Final Review

       I found this book to be somewhat of a disappointment. Though quite an easy read, I felt that the plot was lacking and the story was not interesting enough based on the time period, as well as with the characters. Though I did enjoy the various characters in the novel, the potential to what the story could have been was not fully reached. The novel, to me, was too slow-paced, especially as it approached the climax when Tom and Gatsby meet face-to-face. Also, the book seemed predictable from the beginning, as it starts gloomy and fluctuates until the end. However, I did enjoy the very descriptive passages and imagery that was consistently utilized throughout the book. By combining the use of detail with simplistic skills, Fitzgerald is able to illustrate to the readers characters that can be related to and a clear storyline, though somewhat lacking in interest. Without the author's in-depth descriptions of emotions, scenery, and situations, I feel that this novel would have ultimately been less effective in conveying Fitzgerald's message. From this book, I picked up that the author is attempting to relay the idea of recognizing the differences between classes, yet not making assumptions. For example, many feel that money can bring total happiness. Yet, in the novel, this is not the case for Gatsby. However, there is obviously a difference in the lifestyles of the wealthy Gatsby and the lesser Nick. Overall, though I did not particularly enjoy this novel, I enjoyed the unique, descriptive style of Fitzgerald used to create vivid scenery and characters.

Syntax

"That was it. I'd never understood before. if was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it...High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl...." (120).

       This passage is a unique composition in that it is a mimicry of the human thought process. It contains various punctuation that create different pauses within the phrases. For example, the ellipses provide a longer pause than a period would, resembling a switching of thoughts from one to another. The use of the dash in the passage starts a parenthetical expression. However, Fitzgerald implements a unique twist and does not finish the thought, which is a parallel to how the human mind actually thinks. In addition, he also only includes two complete sentences, both of which are telographic. Thus, this is also mimicking the process of thought, as ideas are usually sudden and quick. The unique structure of the sentences and phrases is thus an arrangement by the author to convey to the reader the thoughts of Nick at the time in a more realistic, human way.


“'Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od!'
Presently Tom lifted his head with a jerk and, after staring around the garage with glazed eyes, addressed  a mumbled incoherent remark to the policeman.
'M-a-v—' the policeman was saying, '—o—'
'No, r—' corrected the man, 'M-a-v-r-o—'
'Listen to me! ' muttered Tom fiercely.
'r' said the policeman, 'o—'
'g—'
 'g—' He looked up as Tom’s broad hand fell sharply on his shoulder. 'What you want,
fella?'
 'What happened? — that’s what I want to know.'
'Auto hit her. Ins’antly killed'” (139).

     This dialogue between Tom and a policeman is unique due to the expression of emotion that is conveyed by Fitzgerald. By using excessive dashes in between words and letters, the author provides the pronunciation that he intends for the readers to imagine. In addition, the use of dashes at the end of one dialogue is used to show the abruptness in both men's speech, showing the rush and fast-paced speed of the conversation, as it would normally be after an accident. Thus, the periodic implementation of the dashes throughout the phrases shows the high levels of emotion in both men after the accident.

Diction

       F. Scott Fitzgerald, in chapter 9 of The Great Gatsby, expresses Nick's thoughts of the East after the death of Gatsby. In this passage, the author uses a combination dark words and descriptions to establish the melancholy tone that makes up most of the chapter. Words like, "sprawling" and "swollen" are one of the many choices implemented into this passage to depict Nick's depressing image of the East, referencing to a paining by El Greco. The author also writes, "a hundred houses...crouching under a sullen, overhanging sky and a lustreless moon" (176). Describing the night sky as "sullen" with a "lustreless" moon establishes a depressing and gloomy atmosphere. In addition, the author writes, "...four solemn men walk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman..." (176). Calling the men "solemn," who are also alongside an unconscious intoxicated woman, further establish the despondent depiction of the East. Fitzgerald also denotes through Nick, "no one knows the woman's name, and no one cares" (176). By using the phrase "no one," the author further establishes the dark tone by using the negative pronoun to imply the pessimistic thoughts in Nick's mind. It can also be noted that the author uses the words "sprawling," "swollen," "sullen," and "solemn" to describe the setting, all beginning with the letter "s," which adds alliteration to further constitute Fitzgerald's tone. Thus, the straightforward denotation of Nick's image of the East is composed of several dismal words and phrases, and is used to express the author's pensive and melancholy tone.

