The Great Gatsby Diction Analysis

The diction and details in the fifth, sixth, and seventh paragraphs on page 48 of The Great Gatsby favor the idea of division between social classes.
The word choices in The Great Gatsby are often more sophisticated and lead insight into the differences between the upper and lower class. Diction is a key element in the separation of the upper and lower class because just the simple changes in vocabulary hold a different meaning. At the end of the passage, Gatsby excuses himself to take a call from “Chicago.” While someone with a limited vocabulary might use the phrase come back, Gatsby says he will “rejoin.” This simple change makes him seem more educated with an expanded vocabulary. One that can only come from higher education and social status. In this passage, Nick is at one

Included here are a few words that would also most likely not be in a lower class person’s vocabulary. Even in his thoughts Nick uses phrases such as “irresistible prejudice” to describe things, in this case Gatsby’s smile. While we understand what Nick means is Gatsby and the feeling behind his smile “concentrat[es]” on you, making it seem like you are the single most important thing in the world, this may be lost on others with less developed vocabulary who do not know what the words “irresistible prejudice.” The included details in the passage reinforces the separation of the social classes. The beginning sentences focus on a “rare smile” given by Gatsby. A smile that only happens once in awhile, but when it does, it’s very special and “reassures” you. But the “understanding” that comes from this smile, prompted by