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Passage Analysis: The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Jadyn Soares Mr. Rollenhagen American Literature (F) January 25, 2023 The Great Gatsby: Passage Analysis This passage occurs following Gatsby’s funeral, after Nick chooses to go back home to the west and, on his last day in West Egg, decides to pay one last visit to Gatsby’s house. The language used in this passage conveys the impact that Gatsby had on Nick. Nick’s caring and dedication to Gatsby’s house display the loyalty and faithfulness he and Gatsby had in each other. As Nick goes over to Gatsby’s for the last time, he notices “an obscene word [on the white steps]” (Fitzgerald 179-180). Instead of simply passing by and forgetting about it, he chooses to get down on his hands and knees to erase it. Though Gatsby is no longer alive to witness Nick’s favor, Nick does his best to …show more content…

While laying on the sand of Gatsby’s beach, Nick begins to think of the first settlers that came to America. He states that the island which Dutch sailors discovered was a “fresh, green breast of the new world” that gratified “all human dreams” (Fitzgerald 180). In this statement, Nick equates their ‘green breast’ to Gatsby’s hopes and dreams—his green light, Daisy, in the distance. In making this comparison, Nick shows that dreams should be enchanted, not materialistic—as he feels that “as the moon rose higher, the inessential houses began to melt away” (Fitzgerald 180). The moon, which could symbolize the romantic part of his dream, gets bigger and bigger as the materialistic mansions that surround him become less and less significant. This statement resembles Gatsby’s life, as his success resulted from his desire to gain monetary wealth so that he could impress the only person he truly longed for—Daisy. Thus, Nick’s reflections portray the influence that Gatsby had on Nick, by displaying that every person should have their green light, or their romantic dream, which motivates

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Admired Author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his renown novel, The Great Gatsby, emphasizes the emotional state of Nick after the passing of his close friend. Fitzgerald’s main purpose is to reveal the gloomy, final thoughts that still linger in Nick’s mind about the demise of Gatsby and his elaborate lifestyle. His strong use of imagery creates a heartrending attitude in Nick which grasps on to the mind of the readers. Fitzgerald presents the paragraph by using various types of syntax to contrast the past thoughts of Gatsby and his house from the melancholy truth of the present. Fitzgerald has Nick illustrate the great memories he had at Gatsby's house when describing his saturday nights in New York by the “gleaming, dazzling parties” that were

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A Rhetorical Analysis of how Fitzgerald explains Gatsby’s Impact on the World, Gatsby’s True Nature, and the Concept of Time Gatsby was a great man that was a caring and loving person who had his life taken from him, by Mr. Wilson, as a result of revenge for being a suspect of Mrs. Wilson’s death. Near the end of the story, Nick Carraway was looking back through Long Island, where he, Gatsby, and Daisy lived. He described many aspects of the island, the mood of the people, and the environment. Nick touched on the point of the atmosphere without Gatsby and his dream that was washed away with blood.

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As Gatsby gives a tour to Nick and Daisy of his house, Nick notices changes in Gatsby’s mannerisms in response to Daisy’s reactions. Saying that “[Gatsby] revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from [Daisy’s] well-loved eyes” (91). Gatsby’s revaluation of his material wealth in response to Daisy shows that his love is embedded in his material possessions. He values only what Daisy values and Daisy tends towards expensive and extravagant things. Nick depicts Gatsby, saying that “in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real” (91).

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Esteemed writer and author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his top-selling novel, The Great Gatsby, facilitates Nick’s attitude towards Jay Gatsby by implementing rhetorical devices/choices. Fitzgerald’s purpose in his employment of such rhetorical devices is to give clarification, that Nick is still numb to the realization that he has lost someone so significant and no one else shows the slightest interest in Gatsby now that he’s dead. To establish the jilted tone of the passage, he utilizes imagery and diction in order to convey how the town has, seemingly, become so abandoned all due to Nick’s having lost Gatsby. Fitzgerald facilitates his diction by emphasizing the abandonment Nick now feels towards his surroundings now that Gatsby is gone.

