Examples Of Syntax In The Great Gatsby

Although most humans act as if they are above animals, they still tend to revert back to those innate instincts. In the excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes literary techniques such as diction, syntax, and detail to display the barbaric qualities of the characters in the novel. Fitzgerald uses detail to paint the image of the novel’s setting to show how the characters are uncivilized. The characters reveal themselves to be uncivilized partiers by their “slender riotous island” on which they reside. The characters live a life of lively disorder, doing whatever they please without the fear of consequences. Their lack of fear of ruining the relationships they have with each other shows that they could never love someone else as much as they love themselves. The setting of the “strangest [community] (1)” exemplifies the idea that the people living on these islands are unusual in a way that is hard for the narrator to understand. The
The narrator, while describing his house on the West Egg, utilizes a dash when saying that it is on the “less fashionable of the two (1)” Eggs. This use of syntax creates a tone shift of hesitation, hinting that he is not sure whether the old money of the East Egg or the new money of the West Egg is better anymore. The narrator’s diction when describing his home as a humble “eyesore (1)” in the “consoling proximity of millionaires (1),” reveals how the narrator is not characterized along with the other inhabitants of the Eggs -- he is simply in close enough proximity to experience it all. Fitzgerald, in the novel The Great Gatsby, utilizes several literary techniques to show the animalistic qualities of the characters in the novel. The characters are an example of how humans will always return to their barbaric ways, no matter how much they want to pretend that they are