Preview

Great Gatsby Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
519 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Great Gatsby Analysis
Throughout The Great Gatsby Scott F. Fitzgerald uses countless rhetorical devices to convey different tones and themes in the novel. While at Tom and Daisy’s house in chapter seven Gatsby and Nick discuss Daisy, more specifically her voice. Color, symbol, and metaphor are all rhetorical devices employed to signify the luxurious and somewhat cautious tone in the scene. This tone also leads into the theme; the influence wealth has on corruption. First off, the hestitation of Nick shows his caution of analyzing Daisy’s voice to Gatsby, not wanting to offend him. Nick remarks “she’s got an indiscreet voice, It’s full of---” this pause is important to portray the realization he had of Daisy. Calling her voice “indiscreet” or irresponsible allows the reader to see Daisy does not care about her actions, she floats through her life as she pleases. Gatsby’s blunt reply “Her voice is full of money,” this metaphor shows that he is aware of this in Daisy and does not take offense; this trait of Daisy’s is the driving force behind his attemp to climb to her social status. In continuation, Nick furthers his thought on Daisy and uses color to symbolize her greed, and need for money. With “that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbols’ song of it...,” Nick explains the never ending charm money has on most people. The onomatopeidia “jingle” gives a light, inticing sound to the reader, while “cymbols’” coincedentaly bronze, complete the sound of Daisy’s voice that seemingly leaks money. Completing his thoughts “High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl...,” this metaphor seems to bring Daisy into heaven calling her the “golden girl” which is historically known for being the perfect girl. Metallic colors bring even more images of money, and luxury. Symbols are present in many forms, colors, characters, even character traits. In this case, the description of Tom “wrapping a quart bottle in a towel,” is a symbol for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Saying that “her voice is full of money” could show the linguistic markers of a stereotypical rich, white, 1920s American. Nick also says, in a different quote, that Daisy speaks in a low murmur so that whoever is listening has to be near to be able to hear her, as opposed to Gatsby’s newer wealth which he has to show…

    • 62 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Great Gatsby Analysis

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is often referred to as the great American novel. The book’s immense symbolism and its many messages make The Great Gatsby a novel that has the ability to appeal to all who read it. Religion plays a key role in the book. For instance, religious beliefs in the 1920s influenced the main characters of the story in a significant way. The Valley of Ashes that is described in chapter two may also help to represent the moral dilapidation that the rich undergo in the 1920s. Lastly, Gatsby seems to represent Jesus in the novel, while T.J. Eckleburg represents God Himself and Wilson represents Judas. Overall, while there are many symbols in the Great Gatsby, religion is one that seems to come up…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1920s in the U.S. is a golden age. More and more rich and powerful people appeared in America, everyone wanted to live in that high class society. In this materialistic world, people missing in their voluptuous life, throw away their less poor morality, and measure everything they see with interests. That makes the interpersonal relationships in upper society is built on the foundation of interests like money and status, also the relationships will disappear with the loss of interests.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The voice of daisy is presented as beautiful and almost lyrical, which of course juxtaposes her dark and unfaithful personality. Her personality is fully revealed in chapter 5 as she denounces her husband – ‘who is tom’. This parallels her quote ‘Gatsby? What Gatsby?’ in chapter 1 showing that she doesn’t care about either; tom presents security for Daisy, and Gatsby is an affair to get revenge for Tom and Myrtle. Daisy is represented as a Siren throughout the Great Gatsby as ‘her voice was a wild tonic in the rain’, silencing nature. Her mythical presence in the novel draws Gatsby in, mainly through the use of the green light ‘that burns all night’. Gatsby is described as ‘absorbed in’ the green light, showing his obsession, and the fact that Daisy is slowly drawing him in. Gatsby of course replies with the ‘world’s fair’, and his ‘such beautiful shirts’ and other clothes. The fact that Gatsby wears a gold tie, reminiscent of wealth and an actual gold bar, against a white flannel suit (so the gold…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition, the unique structure is evident in both “Chronicles of A death Foretold” and “The Great Gatsby”, but the use of structure was used to play the same purpose in both novel; and that is to demonstrate the chronology and its effect in justifying the death evident in both novels. In Chronicle of a death foretold the most prominent form of structure that was evident is narrative structure. The way in which the author divided the narrative structure of the plot and events is through 5 sections. The first section is the morning of Santiago Nasar’s Death, the second section is the historical aspect were the reader learns about the past of Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario, the third section is the morning of Santiago’s death which is…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Analysis

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "The beauty and splendor of Gatsby's parties masked the innate corruption within the heart of the Roaring Twenties. Jazz-Age society was a bankrupt world, devoid of morality, and plagued by a crisis of character."…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    At one point or another in life everyone dreams of one day being rich and living a life free of worries. Few ever achieve this goal and most come to look at it as nothing more than a fleeting dream forever beyond their grasps. It was during the Jazz age, a time when people had mistakenly believed that everyone could be rich, that the concept of “old money” emerged. Those born into wealth were held at a higher esteem than those who had struggled and worked for their success. In this time the wealthy spent their time entertaining high-class social parties, and playing polo in the summer. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the Buchanans represent "old money" and as a result hold themselves superior to others despite not having worked for their money or status.…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning, she is characterized by white and being innocent. She is also characterized by her mysterious green light. Later in the story the meaning of her green light is revealed and her character changes. This change is portrayed in the book when Gatsby and Nick are having a conversation and Nick has this realization: “‘Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it” (Fitzgerald 108). Her voice of money is representative of how in actuality everything she does is driven by money. Her life revolves around it and it also keeps her from siding with Gatsby during Tom and Gatsby’s argument. Gatsby is a risk but Tom comes with the promise of eternal wealth. Gatsby’s worship of Daisy’s green light before realizing this is ironic because her greed is what ultimately ended their short-lived affair. This greed is what puts Daisy under the umbrella of being a woman of the new age. During the 1920’s, America was a very wealthy society. People began to spend more money on luxuries and less money on necessities. Daisy has let this new attitude overtake herself and her personality. This is Daisy’s biggest flaw and is connected to the character of women at the…