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Since Gatsby is obsessed over his relationship with Daisy, and connects it to his moral success, he wants to make sure that he accomplishes this. His American Dream, as mentioned in the thesis, is to win back Daisys love and this quote exemplifies the fact that he is disillusioned by his dreams which may lead him to failure. In an attempt to reconnect with Daisy, Gatsby purchases a mansion just across the bay from hers, in order to be as close to her as possible. When Jordan and Nick are talking about Gatsby, Jordan begins to mention to Nick how, although he doesnt want to believe it, Gatsby has an obsession with Daisy. As Jordan tells Nick, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78).

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, his house returns to this melancholy and dreary state, reflecting the emptiness in his “ghostly heart” (96). When Nick walks in he notices a change and sudden void. The house “never seemed so enormous” with “curtains like pavilions”,“innumerable feet of dark wall”, and “an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere” (147). All Gatsby really craved was to be loved, much like his house, he was devoid of energy and joy on the inside . Gatsby’s house seems even larger, musty and stale because he is groping around in the dark for companionship he lost long ago.

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“Gatsby goes to spectacular lengths to try to achieve what Nick Carraway calls “his incorruptible dream” (Sutton1). Gatsby’s moral decline through his life shows his failed attempt at the American dream. “The collapse of Gatsby’s attempt to win Daisy proves that dreams, money, and blind faith in life’s possibilities, are not enough for a man to reach his goals”

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Gatsby tells Nick about how

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The point of view of Nick is one that best illustrates how the passing of Gatsby affects the people who were once attending his parties as a means of both entertainment and escape. Throughout the excerpt Nick describes the negative changes that occur once Gatsby passes and how life looks after that as well. “I spent my Saturday nights in New York because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter faint and incessant from his garden and the cars going up and down his drive”, This quote demonstrates that Nick decides to spend his Saturdays in New York to escape from the phantom noises that emerged from Gatsby house, and through Nick's point of view he realizes that life without Gatsby is one that desolate. Nick further states that he stops going over the Gatsby residence until

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At the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick reflects upon Gatsby’s life and pursuit on the beach where “the green light” at the end of Daisy’s dock can be seen. As a significant metaphor, “the green light” represents Gatsby’s dream which guides him to keep pursuing wealth and social status, while the position of the light, the distant and inaccessible Daisy’s dock, indicates the close connection between Gatsby’s unreal dream and Daisy, and as well the disillusionment of the dream. In the last three paragraphs, Nick explains the disillusionment of Gatsby’s dream, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (162). Gatsby has always strived for his ambition and dream.

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After Gatsby’s death, Nick analyzes how far Gatsby had come to the “blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it”(180). Nick notes that Gatsby’s dream was “already behind him”(180) meaning, the idea that anyone can get what they want with hard work and dedication is simply, just an illusion. The argument that Gatsby already achieved the hollow American Dream could be made with Nick’s statement about it being behind him. However, the question of even if Gatsby did win Daisy over, would his life then be fulfilled?

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As this ideology is developed throughout the book, we are reminded of this instance as we gain the true meaning of the light, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further. And one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” This captures the essence of this focus on the American dream. Nick finally grasps Gatsby's continuous effort to reclaim what's lost, however there is also an ironic undertone as he comes to realize that the more we strive for our ultimate future, the more we're pulled back to our past desires and

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In the last passage of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the reader gains insight into Gatsby’s life through the reflections of Nick Carraway. These reflections provide a summary of Gatsby’s life and also parallel the main themes in the novel. Through Fitzgerald’s use of diction and descriptions, he criticizes the American dream for transformation of new world America from an untainted frontier to a corrupted industrialized society. In the novel, Fitzgerald never mentions the phase “American Dream,” however the idea is significant to the story.

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