Diction

Diction

·      Fitzgerald portrays his characters to be empty characters, unaffected by the trials of the real world, and uses a disapproving and condescending tone to describe them, while also utilizing a solemn tone to convey the misfortune that surrounds their lives due to the way they act. Initially, Fitzgerald spotlights the superficiality of Jordan and Daisy by recounting their “bantering inconsequence that was never quite chatter, that was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of all desire” (Fitzgerald 12). Describing their conversations as “bantering inconsequence,” and convicting them of being “impersonal,” Fitzgerald seeks to convey how dispassionate and ridiculous the women are in thought and action, traits which they have been taught by the growing personal detachedness of humans to one another in the era of the novel. The author employs a condescending tone, revealing that he is critical of their ignorant way of life, and he desires for people to receive his criticality welcomingly so that they will be willing to prevent themselves from becoming superficial as well.

·      Conversely, the author utilizes a solemn, forlorn tone in order to relay the implications of acting uncaringly and without regard for others and the world around oneself, as his characters are well-versed in. Tom is depicted as scared and almost fanatical because of his emotional uprising after he determines that Daisy is cheating on him: “Flushed with his impassioned gibberish, he saw himself standing alone on the last barrier of civilization” (130). Portraying Tom as being in a state of hilarity with his “impassioned gibberish,” and causing the reader to feel despair for him, as he is “on the last barrier of civilization,” the author’s diction causes the reader to feel that Tom is hopelessly alone and alienated by his family and friends, who are supposed to love and care for him, and largely, by society itself. These ideas associated with the diction contribute to the author’s solemn tone because they cause the reader to be aware of the idea that most people during this time period and in this class were unhappy people, even though they lived in immense luxury – the author warns that possessions and status should not comprise a person’s happiness.

·      As Nick discovers that both Gatsby and Wilson are dead, he states “…that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (162). Deeming the ordeal as a “holocaust” not only effectively characterizes the deaths of Myrtle, Wilson, and Gatsby as great and highly unnecessary tragedies, but also condemns the decadence that all the characters participate in. The author means to compare the thoughtless aspects of the Holocaust in respect to Jews and other minority groups – the senseless and irrational killing of innocent people – to the numb actions of the characters of the novel that lead them to be superficial, uncaring, unfaithful, and capable of murder without shame or regret. Adding to the somber mood of the passage, the allusion to the Holocaust contributes to the solemn, despairing tone in that it refers to a time of great desperation. Following the deaths, Nick describes the reports as “grotesque, circumstantial, eager, and untrue” (163). By spotlighting the lurid style of journalism that the reporters were not afraid to use, Fitzgerald conveys how selfish and self-absorbed the people were in that they only cared about what would make them or their prospects better. He calls the reporting “grotesque” because he feels that the way in which the journalists treat delicate issues is obscene, and he wants to reveal his disapproving tone in order to push readers to not be so selfish and over-exaggeratory.