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The Great Gatsby Obscene Word Analysis

800 Words4 Pages

As the embodiment of the American Dream, Gatsby is both present and unreachable. Gatsby, although corrupt for most of the novel, turns out “alright” in the end. In her article, “The Great Gatsby and the Obscene Word”, the author, Barbra Will, focuses on how Gatsby’s characterization and the obscene word on his steps complete the ending to The Great Gatsby. With his past life being full of corruption, the audience, as well as Nick, is forced to forget about Gatsby’s past. When Gatsby’s past is forgotten, he can more clearly represent the audience. When diving deeper into the characterization of Gatsby, it is clear that Fitzgerald makes Gatsby appear as both a ubiquitous presence and as an intangible force at the same time. The scene in which an obscene word is …show more content…

Gatsby’s troubled past contradicts with his present personality. After Gatsby dies, Nick is torn between believing that Gatsby is a great friend and that Gatsby is a corrupt bootlegger. In order to believe that Gatsby is a good friend, Nick must forget about Gatsby’s criminal past. By erasing the obscene word on Gatsby’s steps, Nick is choosing to erase Gatsby’s corrupt past and remember Gatsby as a good friend. Barbara also mentions how frequently Fitzgerald mentions eyesight and Gatsby’s vanishings. Gatsby’s mysteriousness is brought to the forefront when he suddenly vanishes from conversations, and when the owl-eyed man cannot see through Gatsby’s clever lies. Gatsby’s mysterious behaviors are as obscene as the obscene word written on his steps. Barbara claims, “the text stakes its ending on the inevitability of our forgetting everything about Gatsby that has proved troublesome about his character up to this point” (2). The ending of The Great Gatsby can only make sense by forgetting about Gatsby’s corrupt and mysterious

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Chapter seven of The Great Gatsby is memorable due to its strong concentration of rhetoric. Rhetoric gives the audience a deeper read into a story, and in this case the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, a man who seeks to be reunited with his past lover Daisy Buchanan. Using characterization, figurative language, and concrete diction, Fitzgerald highlights the events of chapter seven to create a lasting impact to the audience. “She ran out ina road. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t even stopus car” (Fitzgerald 139).

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Nick is made the narrator of the story that he is to tell of Jay Gatsby and is the reliable one who tells us that he must “reserve all judgments”. Nick’s values are rather parallel to Gatsby’s values of loyalty and honesty. Throughout the story, Nick’s admiration of Gatsby grows as they become friends although he “disapproved him from beginning to end.” As we are told the story from Nick’s point of view, the reader is forced to accept his thoughts and observations of the whole society, but most of all Gatsby. Nick realises that Gatsby has invested his whole self into trying to achieve his dream and Nick is in admiration of his determination.

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