- Metaphor: “At 158th street the cab stopped at one slice in a long white cake of apartment houses” (28).
- Personification: “They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door” (41).
- Parallelism: “And i hope she’ll be a fool -- thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (17).
- Simile:"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39).
- Imagery: “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic... they look out to no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel focuses on the lifestyles of wealthy people during the 20’s. He manipulates the use of rhetorical strategies in order to institute his style of literary devices in order to clarify his theme centered around the idea of selfish and mindless behavior. The metaphor, “They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door” (41), establishes the idea that these people did not have a personal connection to the host, they simply went to party. The word “bore” personifies the action of driving into the characteristics of the animal the mole. Moles have almost no vision and are led purely by other senses, much like the people of this era. they pay no attention to the host or the other people that will be attending the party, but go for the pure enjoyment of drinking and mindlessly socializing into the late hours of the night. This also establishes the authors style by using other means of description, rather then simply stating, “they drove to his house”. Likewise, Fitzgerald recounts the common events of Gatsby’s parties and writes that "in his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39). This simile creates the idea that the men and women were essentially using Gatsby’s for his money and ate away, like moths, his food and champagne, then leave without a notion of gratitude to Gatsby himself. He also refers to the female party goers as “girls” and the males as “men”. the fact that he contrast the two terms, instead of saying “women”, attributes to the point that women were brought up in this society to be ladies. Not to be educated and independent, but tend to their husbands and watch over the house. Fitzgerald furthers this concept when he quotes Daisy when she says, “And I hope she’ll be a fool -- thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (17). Daisy truly believes that the best way for women to fit in to the current time is to succumb to men and minister to their every need. Once again, the author establishes his literary style by referring back to his topic of mindless selfish nature. Fitzgerald effectively uses these devices to progress his style of using other means to express ordinary actions and depictions
The rhetorical strategies you chose to utilize in this analysis effectively demonstrate Fitzgerald's intricate and detailed writing style. Your depiction of the typical attendee of a party as "[paying] no attention to the host," and "[going] for the pure enjoyment of drinking and mindlessly socializing" accurately illustrates the custom of the wealthy class. In the highly acclaimed movie "Midnight in Paris," many famous figures of the 20's are shown to be living the life of the party, traveling from place to place only for lavish parties.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that was not clearly revealed to me was an explanation of what Fitzgerald's writing style was. You repeatedly stated his style was one of using "other means to express ordinary actions" when you should have highlighted how his "means" revealed his ornate writing style.
In my opinion, Fitzgerald employs several rhetorical devices in order to develop his complex yet formal style. I agree with your interpretation of the social elites who attend Gatsby's opulent parties - they are drawn to Gatsby's wealth like "moths" which are attracted to light. I was particularly struck by your analysis on the author's emphasis on "girls" who attended Gatsby's parties rather than saying women. Your commentary, which suggests that the women of this era were to be dependent on their husbands, was an accurate assertion; by belittling the women as “girls” the author alleges their reliance on men.
ReplyDeleteThis essay is extremely well written. The rhetorical strategies chosen exemplify the selfish behavior of the 1920s social class just as the thesis had stated. The analysis of the metaphor is the strongest element of the essay because it had a lot of commentary. It brought in outside information that relates to the animal the mole, justifying the proposed idea of the blindness and selfishness of the partygoers. The contrast of “girls” versus “women” is another strong point in the essay because this one simile is not the only time this theme has been shown in the novel. Fitzgerald portrays women as girls all throughout and it was a good choice to utilize this quote as a rhetorical strategy to show deeper thought in the novel.
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