...The Narrative Art of The Great Gatsby Introduction The Great Gatsby was written in 1925. The author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the most outstanding writers in America. As a member of the “lost generation”, Fitzgerald made the short life of Gatsby epitome of the rise, boom and decline of the “American Dream” in “Jazz Age”. This novel shows us unusually rich literary and aesthetic connotation is has by its unique narrative perspective, the ups and downs of plot, superb accurate language, various rhetorical devices and vivid character images. To some extent, the reason why The Great Gatsby can become a famous classic work is that the author uses extraordinary narrative techniques in it. All the techniques are employed skillfully by Fitzgerald. The study of narrative art in this work has been highlighted in the research area in these years. Zhang Jinfeng(2001) analyzes the role of Nick in the novel from the its structure, themes and other aspects. Cheng Xilin(2009) uses the spatial narrative theory to discussed the space narrative art in The Great Gatsby from three aspects: the geography space, social space and the text space. Xiao Dongbo(2009) starts with the analysis on author and characters and expound the connotation of "American dream" and profoundly reveals the historical process of the formation, development and burst of the "American dream". Shang Guanghui(2011) analyzes The Great Gatsby from the narrators of the role and argues that the communication...
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...I was driving down the road the other day; I sat there listening to the radio on low volume, not really paying any attention to the song that was playing because my mind was elsewhere. I was contemplating where I could go to get my homework done. The Wi-Fi at my house rarely works given the rural location, so I often times have to pack up my stuff and go somewhere to use the internet and get all of my online homework done. As I drove along the desolate highway near my house I let my mind drift to the different places I could go to finish up my homework. The first option I had was the good old, emphasis on old, library. I could go to my local library and sit among all the rest of the 70 year old retirees engulfed in a book that they will more likely than not forget all about in the next couple of hours. I could sit in the humid, stuffy, deathly, library where I would most likely sit in the corner at a table all by myself. Where after only about ten minuets of studying my stomach would begin to growl and interrupt the stifling silence that engulfs the library. A couple of harsh glares would be thrown my way and I would probably retreat to my car in defeat where I could eat some cereal and drive back to my house to just deal with the painfully slow Wi-Fi there, and most likely end up paying for a new laptop after I threw my old one out the window for taking too long to open Jupiter Ed. Because I can barely afford a sandwich right now, and I definitely can’t afford a new computer...
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...Junior started Stanford that following October, a beautiful campus left him speechless and a magnificent girl took his breath. Daisy was her name, and she was the human personification of perfection. Her blond hair that curled by her ears, her glowing skin, her stellar blue eyes, and her luminescent smile all made her shine as if a drop of sunlight fell onto the Earth. When her rosy lips stopped smiling long enough to form words, she revealed a beautiful warm voice and an intelligent humor. It simply wasn’t possible to not smile while being around her. She was sunshine, happiness, and a thief. The first time Junior saw her, she stole his heart. He would dream of dancing under sparkling stars. She would dream of singing in the sunset. Junior wrote to his father speaking of a gorgeous woman with golden hair and sapphire eyes who spoke of distant stars and complicated mathematics. Senior could see the amount of love Junior felt for the starry woman in each sentence. “If the sun disappeared, I would see no difference as Daisy lights up my world like nothing and no one else. I proposed and she said yes. We’ll be getting married!” the letter read. If he loves her so much, she must be amazing. A wedding! I must give them some money for it. My little one is getting married. My little one will have little ones! Senior was overjoyed by the news and he sent Daisy twenty-five thousand dollars for the wedding. They used a boat for the glamorous reception and the ceremony was held in a nearby...
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...to success as my idol, DJ Khaled would say. My store started gaining enormous traction, and just before I was able to purchase that new yacht I had my eye on, I encountered another issue - one of the stores that I processed orders through started glitching on me and cancelling orders! Words could not describe how stressed I was that day - 200 orders and no way to process them? It was a nightmare - needless to say, I slept with a nightlight on and the largest stuffed animal known to man, at my side. I really needed something cozy to melt into. Luckily, within a few days, I was able to process orders again, but the problem recurred two more times! Each time, it was a PR nightmare, Each time, my response got swifter. Each time, I got great at talking to customer service reps. Each time, I learned to cope with an exorbitant amount of stress. But this never slowed me...
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...irresponsible individuals, Tom and Daisy they crushed up things and afterward re treated once more into their cash or their immense heedlessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other individuals tidy up the chaos they had made. I greeted him; it appeared to be senseless not to, for I felt all of a sudden just as I was conversing with a youngster. At that point, he went to the gems store to purchase a pearl neckband, or maybe only a couple of sleeve catches. Gatsby's home was as yet purge when I cleared out, the grass in his yard had developed as long as mine. One of the cab drivers in the town never took a toll past the passageway entryway without ceasing for a moment and pointing inside; maybe it was he who drove Daisy and Gatsby over to East Egg the evening of the mishap and perhaps he had influenced an anecdote about everything by himself. I would not like to hear it, and I maintained a strategic distance from him when I got off. I spent my Saturday evenings in New York because those glimmering, stunning gatherings of his were with me so distinctively that I could at present hear the music and the chuckling weak and unremitting from his garden and the autos going here and there his drive. One night I listened to a material auto there and saw its lights stop at his front advances. In any case, I didn't explore. Likely it was some last visitor who had been away at the closures of the earth and didn't realise that the gathering was finished. On the most recent night...
