Rhetorical Analysis Of ' The Great Gatsby '

The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a destructive war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of disruption associated with modernity and a break with traditions.The Roaring Twenties was a time of great economic prosperity and many people became rich and wealthy. Some people inherited "old money" and some obtained "new money". However, there was the other side of prosperity and many people also suffered the nightmare of being poor. In the novel,The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a wealthy character

Many of the people in the world regard The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, one of the greatest literary classics of all time. However there is always at least one, most the time few and far between, that disagrees with this statement. H. L. Mencken is one of these persons. After reading the novel Mencken writes an excerpt to be published in the magazine Evening Sun, after all he is one of the leading literary critics of his time. In this essay we will discover how Mencken uses rhetorical devices to portray his thoughts of the novel, The Great Gatsby.

When Nick receives Wolfsheim’s message that Wolfsheim, who was one of Gatsby’s only friends, will not be coming to the funeral, Nick feels that it is he and Gatsby against them all. Nick realizes that no one truly cares about him and his friend. After reaching out to people to encourage them to come to the funeral and finally being rejected by someone who Nick thought Gatsby called a true friend, he experiences “a feeling of defiance, of scornful solidarity.” Because of Wolfsheim’s close connection to Gatsby and his friendship and relationship with Gatsby, Nick believes that he will at least be able to bring someone to Gatsby’s funeral. However, when Wolfsheim says that he doesn’t want to get mixed up with Gatsby’s murder, Nick senses that no one has really cared for Gatsby or for him. Nick feels that he is all alone, that everyone is against him and that there is no one left who cares.

In book, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts how the American was corrupted through wealth. Fitzgerald provides many examples. The most common example shown was Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s idea that to achieve his American Dream must be to acquire wealth. In order to show this, Fitzgerald uses various literary elements. Two of those being imagery and foreshadowing, these played a critical role in describing the theme, and specific moods to show what was to come and as well as describe the story as a whole. These play a vital role in representing Gatsby’s life and journey to acquiring Daisy, his version of the American Dream.

The “curtains” have human-like qualities, for they are making “whip and snap” sounds. Also, the “picture” has human-like qualities of “groan.” Fitzgerald adds these sounds to show the awkwardness setting in the Buchanan’s house. Just walking in the hallway of Tom Buchanan made Nick feel unease; it was so quiet that Nick can hear the cry of a picture and the lash of the curtain moving.

Dreams are a compelling force in people’s lives. They are what propel them forward each and every day in an effort to reach something better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism, setting, and theme to depict the unattainability of the American Dream.

Quote with context: When explaining the different connotations surrounding the color white, the narrator questions “what is it that in the Albino man so peculiarly repels and often shocks the eye, as that sometimes he is loathed by his own kith and kin! It is that whiteness which invests him, a thing expressed by the name he bears. The Albino is as well made as other men – has no substantive deformity – and yet this mere aspect of all-pervading whiteness makes him more strangely hideous than the ugliest abortion. Why should this be so?” (Melville 166).

intruding to him until the third chapter but instead building up the mystery around him. It also expresses how he would be with a crowd that he invites but he’s not part of the group at all. Like when you shop up to a party that you don’t know anyone. That feeling is showed off to him as I read on “standing alone on the marble stops and looking from one group to another” “Sometimes they come and went without having met Gatsby at all”.

As the narrator, the audience gets a deep insight into how Nick feels about Gatsby. Nick views Gatsby as an admirable figure, and thinks that Gatsby’s capacity to dream makes him “great.” Nick illustrates how, “...Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island sprang from his platonic conception of himself. He was a Son of God. A phrase which means anything means just that.” Plato was a Greek philosopher who created the idealism that every person aspires to some perfect or vastly superior form of itself. Therefore, when Nick refers to “platonic conception,” he is describing how Gatsby created himself based on envisions of his fondest dreams. Born into a poor farming family in North Dakota James Gatz always had a dream to belong in the upper class of

“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart,” was said by Maya Angelou. Many authors strive to write books that have a purpose, including the author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. The author strives to display multiple purposes to readers through strong, sophisticated writing. The purposes Fitzgerald shows in The Great Gatsby include that substance in relationships matters, the truth is important, and that actions have consequences. Fitzgerald executes the purposes successfully by using rhetorical choices such as irony, homilies, simple dialogue, similes, and syntax

In The Great Gatsby, the author, F Scott Fitzgerald depicts the post - war roaring 20’s, a time of overwhelming prosperity and a new found sense of hope for the future. While this novel is often perceived as a romance, it is also a criticism on the devastating nature of the elusive american dream. The story of Jay Gatsby is a representation of what had become the values of the individual at the time. With the progression of the early 1920’s the vision of the perfect life, or the american dream, had been skewed. It was replaced with greed, and an abundance of reckless spending in which the wealthier individuals placed their misguided ideas of happiness. In the Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald chooses to expose the hidden truth behind the illustrious concept of the American dream. Through his use of literary devices such as, symbolism, metaphor, and, irony the central idea of the truly unattainable American dream is supported throughout the novel.

Often times when we consider strong persuaders, a few names easily come to mind. Over the course of history, we’ve seen persuasive candidates like Christopher Columbus that have convinced governing bodies to allow them to explore our planet in the effort of discovery, to political figures comparable to Abraham Lincoln that seek innovation in public sentiment to improve opportunities for all Americans regardless of their ethnicity or gender. These types of positive uses of persuasion allowed the accomplished men that used them to generate powerful advancements for their goals. Powerful use of persuasion isn’t always a tool used by the righteous, however.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about a rich socialite, Jay Gatsby, who tries to win back his love, Daisy Buchannan. Nick Caraway, Daisy’s cousin, is the narrator who brings the reader through the time of the roaring twenties to tell the story of Jay Gatsby. The 1974 film of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, follows the detailed storyline closely by mirroring it, but also adds and takes away some aspects of the story. There are many comparisons that can be made as well as contrasts through the actor, scenery, music, and script choices for the film.

Oftentimes society gets so caught up in achieving greatness that it is blinded to the obstacles of reality. The American Dream can sometimes be so unachievable yet so alluring that people cannot help but strive after it as if it were their destiny. Fitzgerald highlights this phenomenon in his novel The Great Gatsby through many characters and their pursuit of their own American Dreams. Fitzgerald uses figurative language and contrasting diction to show his cynical attitude about the pursuit of the American Dream and the blindness of those who believe in it.

In the passage, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses pugnacious and arrogant tones to reflect Nick’s initial thoughts of Tom, first through Tom’s appearance, then through his actions. Nick’s tone, when he first sees Tom waiting for him in his riding clothes, shifts from one of curiosity to fear and aggression. When Tom begins to talk, all of Nick’s initial thoughts of him are verified through Tom’s abrupt arrogance. Although Nick does not directly acknowledge his hatred and envy of Tom, through Nick’s description of Tom’s appearance and condescending attitude towards him, the reader recognizes a rigid tension between the two.