woman of beauty, innocence, and charm. The main attribute of Daisy is not her beauty or charm, but her voice. Her voice is enticing and causes what she is speaking of to be more intriguing than it truly is.  Jay Gatsby, Daisy’s lover, describes her voice to be “full of money” (120). The diction of money is not only its physical characteristics, but the lifestyle behind it. To describe Daisy’s voice as “full of money” demonstrates the jingling song it produces, like a handful of coins. This diction of money creates a confident tone for the jingling sound of coins makes one feel as if they can handle the world, for they have change in their pocket to buy the necessities of life. In addition, the diction of money is also seen as Daisy’s lifestyle. When Daisy converses, her speech does not sound poorly educated, but like one who has had proper schooling. Furthermore, she does not discuss land or farming, but parties and sporting events. The life of the rich is portrayed in Daisy’s voice and portrays a confident tone. This lifestyle does not provide a farm or an annual income to worry about, but allows one to walk with confidence and assurance of the days ahead.

            F. Scott Fitzgerald presents a puzzling question, in The Great Gatsby, as to what Jay Gatsby’s job is. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, attempts to inquire the source of Gatsby’s massive income through a friend, who had once worked with Gatsby. However, this friend refused to say anything for he had previously been in jail for involvement with Gatsby’s projects. When Tom confronts Gatsby on this issue, Gatsby responds by explaining that the friend simply needed money and ended his explanation with “old sport.”  The diction of “old sport” takes Gatsby’s reason from being precarious to satisfactory. Through the diction of “old sport” an amiable tone is presented, for “old sport” is an affectionate name typically used for close friends and acquaintances. However, Gatsby does not only use it to address his friends, but he utilizes “old sport” to craft a level of intimacy in a conversation that is far from affable.

Rhetorical Strategies

·    Simile: “For a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face… the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk” (14).

·     Personification: “It was one of those rare smiles… it understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that… you hoped to convey” (48).

·    Paradox: “I came into her room… and found her lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress—and as drunk as a monkey” (76).

·    Simile: “He looked… as if he had ‘killed a man’” (134).

·    Euphemism: “It grew upon me that I was responsible, because no one else was interested—interested, I mean, with that intense personal interest to which every one has some vague right at the end” (164). 

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, rhetorical strategies are applied to add an intimate style to Fitzgerald’s work. Narrated through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the novel tells the tale of Jay Gatsby, a man who rose out of poverty to be with Daisy Buchanan, the girl he loved. When Nick first sees Daisy, there is “a moment [when] the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face… [until] the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk” (14). This simile, that compares fading sunshine to young children, creates a naïve, innocent tone that surrounds Daisy’s character in the book. By having sunshine and children assist in the description of Daisy, the reader feels drawn to her lovable naïve character. Being a neighbor of Mr. Gatsby, Nick is quick to become acquainted with him. On his first encounter, Carraway observes that Gatsby has “one of those rare smiles… [that] understood [one] just as far as [one] wanted to be understood, believed in [one] as [one] would like to believe in [oneself], and assured [one] that it had precisely the impression… [one] hoped to convey” (48). The personification of Gatsby’s smile illuminates Gatsby as a genial and amiable character in Fitzgerald’s novel. These characteristics, seen in Gatsby’s smile, contribute to the intimate style of F. Scott’s writing for the reader becomes enthralled with the pleasing attributes of the character. As the story of Gatsby and Daisy’s romance is revealed, Nick learns that while Gatsby was away at war, Daisy looses faith in him and plans to marry another. However, right before her wedding, Daisy is “found… lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress—and as drunk as a monkey” (76).  The paradox of Daisy’s character reveals the internal turmoil that her love for Gatsby has caused. Daisy wishes to continue her love for Gatsby, but she concludes that she needs a man who can support her in life. Through the use of a paradox, Fitzgerald adds depth to Daisy’s character that the reader can personally associate with. When Gatsby learns that Daisy has married another because of his poverty, he sets out to earn a living and prove to Daisy that he can provide her support. Gatsby avoids directly stating what his source of income is, but his smiling face will occasionally turn to one that looks “as if he had ‘killed a man’” (134). This simile produces a mysterious tone that surrounds Gatsby. His mannerisms seem amiable and friendly until that ‘look’ passes his face. These contradicting characteristics propose intensity in Gatsby’s character that was not there before, resulting in Fitzgerald’s individual style of his characters. The novel concludes with Gatsby’s death and Nick finds himself responsible “with that intense personal interest to which every one has some vague right at the end” (164). The euphemism used to express Jay Gatsby’s death, shows Fitzgerald’s style. Instead of stating that his main character had died, F. Scott uses “at the end” to depict Gatsby’s death. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s style, in The Great Gatsby, forms an intimate relationship between the reader and the characters.