The Great Gatsby

In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a young man discovers concealed secrets from his neighbor, relatives, and close friends. At one point in the book, located on page fifty-five, Nick, the main character who is on a journey of mysteries, shows a fond interest in the peculiar acts of his neighbor Gatsby. Questions arise in Nick's mind. Why was such a popular man such a loner all at the same time? On this particular page, Nick questions these ideas. The passage reveals to the reader a sad sympathetic story behind the so-called "Great Gatsby" using tone, imagery, and diction giving the reader a more obsolete and clearer vision of Gatsby.

Loner, "a person who avoids the company or assistance of others", according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary. In many point of views, this was a simple, one sentence, explanation of Gatsby. The passage on page fifty-five brings out that concept of Gatsby being a loner. It is true that Gatsby had grand parties and invited a lot of grand people but it was the parties that were popular and well known, not Gatsby. Words or often phrases such as "seeing nothing sinister about him" and "off from his guests" categorize Gatsby as a bashful party thrower who rather take in the action rather than participate in it. Through phrases such as these, the meaning of passage fifty-five can help be determined and made less blatant to a reader. It helps draw focus on what is needed and grows a mysterious interest in the reader. Also, through repetition like, "But no one swooned backward on Gatsby and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link", the reader gets a sense of sympathy knowing that not only has Gatsby been set off from his guests once but this is an on going sadness for Gatsby.

"His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed everyday." Descriptions such as this one will often help a reader determine the tone and feelings an author tries to express in a passage. In the case of the passage on pages fifty-four through fifty-five, imagery again is used to determine the tones and expressions of characters and the setting. An example of this is the following line: "Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes." This example of imagery in the passage works in it because the fragment, "standing alone" gives an obvious clue that Gatsby is a loner. Another example is when Fitzgerald describes the dancing girls "swooning" back and forth with all the guys except Gatsby. His fluent description of the girl's movements is an example