Diction
Fitzgerald uses words that help denote his connotation of the story and its cynical tone. On pages 124 and 125 in the book, he uses the word “disquieting”, for example, “The locality was always vaguely disquieting, even in the broad glare of afternoon, and now I turned my head as though I had been warned of something behind”(124). The cross station between New York and where they lived seemed like something to worry about for Nick, the narrator, making him feel the need to be watching his back. On the next page, Fitzgerald uses it again in saying, “The word “‘sensuous’” had the effect of further disquieting Tom, but before he could invent a protest the coupe came to a stop, and Daisy signaled us to draw up alongside”(125). Tom felt anxious and worried as tensions were growing between everyone in the story. The author’s cynical tone is once again held strong by the reference to Tom’s worrisome attitude. In another instance, Fitzgerald uses a sentence to accomplish just exactly what Gatsby felt after he had his heart broken, “…trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room”(134). Fitzgerald uses words such as “struggling unhappily” and “undespairingly” to emphasize the emotional impact of the scene and to further reinforce the cynical ton of the story.
I think this is a very accurate analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald's use of diction. It think you analyzed each sentence very well, but you could have linked your commentary back to the thesis more often and in more depth. I like the quotes you chose, but I found it slightly confusing when you said that Fitzgerald was trying to "accomplish just exactly what Gatsby felt after he had his heart broken." I somewhat understood what you meant, but you could have made it more clear uses better punctuation and grammar. All in all, I thought this was a great essay because of the great quote choice and commentary. Good job, Kyle!
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