Personal Review

Personal Review

            After reading The Great Gatsby, I like the book. I would not say it is my favorite book, but I enjoyed the book. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was how F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to employ language. I thought his style was masterful done, and his rhetorical strategies added a new dimension to his style. Fitzgerald was very good in evoking not just imagery, but very vivid imagery. I believe Fitzgerald’s manipulation of language in the novel is one of the best I have seen before.

            The plot of the novel was well constructed, but it was not enticing enough for me. At times, the novel could be in so many different areas that it could be hard to follow. There was some conflict in the novel, but I believe more between Daisy and Tom and Gatsby would make the novel more alluring. I did not understand why Fitzgerald was so vague in describing Gatsby’s illegal business ventures. I wish Fitzgerald could have elucidated that.

            What I did enjoy about the novel were the characters. I enjoyed reading the maturation of Gatsby from a small town boy in North Dakota, to a man reaping the rewards of living the lavish lifestyle in New York City. It was very satisfactory to see Tom as the antagonist of the novel, I disliked because he was a jerk the entire novel. But, his attitude added conflict making me want to read more. For some reason, I found Jordan interesting, even though she was very snooty. When it comes to Daisy, I have mixed emotions about her. I liked when she confronted Tom about their relationship and when she rebuilt her relationship with Gatsby. Yet she could be very week, and I loathed it when she ran away with Tom instead of going to Gatsby’s funeral. After reading the last chapter, I felt bad for Gatsby and it made me enjoy his character more. Overall, The Great Gatsby was an enjoyable read.                

Text Connections

Text Connections

            One text connection I noticed in The Great Gatsby was when it talked about how Gatsby had to be a janitor in college to help pay for his tuition (99). This was much similar to that of my father’s situation during college. My father attended the University of Iowa, and one of his jobs was to clean up the bathrooms after a home football. He told me these stories of how filthy these bathrooms could be at times. Much like in Gatsby’s case, my father despised his job. Unlike my father, Gatsby dropped out of school and one day came upon Dan Cody where he loved the wealthy lifestyle. Being in Gatsby’s shoes, I could see how easy of a decision it was to abandon that lifestyle of labor to a life of great wealth. The significance of this moment is it started Gatsby to embrace and pursue that wealthy lifestyle.

            Another text connection I found in the novel was when Nick asked Klipspringer to attend Gatsby’s funeral, but all he cared about was his tennis shoes (169). Although this was one person, this was one of the many who neglected Jay Gatsby. Gatsby was gregarious enough to have these wonder parties for a lot of people, but once he died he was anonymous. Wolfshiem, one of Gatsby’s closest friends and business partners, made excuses not to go to his funeral. The love of Gatsby’s life, Daisy, did not make an effort to attend the funeral. This text connection shows the disregard for the life of Jay Gatsby.

Syntax

Syntax

            In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses variations of syntax to portray his purpose or style, each differing by context. At Nick’s house, Daisy and Gatsby are in the presence of each other for the first time in some time. Being very nervous, Gatsby talks to Nick with short brief sentences: “I’ll be back”… “Oh God”… “This is a terrible mistake” (87). These telegraphic sentences that Fitzgerald employs mimic the frantic personality of Gatsby at this juncture. Daisy has always been the love of Gatsby’s life since they first met. With their love being interrupted by World War I, Gatsby is very anxious about seeing Daisy for the first time which is represented by Fitzgerald’s syntax. When describing one of Gatsby’s weekly parties, Fitzgerald’s description is very vivid in that “there were the same people…the same profusion of champagne, the same many-colored, many-keyed commotion” (104). By use of an anaphora, he enhances his already descriptive style to show a regular party of Gatsby. When it comes to describing something, Fitzgerald’s style is very vivid and his diction brings vitality to it. In terms of Gatsby, one of his best moments was when Daisy had the audacity to say, “I never loved [Tom]” in the presence of her husband (132). Ever since Gatsby and Daisy met, his goal was to win her heart, even though he was not of a wealthy stature. Daisy marries Tom because of his wealthy stature, yet she never did really love him. Gatsby undertakes illegal business ventures to acquire wealth in order to fall back in love back with Daisy. All of these transactions conclude at her short telegraphic sentence. The statement may be short in length, but it carries repercussions that end of up in the deaths of two people. Fitzgerald uses varieties of syntax to either enhance is descriptive style or mention an important moment in the novel.

