· “When he had gone halfway he turned around and stared at the scene—his wife and Catherine scolding and consoling as they stumbled here and there among the crowded furniture with articles of aid, and the despairing figure on the couch, bleeding fluently, and trying to spread a copy of Town Tattle over the tapestry scenes of Versailles” (37).
Fitzgerald uses the structure of this sentence to mirror the actions of the character being described. In order to portray the pause in the man’s actions as he absorbs all that is occurring around him, the author utilizes a dash, effectively causing a break in the reader’s thought process. This generates a rift in the fluidity of the sentence, causing the reader to feel as if they are frozen in time as they absorb the details of the mayhem that occurs in the scene. In addition to this, Fitzgerald utilizes a convoluted cumulative sentence in order to parallel the chaos which is taking place in this scene. By doing this, the nature of the party is emphasized since the subordinate clauses which are seemingly tacked onto the end of the sentence create a rushed feeling, as if the occurrences being described have spun out of control. This situation acts as an ominous foreshadowing, forewarning the reader that the lives of all of the rich are doomed to spiral into turmoil.
· “I wanted to get somebody for him. I wanted to go into the room where he lay and reassure him: ‘I’ll get somebody for you, Gatsby. Don’t worry. Just trust me and I’ll get somebody for you—‘” (164).
Nick’s stark determination while voicing this statement is emphasized by the
author’s employment of parallelism, simple sentences, and repetition. The utilization of parallelism in the first two statements causes the reader to see that Nick is so rattled at this point in the novel that he can only form thoughts in a generic and formulaic way. This state of mind becomes even more apparent as the sentences become even shorter and simplistic. The repetition of the phrases “I wanted to” and “I’ll get somebody for you” displays the collapse of all rational thought within the narrator until the only things that Nick can express are childlike promises and desires. The combination of each of these elements works to display the deteriorating effect that Nick’s close proximity to wealth and the wealthy has had on him.
· “I’d seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns” (64).
The blunt nature of the opening statements in this quote hints at a tone infused
with both jealousy and disgust at the garishly showy automobile that Gatsby owns. By using a lengthy, loose sentence to describe Gatsby’s car, the author fully emphasizes the intricacies and grandeur of the vehicle, as it becomes increasingly apparent that the sentence, much like the car, is piled with phrases that become progressively more unnecessary and gaudy. In addition to this, the polysyndeton encompassed within this sentence adds even more to its emphasis on the multiple trinkets within Gatsby’s car. The placement of this long, elaborate sentence, when positioned next to two short ones, makes the short sentences appear small and weak in comparison. This mirrors the fact that Nick, and everybody who has seen the car for that matter, feels small and meek when placed in front of the extravagant persona that is Gatsby.
Just to add on to the beginning analysis, not only does it emphasize his state of mind but it also creates a feeling of urgency or almost panic. His statements are short and to the point, further mystifying the reader, as the reader’s mind is racing trying to think of the possible actions Nick could take to try and save Gatsby or how the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby would change.
ReplyDelete