Personal Review

Blog #5

I found F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby to be a remarkable representation of the ostentatious behavior generated by the “Roaring 20’s”. Although I had heard vague details of the story, the character Jay Gatsby immediately intrigued me. His lavish displays of wealth yet mysterious background made him an incredibly complex character that drew me into the story. The characterizations of the main characters in the novel present a diverse and fascinating level of detail to the story, where love triangles, quests for power, and pain are all interwoven to provide a vivid plot.  Some important details of the story were unbelievable, for instance, the main character Gatsby was said to be penniless, even though he had just been discharged as a major in the military. High-ranking officers are usually able to maintain a comfortable standard of living. Leaving these details aside, the overall plot provided an extensive critique of American values for wealth and status. Overall, I found The Great Gatsby to be an outstanding piece of literature that captivated me throughout the entire plot, unlike most other stories I have read this last year.

Text-to-World Blog

Blog #4

            F. Scott Fitzgerald’s illustrious novel, The Great Gatsby, has been read timelessly throughout the decades as an analysis of the degrading “American Dream”. The story revolves around Jay Gatsby, an incredibly affluent businessman of the 1920’s, who strives to build upon his sum of worldly treasures, and ultimately, obtain the love of Daisy, a young woman of “Old Money”. Gatsby first exemplifies the original conception of the American dream, the “pursuit of happiness”. The author writes that, “the most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed” (99). This, “ineffable gaudiness” (99) provides a perfect example of the ability for any common man to pursue any degree of success and pleasure one wants in the United States, however this idealized version of greed manifests itself into the rudimentary desires for love and wealth. As seen in the novel, Gatsby’s ambitions for success and affluence lead him to discontented life controlled by his obsessions. However, Fitzgerald’s critique of American values is not limited to those with “New Money”, for he portrays almost every character with “Old Money” as shallow, callous, and unfaithful. Overall, Fitzgerald is insinuating that the “American Dream” has devolved from the “pursuit of happiness” to the “pursuit of wealth”. 

Syntax Blog

Syntax Blog

•  “Suddenly one of these gypsies, 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” (41).

When describing the chaotic, garish, and vivid party that Gatsby throws, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes use of several syntactical strategies in order to exercise a thrilling and dramatic style. One flamboyant young woman, described her as a “gypsy” performs a series of acts punctuated by multiple commas producing excess interrupters. This deliberate writing style serves to create a sense of drama and excitement as one reads the passage, for multiple descriptions and actions are revealed in one long sentence, as if rushed. If punctuated in a less complex manner, the rhythm of the sentence and the mysterious actions of the “gypsy” would be lost upon the reader.

• “He wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free” (148).

After Gatsby and Daisy kill Myrtle in a vicious hit-and-run incident, Nick Carraway tries to convince the heartbroken and obsessive Gatsby to flee West Egg in order to avoid the repercussions of his actions. Defiantly, Gatsby refuses. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates a tone of agitation and impatience in this passage with his use of anaphora. Each sentence, starting with the word “he,” acts as a way of conveying Gatsby’s narcissistic behavior, that everything must be as he believes it to be. His fixation with Daisy is clearly present, for he “couldn’t possibly leave Daisy” even when it is quite possible for him to face serious consequences for remaining in the area (148).  To conclude, the author’s tone of impatience and annoyance with Gatsby is clearly expressed through Fitzgerald’s use of repetition.

            

Diction Blog

Blog #2

            In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, specific portraits of both characters and locations present an intriguing critique of America ideals. The object of Gatsby’s affection, a promiscuous young woman named Daisy, resorts to dating many men once her destitute lover Gatsby leaves for war. By illustrating Daisy’s volatile relationships as moving “with the season”, Fitzgerald is portraying the attitude depicted in the “flappers” of the 1920’s: that women are no longer dependent upon one single man, and now have the opportunity to remain independent of masculine control. This deliberate word choice illustrates the changing of times present in the author’s time period, where further analysis allows the reader to glimpse the author’s disdain towards said women’s behavior. Next, Fitzgerald’s use of repetition in the phrase, “half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men” (151) serves to expound upon the frivolity present in Daisy’s life. Adding on to the imagery produced in the previous statement, this hyperbolic description of Daisy’s behavior further conveys the forlorn tone in the paragraph, as Fitzgerald depicts Daisy’s pathetic attempts at finding happiness through shallow relationships. Lastly, Fitzgerald chooses to include the detail that Daisy is laying next to a pile of “dying orchids” (151). These dying orchids represent the author’s tenor towards the ideas present in Daisy as a character, for her behavior leads to the degradation of her as person, as shown through her relationships with her husband and daughter. To conclude, the purposeful phrasings presented by the author reflect his forlorn and dejected tone towards Daisy in this section. 

Rhetorical Strategies Blog

Andrew Wickes

AP Language and Composition

Mrs. Alberts

4 January 2012

Rhetorical Strategies Blog

• Simile: “After that I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe---Paris. Venice, Rome---collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little” (Fitzgerald 65).
• Polysyndeton: “After the house, we were to see the grounds and the swimming-pool, and the hydroplane and the mid-summer flowers---but outside Gatsby’s window it began to rain again” (Fitzgerald 92).
• Hyperbole: “An infinite amount of women tried to separate him from his money” (Fitzgerald 98).
• Repetition: “Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od!” (Fitzegerald 139).
• Imagery: “I tossed half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams” (Fitzgerald 147).
• Metaphor: “The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain” (Fitzgerald 85).
• Telegraphic Sentence: “I was thirty” (Fitzgerald 134).

Several thematic concepts and rhetorical devices present in The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrate the colorful and intricate style of the author’s critique of America’s elite. Set in a time of massive financial prosperity for the American Upper-Class, the novel presents both the backwardness of the American Aristocracy with “old” money, and the lust for ever-growing wealth for those with “new” money. Using a clever simile, the author has Gatsby describe himself as living “like a rajah in all the Capitals of Europe ---Paris. Venice, Rome---collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little” (Fitzgerald 65). By comparing Gatsby to a member of Indian Royalty, Fitzgerald is highlighting the insatiable desires of those with “new” money, who strive to join the ranks of the traditional gentry by spending an innumerable amount of capital of frivolous goods. Whilst describing Gatsby’s prestigious estate, the author writes, “we were to see the grounds and the swimming-pool, and the hydroplane and the mid-summer flowers” (Fitzgerald 65). The polysyndeton present in this passage allows the Fitzgerald to expound upon the endless items of luxury in the ownership of Mr. Gatsby. In addition, Fitzgerald’s use of imagery, as seen in the line, “I tossed half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams” (Fitzgerald 147)  serves to further enhance the detail present in the novel. Overall, the novel’s complex phrasing and use of outlandish comparisons convey the colorful, complex style of F. Scott Fitzgerald.