Rhetorical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

In the supreme achievement of his career, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic use of rhetorical, literary, and stylistic strategies, such as dashes, breaking the fourth wall, and using colorful symbolism have been ever present. Whether describing the green light across the lake from Gatsby’s home to brief explanations of characters' motives directed directly to the audience, Fitzgerald’s style is easily seen. These stylistic choices and more can all be found on pages seven to nine in the first chapter of the novel. Here, Nick had just walked into Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s house. The mood is an awkwardly tense feel due to the presence of Tom and the long length of time that has passed since Nick saw his cousin Daisy last. The section

Following this, Fitzgerald gives a short description of Jordan Baker, whose name is unbeknownst of Nick now. Lastly, finishing off the section is a multi-paragraph introduction to the equally famous and infamous Daisy.
Straight away in the first paragraph of the section, Fitzgerald’s use of colors is instantly seen as he uses the color rose to describe rooms and white to describe the windows and both girls’ dresses. The use of white is very important as Fitzgerald is already connecting the color white to Daisy. Throughout the novel, the color white becomes a symbol for Daisy, so creating the connection early is very important. Following this, Fitzgerald starts using other terms to describe Nick’s environment. He portrays the ceiling as being like a “frosted wedding-cake” and the rug being “wine-colored” (Fitzgerald 8). These simple descriptions not only give an idea of what the room looks

Right away, Fitzgerald uses dashes again, but this time with a completely different purpose. In this moment, Daisy starts to rise from the couch, leans slightly forward, and then bursts into laughter, each action being separated by a dash. These dashes, instead of presenting foreshadowing, simply show pauses in time. These pauses build Daisy’s iconic personality. Instead of all this being in a fluid motion, Daisy pauses and thinks. She is calculating her next move and seeing what would help her the most. It adds to the idea that everything Daisy does is intended to make people like her. Following this example of dashes, Fitzgerald does a literary technique that few authors use; he breaks the fourth wall. The fourth wall is the imaginary wall between the book or movie universe and the audience. When this is broken, the characters are aware that they are being watched or read. This technique is rarely used in pieces of fiction, but the example used here has a purpose. Nick is telling the reader a fact about how Daisy murmurs to make men lean towards her on purpose. This use builds upon Daisy’s overall character, again highlighting how every move she makes is