I have been receiving requests to upload sample essays for 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Kite Runner', so I decided to look through the remainder of my notes in the hope that I find something. Interestingly enough, I found a few essays that I hope will be helpful to you!
These are just for guidance, so please do double-check for yourself before you use these in your exam answers! These were written long ago, and I don't want to mislead anyone in case some of the information or references/quotes are wrong! :)
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby?
These are just for guidance, so please do double-check for yourself before you use these in your exam answers! These were written long ago, and I don't want to mislead anyone in case some of the information or references/quotes are wrong! :)
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby?
Fitzgerald
has used a whole host of techniques have been used in the narrative of Chapter
2, such as symbolism, use of metaphors, the theme of difference in society and
the introduction of new characters to the story. Also, the chapter explores the
adept way in which Nick, the narrator goes about explaining Tom Buchanan and
his physically driven behaviour, and how this affects his mistress at the end
of the chapter.
Fitzgerald
uses various metaphors at the very start of the chapter to portray the
narrator’s mood and emotions at the time, such as ‘grey land’, ‘bleak dust’,
‘dimmed’, ‘paintless days’, ‘small foul river’ and ‘dismal scene’. Fitzgerald
possibly uses this to reflect Nick’s mood in having to have lunch with Tom
Buchanan. It portrays to the reader his dislike towards this character, or even
indicating to the reader the unwanted meeting with Tom’s mistress, Myrtle
Wilson. Fitzgerald perhaps uses this to interest the reader into questioning
the reference to the weather and the setting at the start of the chapter in
relation to Nick’s emotions and asks why does Nick feel so ‘grey’, ‘bleak’ and
just generally pessimistic and negative towards this event as an introduction
to Chapter 2, giving indication to the reader of the plot further on in the
chapter.
Fitzgerald
has once again attributed much importance to the difference in society in this
chapter. The ‘Valley of Ashes’ comes across as a poor American settlement,
sandwiched between New York and the two Eggs. Nick goes on to say, “Ashes take
the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke,” – this gives a picture of
the real America to the reader. The pathetic state of George Wilson’s garage
and his appearance convey the poverty in which the inhabitants of the Valley of
Ashes lived in. Also, poor though they may be, their aspirations and desires
are no less than that of an East or West Egger; given a chance, they can enjoy
the life the rich are exposed to, as we see with Mrs Wilson. Her desperation to
“fit in” and be one of the elite crowd reflects upon her actual life back in
the garage.
Symbolism
plays a major part in Chapter 2 of the story. The character of Doctor T.J.
Eckleburg has been used by Fitzgerald as a medium to induce the feeling of
being “watched upon” – almost as an authoritative person would do. “The eyes of
Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic; their retinas are one yard high.
They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow
spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose.” His presence may not seem
obvious at first, but he plays an extremely important role – he symbolises God,
who is always looking upon his mortals and what they were doing.
Another
matter of significance is how Fitzgerald tells the event of Tom Buchanan
hitting Myrtle. It generates shock and surprise to the reader, as such
behaviour from men is considering completely inacceptable on any occasion, let
alone at a well-attended party. Nick narrates, ‘Making a short deft movement,
Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.’ The sentence structure is
short and more like a statement rather than a long explanative description.
This adds effect to the narrative, as the length of the sentence matches the
sudden and unprecedented impact it has on Myrtle. Fitzgerald manipulates the
surprising action by making impact on the sharpness of the short description of
this, contrasting to Fitzgerald’s other descriptions to events and settings
which he tells to the reader in great amounts of detail with poetic and
romantic language rather than this quite simple sentence, in order to
contribute in creating a great impact of horror felt by the reader of this
event.
A
different technique the author uses to tell the story in this chapter is that
Fitzgerald matches the events with the narration. With increase in the number
of drinks Nick helps himself to; his narration ceases to make sense and turns
confusing in his drunken stupor. ‘I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting
up between the sheets clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his
hands. ‘Beauty and the Beast...Loneliness...Old Grocery Horse...Brook ’n
Bridge...’ Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the
Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning Tribune, and waiting for the four
o’clock train’ this description is quite a unique way of narrating the story, it
adds to the realism of Fitzgerald’s writing and Nick’s capability of reliable
narration. The reader can clearly imagine Nick’s night in their head with the
sleek and thought out technique of writing.
Thank you so much for this blog! I feel so much more confident using all this as part of my revision for my exam in May! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad you're finding it useful - all the very best for your exam, just remember to tick off all the assessment objectives (what we know as the 'AO's) and you should be fine!
ReplyDeleteIt feels lovely to know these notes are of use to somebody!