Personal Review

The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is intriguing and complicated and includes negative and positive events throughout the storyline. Like most books, there was good and bad about the novel. Fitzgerald was very successful in using flowery and descriptive diction and varied his sentence structures well. Imagery was also an amazing aspect that kept me involved in the plot. While I was reading, I felt as if I was seeing the images being described with my own eyes. The rhetor, somehow, connected all of the characters together in a creative manner. For example, Nick was a distant cousin of Daisy’s and he also knew Tom in college. Tom and Daisy were married but Tom was in love with Myrtle, Wilson’s wife, and Gatsby has always been in love with Daisy. Gatsby becomes Nick’s neighbor when Nick comes to West Egg in New York. Fitzgerald was very effective in presenting the novel clearly to the reader, but a negative element of this novel was the ending. I thought it was very depressing and left the reader wondering what happened to Nick when he returned to the Midwest and where Tom and Daisy went. Daisy turns out to be the one who kills Myrtle but Gatsby, out of love for Daisy, claims it was himself and takes the bullet for his true love. I enjoyed that part of the ending but it left me heartbroken at the fact that no one came to Gatsby’s funeral, even though many attended his lavish parties. Tom and Daisy didn’t even attend: they moved away from East Egg and left no address for anyone to contact. Nick completely looses respect for the couple and moves after the funeral. Moving back was a good decision for Nick, in my eyes. The author does a good job of showing Nick’s gradual progression of maturity over time. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and felt that it was strongly written and consisted of several aspects that made the story unique and interesting. 

Text Connections

In The Great Gatsby, The reader can make several connections from this text to other texts, the world, or to oneself. One of the major connections to the world was the hunger for the American dream. This idea of the American dream dates back to the United States Declaration of Independence. All citizens are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights… Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness". The idea that anyone can achieve their dreams and goals and that ones power is in ones own hands. Nick Callaway, the main character and narrator of the novel, is an example of the craving for the American dream. He moves away from home to New York to learn the bond business and achieve success on his own. Wanting to make a name for himself, he chose a prosperous city, giving him hope to succeed. His proof of the American dream is Mr. Gatsby but, even though he is thriving in his career and is quite wealthy, he is not happy. Without Daisy, he will not be complete. He loves her dearly but cannot be with her because of her marriage to Tom. Although hard work can make Gatsby rich, he is not content without the love of his life. Nick craves the dream, like several people that travel to the U.S. to accomplish their goals. The United States is famous for the notion of the American dream, which is also connected to this novel.

Syntax

Syntax is a highly valued aspect of literature, especially in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses several sentences with different punctuation, length, and language throughout the novel. In chapter five, Fitzgerald creates an insightful tone through his use of varied syntax. At the beginning of the chapter, Nick was coming home at two in the morning when he saw Gatsby’s house was all lit up. They began a conversation and Nick mentioned that he was inviting Daisy over for tea and that Mr. Gatsby was invited also, but, after stating the fact that he would pay for Nick’s grass to be cut, he fumbled with his words and asked, “Why, I thought-why, look here, old sport, you don’t make very much money do you?’ ‘Not very much” This reassured him and he continued more confidently” (82). This brief sentence lets the reader better perceive the emotion in this conversation without adding too much detail. Even though it is short, Fitzgerald’s sentence is still informative and portrays this tone in a fitting manner. Later in the passage, Nick begins to explain to Gatsby that he is very busy and doesn’t have extra time to help Gatsby. Nick describes that Gatsby “waited a moment longer, hoping I’d begin a conversation, but I was too absorbed to be responsive, so he went unwillingly home” (83). Fitzgerald includes this periodic sentence, with the main point at the end, to add more detail and emotion. He also varied his sentence structure to keep the reader intrigued in the descriptions he was presenting. This sentence contributes to the insightful tone in this specific passage of the story. Syntax is used frequently used throughout The Great Gatsby and Fitzgerald is very effective in conveying the different tones using several different aspects of language. 

Diction

In The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway narrates his move to New York City and his new life on West Egg. In the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald uses descriptive diction to create an effective formal tone. In chapter one, Nick describes the Egg Islands: “To the wingless a more arresting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size” (5). The narrator is pointing out the fact that the islands have no physical resemblance and they are only similar in shape and size. Fitzgerald uses diction like “arresting phenomenon” instead of using bland words to sound mature in his writing and to make it more interesting, which effectively creates a formal tone.  Occasionally in the valley of ashes, where the motor road and railroad meet somewhere between West Egg and New York, “a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (23). The author efficiently uses alliteration along with the phrase “impenetrable cloud” to portray the imagery of the scene and grasp the readers attention. Instead of adding in average, every-day words, he articulates more complex diction into his sentences to create a proper and academic tone. Nick and Tom go with Myrtle to the city and at their apartment they meet her sister, Catherine who was a “slender, worldly girl of about thirty, with a solid sticky bob of red hair, and a complexion powdered milky white” (30). Diction like “complexion powdered milky white” connotes a soft and delicate image of Catherine’s face and draws the reader in. Again, Fitzgerald’s use of complex and descriptive diction creates a mature, formal tone, which effectively grasps the reader’s attention. Throughout the novel, the rhetor portrays the different tones with the use of flowery, descriptive diction.

Rhetorical Strategies

·      Antithesis: “I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” (35).

·      Asyndeton: “We went upstairs, through period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers, through dressing-rooms and poolrooms…” (91).

·      Simile: “The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water” (162).

           

            Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses strategies to portray imagery that is used in this novel. Antithesis, asyndeton, and simile are just some of the devices that Fitzgerald uses to affect his style of writing in this novel. In chapter two, Catherine talks to Nick at Tom’s apartment in New York City. She tells him that Wilson and Myrtle have been living above a garage for eleven years. Fitzgerald, in the next sentence, goes into detail about the second bottle of whiskey that everyone was drinking and later in the paragraph, the author uses an antithesis, which makes the reader think carefully about the meaning behind the sentence, therefore keeping them intrigued in the story. This rhetorical device helps to illuminate the specific way the author manages to keep the reader’s attention throughout the novel. It also is a perfect example of Fitzgerald’s style: he discusses something, goes in depth about another subject, but, somehow, ties it all together so it makes sense to the reader.  Another contribution to Fitzgerald’s style is his constant use of imagery. The asyndeton makes the reader feel as if they are walking through the house and visually experiencing everything the writer is depicting. Fitzgerald frequently uses devices to reveal imagery in this entire novel, which truly affects the manner that language is employed. Another way he portrays imagery is through the use of descriptive similes. Toward the end of the book, Fitzgerald uses a simile to give elaborate details of the setting: a recurring strategy used throughout the story. Although frequently used, this is very effective in his writing because of the image it creates in the reader’s mind. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses several different rhetorical strategies throughout this novel, which reveal his descriptive language and illustrate strong images to create his unique style or writing.