Analyse The Great Gatsby

« Great Gatsby Lit.

Oral INTRO Today I have chosen to analyse the extracts of the party and the valley of ashes from The Great Gatsby as the many contrasts and similarities they contain depict the different aspects of the 1920s America : a world bathing in social inequalities, moral decay and an illusionary American Dream.

My descriptive text is also follows the themes of the novel, set at night during a party to illustrate its excessive and ephemeral nature. Excessiveness versus decadence: • In the extract of the party, the themes of excessiveness, and wealth prevail to portray the sheer scale of Gatsby’s parties, but the themes of decay casts a shadow over the festivities. ◦ Firstly the repetition of “and” throughout the extract, using listing as well as long sentences punctuated by commas builds a mood of excessiveness and overabundance to portray Gatsby’s wealth. ◦ This opulence is stained by the negative consequences however, mentioned subtly through the aquaplanes that cause “cataracts of foam”.

This hyperbolic metaphor depicts the vivid imagery of a mass quantity of foam blinding the guests from the consequences of their entertainment, with the usually neutral tone of this extract tainted in this moment with societal criticism from Nick’s perspective. ◦ Moreover, decay is portrayed through the “ravages from the night before” that the gardeners have to incessantly repair.

It reminds us of the environmental consequences of the parties, and alludes to the numerous negative aspects that come with such grandeur and unchecked power.

The wealthy are shown as the most sophisticated, but simultaneously the most destructive population. ◦ The refined description of the buffet, with the use of the alliteration “garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvre”, and the metaphor of the turkeys “bewitched to a dark gold” contrast with the verb”crowded” that gives a feeling of surfeit and saturation. • On the other hand, the extract of the valley ashes portray the consequences of this excessiveness and wealth. ◦ The setting described is a one of desolation, the valley not actually made out of ashes but bathed in a grey atmosphere from the smoke, the pollution and the sullen mood. ◦ Long sentences are also used in the extract, but in opposition with the party scene, they symbolise the mass poverty and decay rather than overflowing wealth. ◦ Similarly to the previous extract, vivid imagery is used such as the metaphor of the valley as a ”farm” growing “ashes” instead of “wheat”.

This ironic reference to the consequences of industrialisation reminds of the “machines” used to press fresh juice at the party: both worlds are industrialised, but one gains from the latter's torturous work. ◦ In the same way as the party, the environmental consequences are apparent except that this time, it intoxicates and influences the population.

Indeed “the foul rivers” and “powdery air” accentuates the bad quality of life, in contrast with the “sun” and the “hot sand” of Gatsby’s mansion. ◦ Consequently, they metaphorically become “ash grey men” in their “ash grey cars” which contrasts with the opulent use of colour in the party description, highlighting their deathlike state versus, the liveliness of the guests. • Comparatively to Fitzgerald's texts, I have chosen to make the decay and excessiveness both very apparent in the same extract, rather than 2 different texts. ◦ Similarly to Gatsby's party, my text starts off with a lexical field of luxury with the “lavish” tables, the “shimmering” gardens, “silver platters”.

In particular, the theme of overabundance is prominent through the words “spilled”, “exorbitant” and “heaps” through which I wished to highlight the borderline absurdity of such excess, enhanced by the long sentences also used int Fitzgerald's extracts. ◦ As the night goes on however, the theme of transient joy and decay become central, unlike Gatsby's party where a feeling a revelry continues.

Therefore, the use of the short sentence “Time slipped away unseen.” created an abrupt contrast with the magical atmosphere depicted just before.

This was the remind the fleetingness of the joy created through such parties.

The personification of time as a person slipping away, with the extended metaphor of her “twisted, torturous hands” that she “drags” towards dawn creates tension, foreshadowing the end of the party. ◦ Moreover, I used the the antithesis of the “unyielding reminder”and the “frail crystal” chandelier to express the conflict in which the fragility of their joy cannot withstand the obstacle of time. ◦ Lastly, the party finishes in an atmosphere of doom and decay, with the assonance in 's' of “splintered shards of smashed glass” whose sonority depict a vivid sensory image of the destruction.

The repetition of “heaps” to describe the rose petals, earlier “blue and gold”, now “crimson” reminds of the temporality of beauty and life through the doom and deathlike connotation of crimson. Superficial and condemnable society • Chap 2: in the extract of the Valley of ashes, Doctor T J Eckelburg’s eyes are used as a tool to criticise the 1920’s American society. ◦ the author’s disapproving attitude is suggested through the use of personification of the “gigantic and blue” retinas that “brood on over” the valley.

The colour blue symbolising in this context the wisdom giving the impression that they are all-seeing and cast judgement,a recurrent motif of either God or moral conscience throughout the novel. ◦ In addition, they represent the social inequalities and lies with their “yellow spectacles” which is a colour that contrasts with the colour gold of real wealth and consequently suggests the tackiness of new money.

they also symbolise depravity that influences society’s moral conscience, being therefore a motif for the failure of the American dream that leads to materialism and unattainable ambitions. ◦ the oculist’s description right after is also ironic: by dismissing the doctor with the alliteration “some wild wag” he makes us question the actual wisdom of those eyes whose owner “wanted to fatten his practice”.

The use of the word fatten paired with wild wag gives a caricatural and satirical image of a greedy business man avid for money, exploiting the consumerist society . • Chap 3: Similarly in chapter 3, the quotation “men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” reflect perfectly certain social aspects of the time: ◦ Firstly, it’s an allusion to women’s place in society: “girls” contrasting “men” show that the parties were centred around the men’s pleasure and leisure that they found in youthful girls rather than.... »