Personal Review

Blog Topic #5: Personal Review

           The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I loved the language of the book - deceivingly simple, but rich at the same time. I also liked the story of the book, as it incorporated many themes and was relatable to real life topics, such as rags to riches, greed, and wickedness. Symbolism was also an intriguing part of the book for me. I personally liked how the green light represented two things: Gatsby's hope for the future, as explained in chapter 1, and the start of America's nation, where the term, "living the American Dream" was born. On the other hand, I did not like how the story was told from a character of the story. I would have loved the book so much better if the story was being told from a narrator who could overlook all things, instead of it coming from Nick, where things can only be told from his point of view. In addition, I would have liked to have seen Gatsby's reaction to Daisy's rejection. Gatsby's death has saved him from heart wrenching pain resulting from Daisy's decision to stay with Tom, but it would have been very interesting to see how he coped with and reacted to their "life together" not even happening.  The most significant part to the book was the message of what money gets for one in the end. In the novel, Gatsby is living the good life, but it all comes down to nothing, as he is killed as a cause of money. It shows that the American Dream does not gain everlasting prosperity and happiness, as it can be easily shot down, a case which was literally shown in The Great Gatsby. In the end, Nick's dream ends as a nightmare because of his criminal methods and because his new, self-made identity was mostly an act. Overall, I did like the book for its incorporation of so many themes, but I thought that it could have been better.

Text Connections

Blog Topic #4: Text Connections

           In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the author makes use of text connections in order to keep the reader intrigued and associated with the story. One thematic concept that the text and world shares is the story of going from rags to riches. Jay Gatsby, originally known as James Gatz, was born in a poor family whose career took place in farming. Later in his life, he got to experience the rich and extravagant lifestyle after meeting a wealthy man, who goes by the name of Meyer Wolfsheim. Inspired by this man, Gatsby makes it his goal to live a similar lifestyle as Wolfsheim, and achieves this goal by participating in organized crime. Similar to Jay Gatsby, the world is also enthused to live an extravagant lifestyle, and does so in any way possible. Specifically in America, where Capitalism encourages every citizen to earn as much money as they can. To be able to live with affluence, one would look for any way to earn the cash; whether it goes from their education or skill. It did not matter how they got their money, but rather, how much money they got.

Syntax

Blog Topic #3: Syntax

·         "They were gone, without a word, snapped out, made accidental, isolated, like ghosts, even from our pity" (135).

           This example of unique syntax demonstrates Daisy's reaction for being allowed to freely unleash her emotions for Gatsby, after having sealed her true love away in a marriage with Tom. The asyndeton in the passage emphasizes the abrupt and quick change of Daisy leaving Tom for Gatsby. This desperation of her seek for true love implies a disordered tone, since she leaves her marriage to go back to her childhood lover, Gatsby. The terseness of the statement, "snapped out," exemplifies this decision making, almost as if a lever was turned 180 degrees, which means that Daisy's change in liking from Tom to Gatsby was so sudden.

·         "The bar is in full swing, the floating rounds of cocktail's 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" (140).

           The over usage of conjunctions, polysyndeton, is incorporated into the author's descriptions of the party at Gatsby's house. Fitzgerald's use of a run on sentence, made up of several terse fragments, articulates the busy nature of Gatsby's house party. The use of several commas to separate unrelated matters conveys the idea that a lot is going on at the same time. While reading the passage, one almost gets bewildered in the frantic sentence structure which influences the busy tone of the section.

Diction

Blog Topic #2: Diction

            Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald incorporates a surplus amount of  witty word choice to slyly express his cynical tone toward the problematic mindset of America at the time. When speaking to Nick and Jordan about her infant daughter, Daisy tells them that she hopes "she'll [Daisy's daughter] be a fool" (17). A "fool" is someone who acts unwisely and imprudently. For Daisy to wish for her daughter to become a "fool," it shows how the women's ideal values have changed drastically, from docility and loyalty to frivolousness and pleasure-seeking. This supports the author's cynical tone because it reveals how the women's morals and ethics of the time have completely flipped 180 degrees, from being well-educated to being a "fool" - something that will only degrade America's integrity and morality.

            When describing the area between West Egg and New York, Nick relates it to "a valley of ashes" (23). Fitzgerald decides to incorporate the term, "ashes," to give the reader a sense that although America at the time was so prosperous and  progressive, impediments and obstructions were still present. During the time the novel was written, a "boom" in economics and living conditions took place; but, by describing the area between two cities as "a valley of ashes," the author implies that this "boom" has ended and foreshadows that failure in America will come.

            While taking a look at Wilson's garage, Nick illustrates him as "spiritless" and "anemic"(25). This specific choice of words describing Wilson's dispassionate feelings even with all his wealth supports the fact that money cannot buy happiness; since the terms "spiritless" and "anemic" denote something as lacking a certain value. These "spiritless" emotions were not only felt by Wilson, but by a majority of Americans as well, which goes onto show that the "American Dream" truly is not the kind of dream we want to be in.

Rhetorical Strategies

Blog Topic #1: Rhetorical Strategies

·         Metonymy: "Her voice is full of money" (121).

·         Antecedent: "It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy - it increased her value in his eyes" (149).

·         Antithesis: "One thing's sure and nothing's surer; The rich get richer and the poor get - children" (95).

·         Anaphora: "Filled with faces dead and gone. Filled with friends gone now forever" (70).

·         Personification: "But with every word she was drawing further… and only the dead dream fought on… trying to touch what was no longer tangible" (134).

            Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald applies a number of rhetorical devices to express his pessimistic consideration of America in the 1920's, where underneath the great prosperity and glory, were the defeated and deficient. When describing Gatsby's love for Daisy, he says that when "[many men loved Daisy] - it increased her value in his eyes" (149). In this antecedent,  Gatsby wanted Daisy not because he loved her, but because everyone loved her. He wanted something that was in demand, hard to get, since it was all part of his quest for wealth and power. This goes onto show the nature of the American Dream, where capitalism influences people to strive for the best. Fitzgerald then enlightens the readers of the "dark side" of America, when he quotes, "One thing's sure and nothing's surer; The rich get richer and the poor get - children" (95). The author sheds light on how the rich continued to live well and entertained with much to do, whereas the poor were stuck in terrible conditions and could only find fun by having "children." With the use of Rhetorical strategies, Fitzgerald sends his pessimistic message - that not everyone is getting their share of "easy-living."