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...The Great Gatsby : Investigating the novel refers to links on www.crossref-it.info Who might we want to criticise in this novel? Of whom might Nick be critical? Do they fit the criteria of not having ‘the advantages that you’ve had’? Do you assume that the ‘advantages’ are monetary? What other kinds of advantage might there be? ‘he meant a great deal more than that.’ What more do you think Nick’s father meant? Could the idea of criticism be extended to include literary criticism or interpretation? Look more closely at the characters of Daisy and Tom. At the end of the novel, Nick comments that they are ‘careless people’. Can you find any evidence showing them to be careless or corrupt? Does this comment extend to Jordan or Nick himself? Consider the structure of this chapter – how does Nick order his recollections and his thoughts here? What narrative devices does he use? Investigating Chapter 2 List the different aspects of Chapter 2 which are concerned with religion. What are the differences between the party at Tom’s flat and the other parties in the novel? Nick observes several betrayals in this chapter – which do you find the most shocking and why? ‘I knew he was below me….But if I hadn’t met Chester, he’d of got me sure.’ How does Mrs McKee’s comment reflect on the marriage of Daisy and Tom? Fitzgerald is here depicting the poorer members of American society – why do you think he chooses to give Wilson the occupation of repairing cars? List...
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...To what extent do you agree that Fight Club is an updated version of The Great Gatsby that captures the zeitgeist of modernism? The extent to which Palahniuk’s Fight Club bears resemblance to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is debatable despite the fact that there are numerous similarities between the two texts in terms of its narrative structure dominant themes and the presentation of characters thus their respective zeitgeist of modernism, both texts have clearly their own mark that make them truly unique. Clearly the extent of the similarities between the two texts cannot be overlooked when Palahniuk stated himself in the Afterword that ‘’Gatsby’s updated a little’’, as both novels have apostolic narratives it can be seen that both reveal the hollow superficial nature that existed within society in both the 1920’s and 1990’s. Fight Club and The Great Gatsby can be contrasted as, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s lavish parties, flamboyant suits and mansion to be a template for the narrator’s own existence in ‘Fight Club’. His life is dominated by his IKEA ‘’condo’’ and his own job, which he then finds that he has nothing to live for and is empty inside. He is someone who has ‘’ lost everything’’ and is ‘’ Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete.’’, which also illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream of both novels. ‘’Fight Club’’ thrusts the idea of conspicuous consumption even further as the narrator describes the destruction of material possessions no longer...
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...as an eternal measure, however an individual can typically break his or her lifespan into the past, present, and future. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores the burdens and manipulations of these time segments. Through the utilization of symbolism, characterization, and figurative language, Fitzgerald cultivates the theme that life is a limbo bounded between one’s imminent past and the forever fantasy for an idealistic future. Fitzgerald demonstrates the characters longing to renovate or withdrawal from their vanished yet haunting past, through the use of symbolism. For instance, Gatsby's clumsiness during the reunion with his lost love, Daisy, demonstrates his desire yet, failure to impede time. Fitzgerald writes, "Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of [Gatsby's] head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers, and set it back in place"(86). The clock symbolizes Gatsby's eagerness to regain the past, as he is living in the present. Gatsby is devoted to rekindle the fictitious charisma he left on Daisy, but also desires to camouflage his truthful destitution. Through his vigorous attempt to restore time, Gatsby breaks the clock and demonstrates not only the intractable, but also the inevitable characteristics of the past. Fitzgerald further demonstrates how the characters in the narrative evade the immoralities of their past, but fail to grasp that their action can't be concealed, through the symbolism of The Eyes...
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...plays, despite its appalling ending. Authors have made it a point to sell tragedy in order to make money. However, my perspective on that opinion has been changed. I read The Great Gatsby during my sophomore year in high school as a part of an American literature class. By the end of the book, I realized that no matter what happens in life, it will still keep going and I should only have to look at the optimistic part of it. For some reason, I felt sympathy for Gatsby,...
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...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a definite page-turner due to Fitzgerald’s passion, and emotion that he has captured. The novel was published on April 10, 1925; however, did not sell many copies until his death. Before his death he was believed to be a failure, but is now considered one of the best American writers of the 20th century. The story takes place in New York City and on Long Island. More specifically, the West and East Egg during the roaring 20’s. Fitzgerald reflects on his own life making The Great Gatsby more of a personal narrative. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life has influenced his writing on the novel The Great Gatsby....
