Polysyndeton In The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is a carefully construct work of art. Fitzgerald strung in many rhetorical devices, such as similes,alliteration, polysyndeton, and many others to enhance his work and prove his point. In chapter two the opening paragraph is a great example of this. The passage about the Valley of Ashes,Nick the narrator uses Polysyndeton,imagery and alliteration to show how the valley of ashes, is a complete contrast to East Egg and West Egg.
Nick's use of polysyndeton in the passage to show how the Valley is a big bold line separating the two eggs.“This is a valley of ashes —a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”The Valley is right in between the two Eggs which creates both a physical but symbolic separation. The polysyndeton just adds on the the separation between the two. The use of the over abundant ands helps emphasize the division. Each and within the sentence adds on …show more content…
He uses phrases such as “desolate area of land”, “grey land”, and grotesque gardens” to help establish the distinction between the two areas.Grey is the predominate color within the passage describing the valley.while in other passages Nick uses bright colors imagery to describe the surrounding. With the use of grey Nick is implying that the Valley of Ashes is an isolated place that is dull, boring, and depressing. This is established because of the connotation that if something is anything but colorful it has to be depressed and lifeless. In the two Eggs we hear stories about the lavish parties, colorful scenery, and joyful times that give life to the two cities. Because of the completely different descriptions the contrast between the three settings

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