Blog # 5 (book review)

Blog #5: Book review

            I found that The Great Gatsby to be very interesting because of the elaborate writing style uses by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He gives depth to the seemingly flat and shallow characters- in fact; even the setting of the novel is intricately woven into the story. For instance, Gatsby’s character at first seems to be lightweight and superficial but, upon closer examination, one will notice that he has the characteristics of a “hero.” Gatsby spends most of his life searching for Daisy, the woman he is madly in love with. He is willing to endure gossip and whispers from even his most loyal servants, all in consideration of his plan to win Daisy back. Once he “wins her back,” Daisy and Gatsby run over a woman named Myrtle. Even though it was Daisy that was driving, Gatsby was willing to take full blame, and he eventually died for Daisy at the hands of Myrtle’s husband. I find that Gatsby’s character is extremely noble and honorable. The complexity of the characters and writing style influenced me in my writing and I believe that I have become a better writer because of this book.

Blog # 4 (text connections)

Blog # 4: text connections

            “The American Dream, sometimes in the phrase ‘Chasing the American Dream,’ is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success”(Wikipedia). The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about a man named Nick and his neighbor Jay Gatsby and their struggle to realize their dreams. Nick struggles to fit into the upscale fanciness of West Egg as he attempts to grasp his American dream of becoming rich and creating a name for himself, while Gatsby tries to win back the heart of his once beloved. Both characters moved to Long Island in an effort to chase their dreams. Similarly, in the 1800s and 1900s, immigrants would come to America in search of their own “American Dream.” As they arrived at Elis Island, the Statue of Liberty would greet them, promising peace and prosperity to the tired and defeated people who felt that their dreams had already been crushed. However, like in the book, America was not what it was made to be. The immigrants had to endure many hardships and most, if not all, of them did not realize their dream. Likewise in The Great Gatsby, Nick arrives in West Egg expecting to fulfill his dream, but the lavish shell of west egg cracks to reveal a flat and weak society. Gatsby’s dream is not reached either. His attempts to win Daisy back fail and he ultimately ends up dying. the comparability between both outcomes enhances the novel and makes it more relatable for readers.

Blog # 3 (Syntax)

Blog # 3: syntax

·      “’Are we just going to go?’ she objected. ‘Like this? Aren’t we going to let anyone smoke a cigarette first?’

  ‘Everybody smoked all through lunch.’

  ‘Oh, let’s have fun,’ she begged him. ‘It’s too hot to fuss.’

   He didn’t answer.

   ‘Have it your own way,’ she said. ‘Come on, Jordan’”(119).

The author’s use of short scattered syntax while describing the afternoon where Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby all go into town together helps illustrate the awkwardness of the situation. This usage of unique syntax allows the reader to identify that the characters do not feel comfortable with each other and they are trying to mask their true feelings with forced pleasantness. Their obsession with social stature leads them to fabricate a new identity that is different from their own. This particular syntax helps induce a melancholy mood because it causes the reader to feel sad for the characters that are too wrapped up in what others think that they forget about themselves.

·      “‘What happened? - That’s what I want to know.’

‘Auto hit her. Ins’antly killed.’

‘Instantly killed,’ repeated Tom, staring.

‘She ran out ina road. Son-of-a-b**** didn’t even stopus car’”(139).

While explaining the feelings of the bystanders who witnessed the car accident, Fitzgerald uses short syntax. The employment of short sentences and contractions implies a shocked tone- one that is expected at the scene of a car crash. This shocked tone allows the reader to relate to the characters’ feelings because it is likely that the reader would feel the same way in a similar situation.

Blog # 2 (Diction)

Blog #2: diction

·      When Scott Fitzgerald describes the valley of ashes, he uses bleak diction to give the effect of hopelessness and pessimistic sense. The valley of ashes is where Tom’s mistress lives; it is also the “middle ground” of the story, which is a poor and desolate area.  Words such as “bleak” and “despair” are used to further this effect.

·      Throughout the book, the author uses low diction when the characters are talking and high diction in his descriptions of the scenery. The characters speak in unsophisticated diction even though they claim to be high cultured and knowledgeable. For instance, they use incorrect grammar such as “works pretty slow, don’t he?”(25). High description of the scenery allows for greater detachment between the characters and their surroundings.  They seem to be in almost a dreamlike state of mind.

Blog # 1 (Rhetorical Strategies)

·      *Personification: “The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walls and burning gardens-finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run”(6).

·      *Alliteration:  “I was lonely no longer”(4).

·      *Simile: “A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea” (8).

·      *Onamonapia: “I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall” (8).

·      *Hyperbole: “Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old”(18).

·      *Metaphor: “The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain” (85).

Blog # 1: Rhetorical devices

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald writes with a flowery style in order to portray the lavishness of the characters’ lives in the seemingly perfect society that he created. In describing Gatsby’s manor, he mentions the lawn as part of the house, creating an opulent, grand demeanor about it. Through personification he employs Gatsby’s lawn and house almost as another character, further illustration the superficial thinking of the people and the high culture present throughout the novel. The explicit description of the lawn also illustrates the shallowness of the society in that they see Gatsby’s house as another being and give it the respect that only a person should deserve. While describing the interior of the Buchanans’ home, the author writes, “a breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea” (8). Fitzgerald is able to manipulate words to form a seemingly delicate and innocent visualization of the society, however, as a shadow on the water is not always what it seems to be, so too are the lives and actions of the people. The author’s employment of rhetorical devices and flowery style create an illusion of a flawless society that is really self-absorbed and flat.