This passage on page 53, demonstrates many of the writing techniques Fitzgerald uses throughout, and is one I find pleasurable. The first four lines are a classic, with the use of 3 dashes and 1 capitalization of YOU. "He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly", is a quote which in literal terms could have been cut down, but rather Gatsby chose to elongate it. By choosing to do so he posits a statement into the readers' skulls, "he smiled understandingly" and then rebukes that imagery with a definite extension of "much more" than just understandingly. The reader is forced to imagine an extreme of his or her original imagination since Fitzgerald pushed over the first line of defense with a fake. The dashes are meant to represent development of thought and contribute to a sense of verisimilitude. They show the process of thought rather than the clean cut final product which became customary during the productive 1920s. This type if hesitancy of decision, seen also with "almost" is wild through and through the novel, and contributes to the bigger premise of Nick's atypical accounts of his acquaintances. Also, with Fitz creating a shroud of mystery about "The Great Gatsby", the characters themselves follow this model of half-accuracies, and half-answers. Nick could might as well be wearing a Go-Pro, by the way his opinion of Gatsby progresses. "‘Who is he?’ I demanded. ‘Do you know?’", is not what Nick is demanding but what the reader demands after reading the title, and it is never really answered until the end scene when we see the fruit of Gatsby's life, or rather the emptiness of it at his empty funeral. And then can Nick/We say, "that is who The Great Gatsby is".
I liked this post's analysis. But your expressions are somewhat confusing, I feel you could improve it a little by more separation and elaboration. Separation into paragraphs that are easier on the eye and elaboration on why you think so.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I will continue to find interest in your posts in the future.