Use Of Sensory-Oriented Writing In The Great Gatsby

Sensory-oriented writing

Imagery is the author’s use of descriptive and figurative language to represent ideas, actions and entities in a way that it appeals to a reader’s physical sense (Tutorvista). Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway utilize imagery and sensory- oriented writing in The Great Gatsby and The Old Man and the Sea. There are many ways in which they appeal to the readers. They use detailed description of the five senses to create an illusion which makes the readers feel, see, smell, taste, and hear what the characters do. Many senses are used throughout these novels to provide further context; therefore, the readers of these books have a deeper understanding of them.

Both authors use sight frequently in their writing creating extremely detailed descriptions of the setting. In The Old

In The Old Man and the Sea it says, “ His left hand was still cramped, but he was unknotting it slowly” (61). If the reader has ever felt their hand cramp themselves then they know exactly what the old man is feeling. Also in The Old Man and the Sea when the old man is fishing, the narrator says, “Now it burned his back and his left hand, and his hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly” (82). From this quote the reader can almost feel the pain on his hand and back. The cuts and the burns are something that everyone feels in their life, so they know how it feels and that is felt when they read this quote. Touch is also used in The Great Gatsby when Daisy is feeling all the beautiful shirts that Gatsby has and is throwing all over the room. Nick says, “Before us shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel…” (92). The feeling of these shirts can only be felt if the is familiar with these fabrics. These are very satisfying and soft fabrics and that can be expressed in this quote. Touch is another hard sense to get across to a reader because they have to be familiar with the