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...2013 Project Title: Critical Analysis of Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald Introduction The Great Gatsby is may be the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s greatest novel. This novel offers damning and insightful views of the American nouveau riche in the 1920s. It is an American classic and a wonderfully evocative novel (Bloom, 2010). The author seems to have a brilliant understanding of lives that are characterised by greed and incredibly sad and unfulfilled. The Great Gatsby is at once a romantic and cyclical novel about wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the Jazz Age (Bloom, 2010). Fitzgerald’s work is magnificent as he paints a grim portrait of shallow characters that manoeuvre themselves into some complex situations. The use of symbols and articulate language makes the novel to be best appreciated by mature readers; and this enables them to analyse literature and think critically (Bloom, 2010). The plot Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a love story of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby’s quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The initial meeting of the two lovers takes place two years before the novel is written. Daisy was then a legendary young Louisville beauty while Gatsby was an impoverished officer. The two fell in deep love, but while Gatsby serves abroad; his lover Daisy marries the bullying, brutal but extremely rich Tom Buchanan (Fitzgerald & Stuart, 2005). After the end of the war, Gatsby dedicates himself to find wealth by any...
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...The Great Gatsby begins with a general description of the characters life before they met Jay Gatsby- where before he may have been living an unfulfilled life, Gatsby changed that. This led to his accusations of 'being a politician' which suggests that after meeting Gatsby his mannerisms changed. While the beginning primarily focuses on the introduction of the main character and his privilege, it soon goes into his life before, and leading up to the meeting of the infamous Jay Gatsby (also, in the lead up to meeting the character, Carraway focuses on details of Gatsby's mansion - 'with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool' and the parties - 'men and girls came and went like moths'.) However, the narrator tends to digress off the main subjects - the vivacious parties and social gatherings that the story focuses on- to fill in the gaps, and, again assure the reader that he isn't spending his life in luxury and had been working alongside the extravagant parties he'd attended. The form of The Great Gatsby is a narrative as Nick Carraway is giving a direct storytelling to- indeed, what he deemed most important- the goings on in his life. There are many aspects of love in The Great...
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...which The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illuminates this. In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton explores the themes of imprisonment and entrapment. The characters portrayed in her novel are trapped and imprisoned by many elements including their environment, loveless marriage, predestination, mind-set, religion and many more. These themes are also explored in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Firstly, one of the key factors that Edith Wharton presents imprisonment and entrapment is the setting and environment of Ethan Frome. The bleak and isolated town of Starkfeild is immediately imagined by the reader due to Wharton’s description of the landscape through the narrators eyes and how it seemed to be “emerging from its six month siege like a starved garrison” This brutal simile of the town suggests to the reader that the Starkfield is under attack from the elements and subsequently they begin to imagine how this type of environment may affect the characters life’s and particularly their freedom. Indeed, Wharton portrays the main character, Ethan Frome, as a reflection of Starkfield and “an incarnation of the frozen woe”. This metaphor, in part, epitomises Ethan’s personality of a slow, illiterate man whose motivation has halted or froze. This instigates sympathy from the reader that will be ever present throughout the novel. Similarly, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby with feelings of isolation as a result of his environment. Gatsby resides...
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...The Great Gatsby’s third chapter mainly focuses on Nick’s first encounter, with the shrouded character of Jay Gatsby. Nick meets Gatsby at one of his gaudy parties; at which Nick seems to be “one of the few guests who had actually been invited”. Nick, of course, is employed by Fitzgerald and used to frame this chapter. Our established retrospective narrator writes in the subjective first person, meaning we only get his point of view of events; this peripheral style of narration generates intrigue within the reader, as Fitzgerald deliberately doesn’t want us guessing everything .In Jay McInerney’s article on ‘Gatsby’, he writes “Fitzgerald’s best narrators always seem to be partaking of the festivities even as they shiver outside with their noses pressed up against the glass.” I have to concur with McInerney here, as this quote sums up Nick’s narrative style completely. Nick is “within and without”, constantly on the outskirts of events, observing. From this it would be easy to conclude that Nick is a very dull narrator, whose appearance in the novel is only to mask Fitzgerald; so that Fitzgerald can get his opinions and views on this hedonistic lifestyle across. However, that is not the case, as Nick accommodates many aspects which pair with a good narrator. Nick is undoubtedly “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” and through his powerful quality of reservation, Fitzgerald allows other characters to express themselves and develop. This makes the novel more accessible...
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...techniques are employed by F Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby (1925) and by Ian McEwan in Atonement (2001) to express the loneliness of their characters. In these books, isolation dominates the mood and events of the story; however, the loneliness of the characters often reflects the cultural restrictions of their historical setting. Arguably, the motif of social change and tension also impacts the moods of the books, to a lesser extent. In the Great Gatsby, the moral decay of the 1920s is epitomized by the juxtaposed valley of ashes and the Eggs, while in Atonement, the sweltering weather of Part One could be to illustrate the tension simmering between characters and the impending change apparent in wider society, for example...
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