The Great Gatsby: Personal Review

Personal Response to the Great Gatsby

     The complexity of the mysteries behind F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “the Great Gatsby” was intriguing to me, and the plot line was filled with interesting twists that make this novel fun to read. Fitzgerald’s remarkable style, backed up by his use of rhetorical strategies and strong syntax, are displayed throughout the novel.  The utilization of complex sentences and strong symbolism reveals the underlying message of living in the past that Fitzgerald is trying to convey. The Great Gatsby features a plotline that is interesting from the beginning to the end and the fluctuation of the tone from happy to mournful to mysterious kept me intrigued with every new situation.  The complex language, especially utilized in the final page of the novel, is truly amazing in that it uses complicated metaphorical situations to convey one of the simplest truths to human life.  The characters in the novel are superbly crafted by Fitzgerald in that each character reflects a certain characteristic that is unique to them. By intertwining the characters throughout the novel, the author creates a dramatic finish to a beautifully crafted sequence of events that earns “the Great Gatsby” its spot among the best novels of all time. The combination of a dramatic plotline and the artistic style of Fitzgerald creates an unbeatable novel that conveys its message through one of the best crafted stories in history: the story of the Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby: Text Connections

Text Connections with the Great Gatsby

     The biggest text connection in “the Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the connection between one of the greatest symbols in the book and the world around us.  The author uses the green light on Daisy’s dock to symbolize the desires of Gatsby, and society in general has those desires that are lost in the past and are, at this point, unachievable.  At the end of the novel, Fitzgerald writes “He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180). In this final gesture, Fitzgerald explains how Gatsby chased after a dream that he had hoped to achieve from his past, and this can be related to all of humanity.  People have a tendency to reach into their past and try and bring back their happiest memories that they regret most, and Fitzgerald masterfully presents this idea through his character of Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby: Syntax

Syntax in the Great Gatsby

·         “But there wasn’t a sound” (81).

The terse sentence reveals a sense of mysteriousness and confusion as to what is happening when Nick is looking at Gatsby’s glowing house. By using a short sentence in the midst of long sentences, Fitzgerald makes the mystery appear to be sudden and important.

·         “The Dancies came, too, and S. B. Whitebait, who was well over sixty, and Maurice A. Flink, and the Hammerheads, and Beluga the tobacco importer, and Beluga’s girls” (62).

The repetition of “and” helps the author to convey the fact that a lot of people are with Gatsby at this time. The endlessness of the sentence creates a feeling that a lot of people are going to Gatsby’s party.

·         “After two years I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the next day, only as an endless drill of police and photographers and newspaper men in and out of Gatsby’s front door” (163).

The repetition in the beginning of chapter 9 reveals the endless monotony and significance of that day to Nick. After the death of Gatsby, Nick remembers every long second of those days, but this is revealed through the syntax of the sentence rather than the actual words.

 

 

The Great Gatsby: Diction

Diction in the Great Gatsby

In “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald uses diction to reveal his tone throughout the novel. In chapter 9, Fitzgerald writes “a hundred houses, at once conventional and grotesque, crouching under a sullen, overhanging sky and a lusterless moon” (176). The specific use of the words “sullen,” “overhanging,” and “lusterless” create a dark, uneasy feeling in the situation.  This ultimately reveals a solemn tone for Fitzgerald.  Also in chapter 9, the author writes, “About five o’clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery and stopped in a thick drizzle beside the gate” (174). The phrase “thick drizzle,” along with the rain, reveals a depressed, gloomy tone as they approach the cemetery. Fitzgerald incorporates the rain and the depressing diction together to create an overall sense of sadness after the death of Gatsby. In chapter 7, Nick Carraway describes “an unfamiliar butler with a villainous face squinted at me suspiciously from the door” (113). The words “unfamiliar” and “villainous” create an unwelcoming feeling at Gatsby’s doorstep, and reveal an awkward, confused tone. Also the words “squinted” and “suspiciously” suggest that the servant at the door is hiding something, or that something unusual is going on.  This, therefore, reveals an eerie tone through the situation that Nick is in. Finally, in chapter 5, Fitzgerald describes “Gatsby got himself into a shadow and, while Daisy and I talked, looked conscientiously from one to the other of us with tense, unhappy eye” (87). The word “shadow” immediately creates a tone of awkwardness and a feeling of discomfort between Gatsby and Daisy. Then, the words “tense” and “unhappy” reveal directly that Gatsby regrets the situation and is displeased with the way that things are going between him and Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby: Rhetorical Strategies

Rhetorical Strategies in the Great Gatsby

·         Metaphor: “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him” (2).

·         Oxymoron: “A succulent hash arrived, and Mr. Wolfsheim, forgetting the more sentimental atmosphere of the old Metropole, began to eat with ferocious delicacy” (71).

·         Polysyndeton: “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).

·         Simile: “The glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk” (14).

In the novel, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes rhetorical strategies to create a complex style in his writing. The use of the rhetorical strategies, the polysyndeton in particular, conveys a complicated yet revealing style that can be found throughout the novel. The long, complex sentences that Fitzgerald employs in his novel mirror the complexity of the story of Gatsby, and the style of writing used matches perfectly with the complications of the plot. The similes, metaphors, alliterations, oxymorons, and other rhetorical devices used also add to the complexity of the story by creating a complex style.