Topic #5: Personal Review

When I first started telling my parents that I had to read The Great Gatsby for part of a blog project, they began explaining how good of a book it was and how much they loved reading it in high school and college. Hearing this, I got pretty excited because I love reading. However, reading chapter one discouraged me. It was filled with an extensive amount of excess adjectives and descriptions. I didn’t really understand much of what the author was trying to say because I was so focused on the use of such diverse words and imagery. I put the book down for quite awhile, only picking it back up to read for the assignment. As I continued reading, I realized that the book was surprisingly exciting and filled with a countless number of scandals and secrets.

            The way that Fitzgerald would describe certain events began painting a picture in my mind rather than sounding like a bunch of gibberish.  I really enjoyed the way he made such a scandalous story sound appropriate for teenagers. The book was filled with many secrets that a mature audience can relate with to some extent, which helped me love the book even more. I also enjoyed the way that the book was told in a point of view from a person that admired Gatsby enormously. Although Gatsby was a brilliant character, Nick’s point of view made him seem all the better. When the book would emphasize Gatsby’s love for Daisy, I could actually feel the agony that Gatsby felt. I think everyone can relate to the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, everyone wants what they can’t have.

            The last few sentences had the most impact on me though. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” (180). The way that Fitzgerald completes the book with such a powerful line avoids any possibility that the reader will forget The Great Gatsby.

Topic #4: Text Connection

Text – to – text connections:

            The novel, The Great Gatsby, revolves around a love affair between two old friends, Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. In the end, Jay Gatsby’s life results in a tragic death for the woman he has always loved. Mirroring the same outcome of death is the famous play, Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare. In this ever-so-popular play, Romeo, a naïve Montague boy falls in love with Juliet, a young Capulet girl. When the play comes to a closing, both Romeo and Juliet have taken their lives for the person they loved most. Both pieces of literature, so strikingly similar, contribute a theme of helplessness and guilt after realizing the one you care for most will never completely be yours.

            Another text-to-text connection can be made between The Great Gatsby and Looking For Alaska, written by John Green. In Looking For Alaska, an inexperienced boy by the nickname “Pudge” becomes infatuated with an outgoing yet deeply unhappy girl named Alaska. However, Alaska is involved in a long-distance relationship with a guy she claims she loves.  As the book goes on, Alaska dies in a terrible car accident. After discovering Alaska is forever gone, “Pudge” becomes consumed with thoughts of her absence. Again, the theme of vulnerability presents itself. Once a person finds someone that seems to be so insanely perfect, no one else can compare.

Topic #3: Syntax

• “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away,” (2).

The use of such a complex sentence draws the reader’s attention to the fascination Nick has with Gatsby.  Nick believes that every other character sees Gatsby the same way he sees him, wonderful. Fitzgerald uses a metaphor to attempt to explain the awe that Nick has for Gatsby and compares Gatsby to a machine that works in mysterious yet amazing ways. The purpose of this extensive sentence is to emphasize the greatness that Gatsby has, but only Nick witnesses.

• “‘Either you ought to be more careful, or you oughtn’t to drive at all.’

‘I am careful.’

‘No, you’re not.’

‘Well, other people are,’ she said lightly.

‘What’s that go to do with it?’

‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted,” (58).

In this section, Fitzgerald uses simple short sentences to convey a tone of obvious honesty between Jordan and Nick. Writing such blunt statements, Fitzgerald calls attention to the reality of the large gap between the upper-class citizens and the lower-class. Because Jordan is so certain the class under her will “keep out of [her] way,” it shows that she is sheltered from the longing that the less-fortunate have to simply live her life for a day and how they would do anything for it.

Topic #2: Ditcion

 

• When Fitzgerald is first introducing the character of Tom Buchanan, he creates a tone full of threat and terror. The author describes Buchanan as “a sturdy straw-haired man” with “enormous power” and a “cruel body” that gives him a sense of authority over his friends and wife. By focusing directly on the physical aspects of Buchanan, Fitzgerald conveys a tone of intimidation that is radiating off of Buchanan’s character and how people cowers under him with fear. Fitzgerald also makes note of Buchanan’s “shining arrogant eyes” and how he is always “leaning aggressively forward.” With the use of such pessimistic diction, the author highlights how a person’s appearance says a lot about their inner personality and values.
• As the book comes to a close, Fitzgerald explains Gatsby’s belief in the “green light” and how the “orgastic future” draws closer and closer everyday.  By describing the light as the color “green,” the author links the light to other things. Nowadays, the color green relates to the action of continuing on without a stop. Fitzgerald alludes to the fact that Gatsby believed in moving straight towards the light after passing away. The author also defines Gatsby’s beliefs by saying that “we will run faster” everyday toward the inevitable end of life. The word “run” signifies the action of trying to get somewhere in a quick manner. This shows that Gatsby accepted a long time ago that he would eventually die, and that he would “run” towards the light because he believed there was nothing else left.

Topic #1: Rhetorical Strategies

• Metaphor: “When he realized what I was talking about, that there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room…” (89).
• Hyperbole: “‘He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive’” (26).
• Repetition: “…a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom…” (29).
• Cliché: “‘…he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe’” (34).
• Oxymoron: “Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it…” (9).
• Personification: “It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down…" (9).
• Alliteration: “I inquired innocently” (14).
• Simile: “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars,” (39).
• Symbolism: “Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the end of Doctor TJ Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night. ‘God sees everything,’ repeated Wilson,” (159-106).

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes a large amount of rhetorical strategies to express his unique style. “‘He is so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive’” is just one hyperbole the author uses to emphasize the arrogance often shown by Mr. Wilson. Although many signs point to his wife’s unfaithfulness, Wilson refuses to accept the harsh reality. Another rhetorical strategy Fitzgerald applies to his writing is a symbol that connects an old optometry billboard to the eyes of God. Wilson claims “‘God sees everything,’” which refers to God witnessing every sin and disloyal movement of each person involved in the minute circle of friends.