Figurative Language In The Great Gatsby

Colorful Characters: An Excerpt that Reflects upon the Characters in Scott Fitzgerald’s Novel The Great Gatsby
Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, a true modern American classic, has various thematic considerations, ranging from the American Dream to life in the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald takes several approaches towards establishing these themes, whether it be by creating a specific setting or using extensive figurative language. Moreover, while many of the scenes in the novel may, at first read, seem insignificant, upon closer examination of the passages’ elements, one can see that they all tie together to the big picture of the novel in one way or another. In a Chapter 3 passage in which the narrator, Nick Carraway, is at his

Gatsby’s love for wealth can be seen in the diction Nick uses to describes Gatsby’s rather garish library. Nick recounts Gatsby’s library as “a high Gothic library, panelled with carved English oak, and probably transported complete from some ruin overseas”. (45) Owl Eyes later affirms Nick’s description, as he describes Gatsby as “regular Belasco”. (45) Gatsby’s love for wealth obviously has its roots in the time he spent as Dan Cody’s personal assistant, during which Gatsby and Cody went on lavish trips to the West Indies and Barbary Coast. That being said, the sole reason Gatsby acquires these luxuries is to impress Daisy and recapture the love that he once had with her. So, the fact that Gatsby is willing to acquire to all this wealth just to impress a lady exhibits the superficiality of Gatsby as a whole. Later in the passage, as Nick attempts to take a book for the shelf, Owl Eyes snatches the book from Nick’s hand and mutters that “if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse”. (46) Owl Eyes’ statement is a metaphor: the library itself represents Gatsby’s dreams and aspiration. If one book is removed from the shelves, or if Daisy is removed from Gatsby’s life, the entire library, or the entirety of Gatsby’s life, will fall apart. In other words, the metaphor exemplifies the fragility of Gatsby’s dreams and shows that if one just one event goes wrong, Gatsby’s dreams

Many times in this brief dialogue, Owl Eyes reiterates the fact that the books in the library are real, a concept that seems to astonish him. After asking Nick what he thinks about the books, Owl Eyes immediately cuts to the chase and says: “As a matter of fact you needn’t bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They’re real.” (45) Owl Eyes proceeds to repeat himself multiple times, and even assumes that Nick and Jordan are skeptic of his claims, showing them the pages in Volume One of “Stoddard Lectures”. Although the books are technically real and tangible, they have a sense of superficiality and are just for “show”. Further, these books enhance that concept of having showiness but not actual “substance”, which is true of most of the characters in the novel. Jordan Baker may be a very successful golfer and beautiful woman, but she is a blatant liar and cheater. Gatsby may appear to be a very successful, charismatic man, but that is a lie, as he illegally acquires his wealth to impress Daisy. Regarding the innumerable amount of people that attend Gatsby’s parties, Gatsby does not appear to be interested in forming a genuine relationship with any of them, Gatsby is also not interested in reading the