How Does Fitzgerald Tell the Story in Chapter 4?
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter 4?
Chapter 4 develops the character of Gatsby and questions the reliability of Nick as a narrator. Fitzgerald reveals two different sides of Jay Gatsby and hints at Gatsby's criminal doings as Gatsby takes Nick to meet some of his questionable acquaintances. Additionally, Nick and Jordan's relationship is introduced and developed. Fitzgerald also employs the use of cinematic cuts which create the effect that the events of the chapter are real.
Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 4 through the character of Jay Gatsby. Two different sides of Gatsby are established; romantic Gatsby and the criminal side of Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby's multi-faceted character to make Gatsby seem enigmatic and enticing. The romantic side of Gatsby is shown when Jordan says that Gatsby looked at Daisy in “a way that every young girl wants to be looked at.” This seems to suggest that Gatsby is a sensitive man who is completely overwhelmed with his love for Daisy. On the other hand, the “looked” could relate to the theme of vision and seeing clearly and may show that Gatsby was not overwhelmed by his emotions. Gatsby may have had precise control over his emotions and his interactions with Daisy may have been “clearly” planned and rehearsed, as Gatsby may have feigned love for Daisy while having an ulterior motive. This calculated and harder angle on Gatsby relates to the criminal side of Gatsby, which is conveyed through the setting of the cellar. The cellar is dark as Nick “blinks away the brightness of the street outside,” and darkness has connotations of corruption and the under-world of dishonesty, suggesting that the cellar is a place of wrongdoing. Light represents goodness and purity in the novel, and the fact that the cellar lacks light means that the cellar has privation of goodness, which is evil. This evil may have spread to its inhabitants, namely Wolfsheim and Gatsby. This evil could be a side of Gatsby which he does
Chapter 4 develops the character of Gatsby and questions the reliability of Nick as a narrator. Fitzgerald reveals two different sides of Jay Gatsby and hints at Gatsby's criminal doings as Gatsby takes Nick to meet some of his questionable acquaintances. Additionally, Nick and Jordan's relationship is introduced and developed. Fitzgerald also employs the use of cinematic cuts which create the effect that the events of the chapter are real.
Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 4 through the character of Jay Gatsby. Two different sides of Gatsby are established; romantic Gatsby and the criminal side of Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby's multi-faceted character to make Gatsby seem enigmatic and enticing. The romantic side of Gatsby is shown when Jordan says that Gatsby looked at Daisy in “a way that every young girl wants to be looked at.” This seems to suggest that Gatsby is a sensitive man who is completely overwhelmed with his love for Daisy. On the other hand, the “looked” could relate to the theme of vision and seeing clearly and may show that Gatsby was not overwhelmed by his emotions. Gatsby may have had precise control over his emotions and his interactions with Daisy may have been “clearly” planned and rehearsed, as Gatsby may have feigned love for Daisy while having an ulterior motive. This calculated and harder angle on Gatsby relates to the criminal side of Gatsby, which is conveyed through the setting of the cellar. The cellar is dark as Nick “blinks away the brightness of the street outside,” and darkness has connotations of corruption and the under-world of dishonesty, suggesting that the cellar is a place of wrongdoing. Light represents goodness and purity in the novel, and the fact that the cellar lacks light means that the cellar has privation of goodness, which is evil. This evil may have spread to its inhabitants, namely Wolfsheim and Gatsby. This evil could be a side of Gatsby which he does