Contrasts and Conflicts Chap 1 Great Gatsby
How Does Fitzgerald set up contrast within the first chapter?
In ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald the author uses various techniques to set up contrasts and conflicts within the first chapter to show the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s when the book was set and also the corruption of the people during the roaring twenties. Examples of the techniques used to express these themes are characterization, dialogue, figurative language, diction choices , symbolism and foreshadowing. Throughout the book our narrator is Nick Carraway who comes from middle west America and in the first chapter he “went East to learn the bond business” and rents a house in West Egg, Long Island. One of the conflicting aspect in the first chapter done by Fitzgerald was through showing the broken marriage of the Buchanan’s. The author uses foreshadowing ,dialogue and diction choices. Nick goes over to the Buchanan’s home in East Egg for dinner with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and family friend, Jordan Baker. During dinner Daisy burnt herself and blamed Tom saying “...That’s what i get for marrying a brute of a man...hulking physical specimen of a-” - ‘ ...objected Tom crossly ‘ The words “brute” and ”physical specimen” are all animalistic adjectives and ‘specimen’ suggests that he isn’t even human this shows Tom’s violence and savageness which foreshadows Tom’s violence towards Myrtle further into the book. Also the fact that Daisy describes Tom as this vicious man and she still stays married with him anyway implies that she isn’t independent and can’t survive on her own almost as if she needed him. Additionally the way Tom cuts off her sentence “objected crossly” shows how he doesn’t respect Daisy and is the more assertive and dominant person in the relationship, the word “crossly” would show the reader how patronizing Tom is because to be cross with someone it would typically be between a parent and a child where the parent is more superior. Another thing the reader finds out
In ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald the author uses various techniques to set up contrasts and conflicts within the first chapter to show the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s when the book was set and also the corruption of the people during the roaring twenties. Examples of the techniques used to express these themes are characterization, dialogue, figurative language, diction choices , symbolism and foreshadowing. Throughout the book our narrator is Nick Carraway who comes from middle west America and in the first chapter he “went East to learn the bond business” and rents a house in West Egg, Long Island. One of the conflicting aspect in the first chapter done by Fitzgerald was through showing the broken marriage of the Buchanan’s. The author uses foreshadowing ,dialogue and diction choices. Nick goes over to the Buchanan’s home in East Egg for dinner with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and family friend, Jordan Baker. During dinner Daisy burnt herself and blamed Tom saying “...That’s what i get for marrying a brute of a man...hulking physical specimen of a-” - ‘ ...objected Tom crossly ‘ The words “brute” and ”physical specimen” are all animalistic adjectives and ‘specimen’ suggests that he isn’t even human this shows Tom’s violence and savageness which foreshadows Tom’s violence towards Myrtle further into the book. Also the fact that Daisy describes Tom as this vicious man and she still stays married with him anyway implies that she isn’t independent and can’t survive on her own almost as if she needed him. Additionally the way Tom cuts off her sentence “objected crossly” shows how he doesn’t respect Daisy and is the more assertive and dominant person in the relationship, the word “crossly” would show the reader how patronizing Tom is because to be cross with someone it would typically be between a parent and a child where the parent is more superior. Another thing the reader finds out