Personal Review

This book gave me mixed feelings as to whether or not I enjoyed reading it. The character development kept me engaged into the book, and the idea of what life was like for the wealthy people in this time period is an interesting topic. It was also intriguing watching how Nick, and Gatsby change dramatically throughout the novel. Nick started as a very moral, and virtuous person, but through the corruption of the East Egg community, and the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy during that time period becomes very similar as the rest. Also on the contrary of how Gatsby starts off as being known for throwing extravagant parties, ends up only wanting to settle down, chasing love. The downside was that at times the storyline was hard to follow, with all of the intertwined relationships, friendships, and dramas in the book, and the plot development had issues in certain parts. Many times the plot seemed like it took far too long to develop, or get to the main point, there was a lot of extra “fluff” added that made the story less interesting to me. Overall I would recommend anybody who has an interest in “The Roaring Twenties” should read this book, it provides fascinating insight on what it was like to live during that time period.

Text Connections

In The Great Gatsby there are many connections between the story narrated through the voice of Nick Carraway, and modern society. The most prominent of the text connections is a text-to-world connection that plays throughout the novel, the way the rich and the poor are portrayed, are much like how the rich and poor are thought of in today’s society. It resembles how the rich people are never satisfied with what they have, and they are always looking for more. It further resembles this by also depicting how the rich are often very unstable, with people taking advantage of their wealth. This is shown many times during the course of the novel, and is incredibly relevant with how rich people are today. On the other side, it also relates with how in this book the poor people lived in “Ash Towns,” and even though they don’t have much, they are, in most cases, the most kind hearted and happy social class, which is also the case today, however is less prevalent than how the rich are linked from this book. Overall this major text connection gives a better understanding of what the time period was like, because it relates to current times so well.

Syntax

“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59).

This is significant of nick saying this in many ways; the reader can see this is the first point at which nick begins to realize that he is unhappy, and unsatisfied living in the east egg community. He says, “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known,” (59) suggesting that the community he lives in, all of his friends, and everybody he works with is dishonest. This is not only true in his life, but it plays into one of the big motifs of the novel, dishonesty, and distrust. It is the first sign of nick changing also, it is uncertain, but very likely he also says this because he is questioning himself. He is beginning to question if he still is an honest person, or if the lifestyle of East Egg is catching up with him, and he is getting sucked into the culture of his community.

Diction

In the modernist novel, The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald cunningly utilizes diction through the characters of Nick, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy. There is a common theme that is consistent throughout the novel, that money does not bring happiness, and this is evident that Fitzgerald heavily believes this through the actions of the characters in this book. Fitzgerald’s ideas of how unhappy money can make people is thoroughly portrayed when daisy is talking about the arrival of her future baby when she explains, “I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a little girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). This shows how despite her high social class, and vast wealth that she is incredibly unhappy that she believes her little girl’s only chance at happiness is to be a fool, oblivious to her surroundings, and the bad things that come along with money. It also depicts Daisy as a fool, why would someone wish that for their unborn daughter? This quote proves how incredibly ignorant daisy really is through the one word, “fool.” Another excellent example of Fitzgerald’s use of diction is when Nick Carraway is expressing his feelings towards the East Egg neighborhood, he depicts it as, “A hundred houses, at once conventional and grotesque, crouching under a sullen, overhanging sky and lusterless moon” (Fitzgerald 176). When Nick says things such as “lusterless,” and “grotesque,” it shows directly his attitude toward the east side. It went against his values, people booming with money, living lavishly, and partying, while nick desires, at first, to be humble and have some decency, while this is not the case of many of those around him in the East Egg neighborhood.

Rhetorical Strategies

·         Homily: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

·         Imagery: “The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner” (Fitzgerald 25).

·         Personification: “Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (Fitzgerald 7).

In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald employs many rhetorical strategies. The most prominent in the novel, is imagery, and figurative language. Throughout the entire novel, one could almost pretend to be in the setting, and become a part of the story due to the extensive details, descriptions, and figurative language. At all times, Fitzgerald is continuously supplying more, and more details, which add to the scene, painting a vivid picture in the readers mind. Secondly is the figurative language, the reader can start to develop an understanding of the personalities of the characters in this novel. The employment of this style of figurative language allows the reader to be an omnipotent third person, and one can start to make inferences at what the characters are thinking about each situation, because of how the figurative language describes and presents all of the characters. Take the homily, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1). In this certain situation, the reader can identify the tone of Nick’s virtue. He is recalling the words of his father, and the reader may identify the tone of slight disgust in Nick’s voice, reminding himself that he has had a very privileged life, and he needs to remain humble. This is an epitome of Nick’s character, and how the reader can delve into the personalities of the rest of the characters in the novel.