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author, Nick Carraway, states that he has very high moral standards and he has reserved all judgements so he does not misunderstand people and what they have gone through. The reader is introduced to Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The reader suggests Tom is a very successful man and has everything in life he could image, while Daisy is a very charming and pleasant young lady. Many people do not like Tom because he is arrogant and a cocky racist, and Daisy describes him as “a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking specimen.” The reader is first introduced to Gatsby, and the author describes his as “gorgeous” and connects him to the American Dream and new money. Nick rents a house in West Egg across the bay from East Egg and the reader suggests that the two have a rivalry: “old money” versus “new money.” Gatsby’s mansion represents “new money,” while the clothes Tom wears presents “old money” because they are riding clothes. While leaving dinner, Nick sees Gatsby standing on the lawn for the first time and the reader suggests he is a hopeful dreamer. While on the lawn, Gatsby is reaching out for something across the…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The song “Yesterday” is definitely the best choice for the scene when Gatsby is killed while swimming in his pool. The song has a bleak tone which conveys the tragic moment of his death, as well as the sadness felt by Nick when he hears of what has happened. The song also accurately expressed what Gatsby would say if he could speak after his death. The song states, “ Oh, I believe in yesterday. Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be.There's a shadow hanging over me… I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday”(The Beatles). This is strikingly similar to how Gatsby felt when he was alive. He had once told Nick that he believed that he could repeat the past. Therefore, he would believe in yesterday. It is the song’s gloomy tune and…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though Daisy’s good looks and kindness are both positive assets, the unfamiliar wealth that accompanies her is what truly infatuates Gatsby. Daisy’s voice, which is repeatedly stressed throughout the novel, is said to be, “full of money (120).” Upon hearing the proposition that Daisy’s voice is full of money, Carraway writes, “That was it. I’d never understood before- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it…(120).” The reason Daisy’s money-filled voice is so charming is because it draws people into the idea that with Daisy life is profoundly good. This illusion causes Gatsby to spend five years tirelessly striving for financial status enough to win over Daisy’s affection. After making a name for himself, Gatsby sees Daisy for the first time in five years and is undoubtedly disappointed. Fitzgerald explains this phenomenon when he writes, “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart (96).” Gatsby is a hopeful man, and he believes that he can achieve the happiness of Daisy’s companionship through wealth. Carraway explains Gatsby’s pursuit and says, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.” Gatsby spent his final years earning vast amounts of money in attempt to fulfill his single dream, only to be left with an empty mansion and one friend for which to…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Everyone suspects himself at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”-Nick Carraway. Nick is an impartial, honest, and loyal character. He gives readers a detailed, accurate account of the events pertaining to Gatsby’s life.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story her voice was a symbol of her personality, when the narrator describes her of having a “voice full of money”. Unfortunately, her love of money drove her to finally decide in marrying Tom, again focusing on money and building a superficial relationship. On the outside, Daisy is fresh and pure just like the flower she is named after. However, in reality she is just like money in that she promises more than she gives. Thanks to her ambition, carelessness was very present in her person. Money drove her crazy; taking her to live an unhappy life because of it. By returning with Tom, and by not assisting to Gatsby’s funeral it clearly shows the lack of feelings she has and a person that is…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In life, many have seen or experienced the fact that love leads individuals to very strange effects and decisions. The urge to want to be in love with someone or the idea of generally having someone around is very strong to the extent of going to great lengths to achieve the desired person. The perfect example of this is portrayed in the novel the great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. Persuasion also proves to be a very powerful tool in this novel. The process of trying to convince or persuade anyone to anything possible is a tough course that at times can lead a character to extreme good or bad measures. In the novel, a love triangle is formed between 3 characters, the ideas of love and persuasion play major roles in the process. Daisy the leading lady in chapter seven of the novel is married to Tom, but Gatsby has been in love with Daisy from the beginning of time which later becomes a major conflict. The main character Jay Gatsby proves to be the antagonist as the novel progresses. In his endeavors to win over the love of his life, he clearly demonstrates Aristotle’s two aspects of ethical appeal and some emotional appeal concerning pathos. With a closer look into climax of chapter seven of the novel, readers are able to come to an understanding of why Mr. Gatsby displayed unique aspects of credibility, wealth, and logic regarding the past to try and persuade the woman of his dreams.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Passage: “Ah, I thought so. For it were strange indeed, and not very creditable to us white-skins, if a little of our blood mixed with the African's, should, far from improving the latter's quality, have the sad effect of pouring vitriolic acid into black broth; improving the hue, perhaps, but not the wholesomeness.”…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays