What do you find striking of Fitzgerald’s description of Nick’s visit to Tom and Daisy in pages 20 and 21?
Fitzgerald uses various techniques to strike the reader by using his themes of materialism and lack of communication. He uses these techniques effectively in order to strike the reader’s feeling and manipulate them into thinking one thing when in reality it is another. Additionally, he uses Nick’s narration to influence the reader’s judgements about certain characters and cause them to understand the situation through his eyes.
Firstly, the writer uses language in a striking way to depict the lack of honest relations and respect the characters have for each other. An example of this is when Jordan says ‘Sh!’ in order to listen to the conversation between Tom and Daisy. This is particularly striking because it shows how rude Jordan is and reveals her unashamed, vulgar nature. It is shocking because Jordan is supposed to be a good friend of Daisy’s but in reality, their friendship is entirely hollow. Fitzgerald aims to show the readers how most relationships in this novel are fake and how America has developed into a shallow nation, lacking in morals and basic considerations. He suggests this by using Jordan’s character, who, as product of her society, has no regard for her friend’s feelings and prioritizes gossip and excitement above principals. Fitzgerald demonstrates how each relationship, even the ones which are not romantic, are not genuine but in fact have some other intention. It is clear how Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s status as rich American aristocrats is appealing for a character like Jordan who, similarly to the rest of the country, is obsessed with wealth and status. Secondly, she states: ‘I thought everyone knew’. Her tone of indifference makes me feel angry because even though the action is so disgraceful, she is treating it like it is normal and what everyone does. Consequently, Fitzgerald is once again showing the lack of ethics in America and how its citizens are simply on a pursuit of empty pleasure. Jordan’s purpose is to represent the twisted and corrupt attitude contained in the East, and the absence of any emotional feelings. Nick’s character against Jordan is also especially striking because of his innocence. On page 20, it says: ‘“Got some woman?” I repeated blankly.’ This portrays Nick’s innocence as ‘blankly’ suggests that he is not able to comprehend the situation and is perhaps perplexed by it. This is possibly because Nick is originally from the Middle West, where traditional values and ideals are much more important that the fun-driven lifestyle present in the East. This is also striking because each place represents such diverse attitudes even though they are in the same country.
Fitzgerald also uses striking juxtaposition to present the evident contrast between Tom and Daisy’s personalities and to depict their character. For example he states: ‘the flutter of a dress and the crunch of leather boots’. This description strikes the readers because of the unusual description and the blatant disparity between the characters. ‘Flutter’ implies the image of angel wings and butterflies, which are both fragile, delicate and weak. It can also suggest the fluttering of the heart, which causes her to seem more vulnerable and a romantic. However, it can also imply insincerity and instability due to constant movement of butterflies and their inability to remain motionless. Even though we are not told at this point of Daisy’s past relationship with Gatsby, the reference of fluttering reminds us later of how she abandoned Gatsby’s love for the promise of a wealthy, upper class lifestyle. Her romantic persona shows that she is capable of affection but not of loyalty and devotion. However, like a butterfly’s beauty, her splendour is apparent and in Gatsby’s eyes, she represents perfection. This strikes the reader because in reality, the real Daisy is not as magical as Gatsby thinks, but is in fact in
