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."