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.
I agree with you in that Fitzgerald's writing style was very intriguing and intricate in the way he portrayed scenes, characters, and best of all, his use of ornate diction. Throughout the novel I also felt as if I was there in Fitzgerald's plot with the characters looking upon them for what would happen next. I frequently found myself unable to put down this timeless classic because of my fascination in the way he tied all of the characters together, sort of like six degrees of separation. Fitzgerald's unique storyline kept me interested and absorbed in what was going to happen after Gatsby "killed Myrtle" to protect Daisy from any trouble. I too was upset at the conclusion of the novel, however, I think that the reason Fitzgerald chose for no one but Nick and Gatsby's father to attend Gatsby's funeral was to highlight the illusion of the American Dream. In a time when many people's dreams were to be rich, and of stature, Gatsby's dream could not be fulfilled without his one true love Daisy. Upon Gatsby's death, Fitzgerald further emphasizes that the true American dream never existed because it never included both wealth and true love.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in the sense that the author used advanced diction to explain certain events and to really paint a picture in the readers mind. I also agree with you on how sad I felt for Gatsby when no one attended his funeral. It really shows how greedy some people can be and how people take others for granted.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with your view on leaving the reader unsatisfied. I think Fitzgerald didn't describe Nick's life after moving to help the reader take a step back and look at each person's attributes and decide for themselves whether they feel that Nick was just like all the other wealthy and selfish characters in this book, or if he turned out to be different.