Diction

Diction

            F. Scott Fitzgerald, in The Great Gatsby, uses descriptive diction to depict the genesis of Gatsby’s future as a wealthy man. Gatsby chooses to live a lavish life, opposite to his rough upbringing in North Dakota; yet Gatsby’s heart“[is] in a constant, turbulent riot” (Fitzgerald 99). One can imagine how difficult it is to go against something that is accustomed to them. The connotations of these words truly portray how difficult of a decision this is for Gatsby. “Riot”, the most provocative, represents a revolution taking place within Gatsby. After making the decision, Fitzgerald says Gatsby dreams about “a universe of ineffable gaudiness” every night (99). It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of what Gatsby is dreaming about--infinite possibilities. This does show that Gatsby has such a deep infatuation with this lifestyle, a lifestyle consisting of superficial people who take advantage of Gatsby by the end of the novel. Nights and nights of dreaming have passed and Gatsby finally comes up with a dream “with an oblivious embrace” (99). Fitzgerald’s diction represents his contempt in Gatsby’s decision to live a life of lavishness. The author portrays Gatsby as a naïve young boy who makes a brash decision without knowing the outcome; it is just a dream that shows the “unreality of reality” (99). That is the core meaning of Gatsby’s dream: a dream that is unattainable in reality, yet Gatsby persuades himself that it is achievable. Fitzgerald states that this fascination is “founded securely on a fairy’s wing” (99). By his childish diction, the reader can sense that Gatsby is very immature by hoping that his reverie will come true on the basis of an inanimate object. Throughout the passage, Fitzgerald’s tone is to describe the ineptness of the beginning of Gatsby’s future. He uses very descriptive diction to show the gesticulation of Gatsby’s dream as living a life of wealth and lavishness.

Rhetorical Strategies

Rhetorical Strategies

Polysyndeton: “The orchestra has arrived… of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums” (40).

Oxymoron: “Mr. Wolfshiem…began to eat with ferocious delicacy” (71).

Personification: “Only wind in the trees, which blew the wires and made the lights go off and on again as if the house had winked into the darkness” (81).

Symbolism: “[Gatsby] was a son of God…and he must be about His Father’s business” (98).

Chiasmus: “When curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night” (113).

Foreshadowing: “We drove on toward death through the cooling twilight” (136).

Simile: “[Gatsby] turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house, as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil” (145).

Conceit: “A bad driver is only safe until she met another bad driver” (177).

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to enhance is already vivid style and to also evoke imagery. Throughout the entire novel, Fitzgerald is very articulate in the way he uses language; his rhetorical strategies add a new dimension to his eloquence. The polysyndeton the author employs, “The orchestra has arrived…of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums” (Fitzgerald 71), shows the gaudiness of one of Gatsby’s parties. Whenever describing Gatsby’s parties, Fitzgerald’s style is very descriptive in stating even the smallest details. Fitzgerald’s depiction of Gatsby’s complex orchestra makes the reader feel like they are at that party, which is portrayed from his style. “Only wind in the trees, which blew the wires and made the light go off and on again as if the house had winked into the darkness” (81), is a personification used by Fitzgerald to paint a clear picture in the reader’s mind. The way Fitzgerald is able to manipulate language to form such a vivid picture in the reader’s mind is a testament to his descriptive style. Out of all of his stylistic choices, his conceit, “A bad driver is only safe until she met another bad driver” (77), is the wittiest. Fitzgerald’s style is intended to make the reader think; this conceit is the quintessential example of making the reader think. By a variety of rhetorical strategies, Fitzgerald demonstrates his colorful style and evocation of imagery.