Topic #5: Personal Review

           The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s exalted novel, is a very rich, moving story. From it’s interesting characters to its rather original plot, this book kept me hooked until the end. However, it is not a wholly unique or amazing novel. Rarely is there a book that I read that does not require a physical struggle for me to put down. And its plot is not completely without exception. Many books have quirky storylines with the death of a main character signifying the climax. Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to name a few. The characters are linear, never truly evolving from their experiences. At most, only hidden attributes were unveiled.

            Yet, despite the criticism, I did enjoy the book. The scenes of Gatsby’s parties were amazing; they were ripe with imagery, analogy, and altogether amusing events. The characters, too, were humorous. In the scene where the narrator introduces Ms. Baker and Daisy and Tom Buchanan, at first I was perplexed; then I was intrigued; finally, I ended the issue by laughing over the outlandish posse. And yet, I must again point out a fault in the characters: the ease of which Tom and Ms. Baker discussed Tom’s affair. By nature, affairs are scandalous; the guilty parties try to avoid scrutiny and discovery. And yet, after not having seen the man for years, Tom takes Nick, our protagonist, to meet the mistress. Another impossibility: Tom and his lover have their own apartment. That they spend enough money and time for their own abode surely must be suspicious to their respective spouses.

            But, alas, a final decision must come. And it is a positive one. While I could point out many elements that would enhance this book far beyond its current ken, I admit that I enjoyed it. It made me laugh; it made me sigh; it made me groan; and, most importantly it held me in suspense. Congratulations, Mr. Fitzgerald, for you have earned my approval.

Topic #4: Text Connections

            In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a novel in which many similarities may be observed, concerning subjects both in the story and in life itself. In the first page of the novel, while on a tangent concerning his ability to observe other’s secrets, the narrator says that he is “inclined to reserve all judgments” (Page 1). As one continues the story, he or she will realize how this statement comes to play a major part of the story’s development. Eventually, the narrator both reaffirms and negates this statement: when he meets Gatsby, he is not turned away by his otherness; when he uncovers details on an accident, he is absolutely furious, not bothering to further investigate, just looking for a convenient place to direct his rage. During the scene in which the narrator attends his first party at Gatsby’s house, he noticed that “one of these [single women] in trembling opal seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage and moving her hands like Frisco dances out alone on the canvas platform” (Page 41). Fitzgerald relates connects his novel to the world by alluding to Joe Frisco, a performer of Fitzgerald’s era famous for his jazz dances. This text connection, while having little meaning to today’s readers, likely created a profound imagery for the dancer, allowing the reader to have an idea of what her dance was actually like. By relating his novel to the world, and back to itself, Fitzgerald creates a sense of dimensionality, as if his story is not actually a story, but a history of a true human being.

Topic #3: Syntax

• “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope” (Page 2).

                        Fitzgerald uses this telepathic sentence to create a feeling of seriousness. Halfway through a description of how he has always been privy to the secrets of others, he begins to worry that people will frown upon his ability to peruse hidden thoughts. The shortness of the sentence also enhances the impact his sentence makes, as if he feels that it is important that others know that he has at least learned something of meaning, and not just squandered his gift.

• “On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains” (Page 39).

                        In this instance, Fitzgerald uses these commas to separate each distinct, yet related thought to give it additional meaning to the whole of the sentence. By separating the thoughts of “his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus” and “bearing parties to and from the city,” Fitzgerald adds extra emphasis upon the car’s purpose, how it not only changed, but had a new reason for being.

• “Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York–every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back in a pyramid of pulpless halves” (Page 39).

                        By using parallel structure in this sentence, Fitzgerald creates a sense of monotony, as if this event happens time and time again. Being placed in a passage describing Gatsby’s weekly parties, this passage serves to also increase upon the understanding that these lavish parties are quite decadent; every weekend for innumerable months, all of these resources are acquired and wasted for the pleasure of the upper-class.

Topic #2: Diction

            While discussing Gatsby’s lavish parties, Fitzgerald uses connotative language to display the decadence and debauchery of the parties and the people attending them. In discussing transportation to the parties, the author states that “[Gatsby’s] Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city” (Page 39). When one considers having to “bear” something, he or she often imagines having to carry an object for a long amount of time, an arduous, and potentially dangerous, task. In saying that the car was “bearing” people, Fitzgerald denotes a feeling of labor and pain, causing an undertone of recklessness and depravity. Describing the catering measures required for such a party, Fitzgerald explains that “Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York–every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his backdoor in a pyramid of pulpless halves” (Page 39). Perhaps some of the greatest symbols of decadence and self-indulgence ever created are the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Requiring years of backbreaking work, innumerable funds, and many lost lives, these were built solely for the purpose of one man’s post-humous comfort. By describing some of the party’s materials as resembling such monuments, the author makes a blatant connection to excess and depravity. As the narrator describes some of the partygoers, he remarks upon two as “deplorably sober” (Page 52). When one envisions something “deplorable,” he or she may consider a woman who drowns puppies for their pelts, or a man who mugs and kills people for money. By calling these two men “deplorably drunk,” Fitzgerald mocks the partiers as being bizarre and peculiar, as only excepting those who have thrown their inhibitions to the wind. Only by being inebriated and containing alcohol-damped morals can someone be accepted by this crowd. Through the use of diction and connotative language, F. Scott Fitzgerald weaves an aura of moral decay into his novel.

Topic #1: Rhetorical Strategies

• Litotes–“In consequence I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores.” (Page 1)
• Simile–“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” (Page 39).
• Polysyndeton–“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” (Page 39).
• Alliteration–“I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas knew.” (Page 4).
• Allusion–“I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas knew.” (Page 4).

            In his famous novel, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald makes use of numerous and varied rhetorical strategies to develop a unique style of writing. While discussing the preparation for one of Gatsby’s lavish parties, he remarks that “At least once a fortnight a corps of caters came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden” (Page 40). The alliterated hyperbole, quickly followed by an additional hyperbole, creates a feeling of amusement, demonstrating the author’s wit and humor. The use of multiple rhetorical strategies in one sentence also characterizes a large portion of Fitzgerald’s writing. This time describing the availability of liquors, Fitzgerald writes that the bar was “stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from another” (Page 40). Again establishing a unique form of writing, the author combines polysndeton and wit to not only establish the setting, but to also provide some humor for his readers. The combination of strategies is often difficult to establish into a cohesive whole, and yet Fitzgerald does it with ease and regularity, claiming for himself a style which many writers aspire to. In another description of this important scene, the author observes that “The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names” (Page 40). With yet another combination of polysyndeton and wit, the reader must have noticed a pattern that archetypes Fitzgeralds writing. Combinations of rhetorical strategies, often accompanied with humor for those with the skill to recognize it, are quite common throught the novel, and create a unique style that can only be understood as Fitzgerald’s.