Rhetorical Analysis In The Great Gatsby

Amanda Krupinski

Period 5

2/23/16

The American Dream and the Roaring Twenties

The 1920’s was an era of exciting social changes and cultural conflicts. For many Americans, this meant the growth of cities, the rise of a consumer culture, and the upsurge of mass entertainment. Throughout the book, The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses rhetorical and literary strategies such as imagery and his diction in these passages in order to convey his theme of the “Roaring 20’s”. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. The reckless triumph that led to pure white parties and wild jazz music— in The Great Gatsby by the glamourous parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night—resulted in the corruption of a

The author introduces the desolate land known as the valley of ashes, which is far from the lavish lives lived in the Eggs’. When introducing this dark and eerie slice of land, Fitzgerald incorporates imagery in helping develop his theme relating to the Roaring 20’s and the American Dream. Nick begins to explain the valley of ashes in discrete detail. “This is the valley of ashes--- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses…” ( 23). In this excerpt from the text, not only does Fitzgerald use many forms of imagery, but he incorporates diction that helps develop his theme as well as a simile. When Fitzgerald first introduces the valley of ashes, he includes imagery describing the environment through the valley of ashes, and gives the readers different ideas of how different the valley of ashes is from the Eggs, which are earlier on described as fabulous riches, and glossy white everywhere. Comparing the glossy whites of the Eggs and the darkness described in the valley of ashes, the author starts to hint more at the theme of the Roaring 20’s and on how they class difference was so broad during this time

Gatsby’s dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, just like the American dream in the 1920s is ruined by the unworthiness of its object. Like the 1920s Americans in general, Gatsby longs to recreate a now gone past (his time in Louisville with Daisy)—but isn’t able to do so. When Gatsby's dream crumbles, all that's left for Gatsby to do is to die; all Nick can do is move back to Minnesota, a different place up North where American values have not