Gatsby Extract Essay
How is the story told in this extract of ‘The Great Gatsby’?
Harpreet Basra
This extract is all about Gatsby giving the tour of his house to Daisy and Nick and it seems that the reoccurring theme in this extract is all about the superficiality and materialism of society at the time. Fitzgerald uses a number of different narrative techniques to show this.
One of the main techniques used is the use of motifs. In the extract there is a whole narrative paragraph that just describes the shirts that Gatsby owns, such as “shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-coloured disarray”. The motif of clothing is a prominent one throughout the whole novel but in this extract it symbolizes the wealth that Gatsby has acquired and the materialism as he shows them off to Daisy. There is also a lot of detail, which describes the shirt in this paragraph such as “shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green…” This also shows the wealth of Gatsby as he can now afford these types of shirts, and in a large amount as well, however, the amount of detail could also be used to show the many layers of Gatsby and how different they are from one another, symbolizing the different masks that he puts up in order to maintain the façade that he is happy, rich and popular. Another motif that is used in this extract is when Gatsby refers to Nick as “old sport”, which could be shown to be patronizing as it shows that Gatsby is trying to make it seem as if he is older and more superior to Nick. It could also show the sense of British-ness that Gatsby is trying to achieve, as if he is of a higher class than what he actually is.
Another technique that is used in this extract is reported speech. When Gatsby asks Nick if his house looks well, Nick “agreed that it was splendid.” The reported speech could show that Gatsby is in control of the conversation and he is the dominant character in this
Harpreet Basra
This extract is all about Gatsby giving the tour of his house to Daisy and Nick and it seems that the reoccurring theme in this extract is all about the superficiality and materialism of society at the time. Fitzgerald uses a number of different narrative techniques to show this.
One of the main techniques used is the use of motifs. In the extract there is a whole narrative paragraph that just describes the shirts that Gatsby owns, such as “shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-coloured disarray”. The motif of clothing is a prominent one throughout the whole novel but in this extract it symbolizes the wealth that Gatsby has acquired and the materialism as he shows them off to Daisy. There is also a lot of detail, which describes the shirt in this paragraph such as “shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green…” This also shows the wealth of Gatsby as he can now afford these types of shirts, and in a large amount as well, however, the amount of detail could also be used to show the many layers of Gatsby and how different they are from one another, symbolizing the different masks that he puts up in order to maintain the façade that he is happy, rich and popular. Another motif that is used in this extract is when Gatsby refers to Nick as “old sport”, which could be shown to be patronizing as it shows that Gatsby is trying to make it seem as if he is older and more superior to Nick. It could also show the sense of British-ness that Gatsby is trying to achieve, as if he is of a higher class than what he actually is.
Another technique that is used in this extract is reported speech. When Gatsby asks Nick if his house looks well, Nick “agreed that it was splendid.” The reported speech could show that Gatsby is in control of the conversation and he is the dominant character in this