Text Connection

      In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the narrator and main character, Nick, expresses his fluctuating thoughts about Gatsby. Throughout the novel, his feelings fluctuate, as he both respects and despises Gatsby at different times. He was not fond of Gatsby's morals, seen when Nick says, "Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn" (2). However, at another instance, he respects Gatsby when he says, "'They are a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together'"(154). This mix of both awe and hatred for Gatsby by Nick is a parallel to the thoughts of historians regarding Napoleon Bonaparte I of France. As the military and political leader of France in  the early 19th century, Napoleon accomplished several feats worthy of praise, including the emancipation of Jews and the establishment of the Napoleonic code. He, in fact, made France "one of the most pervasive political and cultural forces in modern world history" (Palmer 425).  However, despite these accomplishments, many historians have stated that his actions also caused "turmoil and terrible destructive violence...almost everywhere" (Palmer 425). The means of his rise to power involved several wars and the killing of millions of Europeans. Thus, like Gatsby is to Nick, Napoleon is both greatly respected by historians for his several accomplishments, but is also looked down upon by the means of which he gained power in his "Napoleonic empire" (Palmer 387).

Works Cited:
Palmer, R. R., Joel G. Colton, and Lloyd S. Kramer. A History of the Modern World. 
       Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.

Rhetorical Strategies

• Simile: "...he smiled like a weatherman, like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light..." (89).
• "...they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap..." (137).
• "At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower..." (111).
• Metaphor: "The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain" (85).
• Repetition (Anaphora) : "...of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality..." (151).
• Colloquialism: "She ran out ina road. Son-of-a-bitch didn't even stopus car" (139).
• Personification: "As my taxi groaned away..." (81).
• Litotes: "...if i would attend his 'little party' that night" (41).
• Invective: "Listen to me!" (139).
• Asyndeton: "that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it..." (120).
• Imagery/Polysyndeton: "Our eyes lifted over the rose-beds and the hot lawn and the weedy refuse of the dog-days alongshore. Slowly the white wings of the boat moved against the blue cool limit of the sky" (118)

       F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes several rhetorical devices and consistently implements them into his writing. In doing so, he is able to establish his own complex and descriptive style unique to his literature. A major component of his writing is the use of sense-evoking descriptions to illustrate his, or the narrator's, thoughts. For example, he utilizes imagery by stating "Our eyes lifted over the rose-beds and the hot lawn and the weedy refuse of the dog-days shore" (118). By intertwining both alliteration and polysyndeton into this descriptive sentence, the view that Gatsby shows to the others is thoroughly depicted. Fitzgerald is able to create a mental image into the mind of the reader in a way that is both alluring and clear through the combination of these devices. In addition, Fitzgerald's writing is infiltrated with several examples of comparative devices, including various similes and metaphors.  For instance, he writes, "he smiled like a weatherman, like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light..." (89). By incorporating the use of two immediate similes into one sentence, the author is able to greatly reveal the joy that Gatsby feels when he is told that the rain has stopped. Fitzgerald not only is descriptive and detailed in his writing, but also shows the complexity and mastered use of this particular literary tool. The author also utilizes several other devices that demonstrate his descriptive style, such as repetition. By implementing this tool into his writing, Fitzgerald is able to convey a certain description or image by focusing on one or several points. One example is when he writes, "of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality..." (151). The use of this anaphora in this passage reveals the focus on several forces that Daisy desires to act upon her life to correctly shape it. By utilizing this and other examples of repetition that punctuate the author's work, Fitzgerald's descriptive and complex style is further revealed. Thus, by using several rhetorical strategies and literary tools throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald's detailed style is consistently established.