The Great Gatsby Rhetorical Analysis

The American dream as represented in America in the early 1920’s was centered around success, measured by wealth. Those who weren’t wealthy strived to be and those who were sought to maintain it. Wealth was seen as the gateway to a better life, filled with partying and irresponsibility, though the poor often only wanted a sense of financial security. Fitzgerald revealed how he felt about the class divide in The Great Gatsby. In the passage from novel, Fitzgerald uses various rhetorical devices to emphasize Tom’s self-righteous traits to support the assertion that those with higher class standing did not suffer the same consequences for their actions that those of lower economic standing did in the 1920’s, making the American Dream much more

Fitzgerald uses direct examples through Tom’s speech to logically show Tom’s arrogance. Tom is talking to Nick about what he said to Wilson just before Gatsby was murdered. Tom says, “What if I did tell him? The fellow had it coming to him… He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.” This shows that Tom has no sympathy for Gatsby and no regret over causing his death. In addition, this shows that Daisy did not tell Tom that she was the one driving the car, showcasing her selfishness. Fitzgerald also uses pathos to appeal to the readers emotions. After Tom tells Nick what he said to Wilson, Nick thinks, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” Nick directly relates Tom and Daisy’s carelessness to their wealth while simultaneously making the reader feel sympathy for the victims of their carelessness. It emphasizes Tom and Daisy’s roles as the cause of Myrtle and Gatsby’s death. Nick’s thoughts about Tom refute Tom’s credibility. After Tom gets upset over his words to Wilson and Myrtle’s death, Nick thinks, “I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child.” This makes Tom’s emotions seem irrational and therefore