...Analysis of Rhetorical and Literary Techniques The text to be analyzed here is The Great Gatsby, a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this 1920s era novel, George Wilson murders Jay Gatsby, who is the central character by shooting him. This raises the question of who to blame for Wilson’s moral lapse in judgment. The shooter could be held solely responsible for this, but then we have to think about Daisy and Tom who lied to George in their bid to avoid getting into trouble for their actions (Bruccoli, 2000). Evidently, Tom and Daisy played a major role in Gatsby’s death, and so they should share the large bulk of the responsibility for his death. Tom and Daisy are largely responsible for Gatsby’s death. The author uses the technique of foreshadowing sparingly throughout the story, especially within the final chapters. In the seventh chapter of this novel, the author foreshadows Gatsby’s death, as he wrote “I felt that I had something to tell him, something to warn him about and morning would be too late. I could not sleep all night, and a fog-horn groaned incessantly. I tossed half-sick between the savage frightening dreams and a grotesque reality. When I heard the sound of a taxi going to Gatsby's drive, I quickly jumped out of my bed and started to dress up” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1991, p.154). This is a foreshadowing of Gatsby’s death. The author also employs foreshadowing in George Wilson's involvement and his impending actions in response...
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...Analysis of “Materialistic Perception” in F. Scot Fitzgerald Using Marxist Literary Criticism Chapter I 1.1 Introduction The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. 1.2 State of Problem The Great Gatsby provides a critical social history of America during the Roaring Twenties within its narrative. That era, known for unprecedented economic prosperity, the evolution of jazz music, flapper culture, and bootlegging and other economy struggle that was the result of the materialism and capitalism damaging on social behavior, led to the widespread social distress. 1.3 Theoretical Framework Using literary criticism to interpret what is the ideal life of America in 19th century and what is the dream of American people after World War I. as a Marxist interpretation of the novel makes especially clear, reveals its dark underbelly instead. Through its unflattering characterization of those at the top of the...
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...Perhaps F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work, The Great Gatsby is not only a great story, but an insight into the flaws of real life during the "Roaring Twenties." His book has been considered by many a symbol for the "Jazz Age," a time of extraordinary wealth and promise, but Fitzgerald's novel is much more than that, presenting the truth behind the twenties and creating an atmosphere which has earned a permanent place in American literature. Fitzgerald's novel works on many different levels, giving us unforgettable characters and events on one, as well as referring to the problems of American wealth and spirituality on another. However, what is the main point of the book? And most importantly, what on earth is that mysterious green light? Those questions, as well as many others will be answered in this analysis, which will discuss the underlying meaning and symbolism behind The Great Gatsby. "I didn't call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone - he stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness." (16) So ends the first chapter of The Great Gatsby and brings to our attention the first symbol in this book - that mysterious...
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...One amongst many other sayings, "It doesn’t matter what you what you look like on the outside; it’s what's on the inside that count.” (Unknown) This is true when it comes to finding a significant other, but also when pertaining to literature. How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas Foster, is a guide purposefully identifying literary conventions to enable a reader to develop analytical skills. Each chapter highlights essential elements seen in texts within the literature society including references to the Bible, purposeful environment settings, and the symbolic attachment of supernatural creatures. The Bible is a powerful piece of literature connecting to the vast majority of society's morals and beliefs. Foster states how "often those values will not be religious in nature but may show themselves in connection with the individual's role within society."(Fitzgerald 88)Religious references in literary text do not always refer to God but biblical references in a text can strengthen the plot through...
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...The Narrative Art of The Great Gatsby Introduction The Great Gatsby was written in 1925. The author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the most outstanding writers in America. As a member of the “lost generation”, Fitzgerald made the short life of Gatsby epitome of the rise, boom and decline of the “American Dream” in “Jazz Age”. This novel shows us unusually rich literary and aesthetic connotation is has by its unique narrative perspective, the ups and downs of plot, superb accurate language, various rhetorical devices and vivid character images. To some extent, the reason why The Great Gatsby can become a famous classic work is that the author uses extraordinary narrative techniques in it. All the techniques are employed skillfully by Fitzgerald. The study of narrative art in this work has been highlighted in the research area in these years. Zhang Jinfeng(2001) analyzes the role of Nick in the novel from the its structure, themes and other aspects. Cheng Xilin(2009) uses the spatial narrative theory to discussed the space narrative art in The Great Gatsby from three aspects: the geography space, social space and the text space. Xiao Dongbo(2009) starts with the analysis on author and characters and expound the connotation of "American dream" and profoundly reveals the historical process of the formation, development and burst of the "American dream". Shang Guanghui(2011) analyzes The Great Gatsby from the narrators of the role and argues that the communication...
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...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a 1925 novel about complex characters and their intricate relationships. Both the characters and their relationships are central focuses in the purpose of the book; however, those focuses can be understood differently in terms of the unique values of Eastern and Western cultures. An understanding of the text can change drastically based on those interpretations. Jay Gatsby is a prime example of a character that is subject to diverging interpretations. Gatsby’s significance in the text makes a reader’s analysis of him incredibly important to understanding the text. A central theme is observed in his character: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone...remember that all the people in this world haven’t...
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...The roaring twenties the age of dramatic social change and political change it was known for the outrageous parties the drinking the flappers and the big sleepless cities . In the book “The Great Gatsby“ this was around the time the story took place . “The Great Gatsby” was written by American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald he made the setting in Long Island and New York City in the area of West egg and East egg . He wanted to create something extraordinary and beautiful and simple so he wrote this novel. In the book there are many interesting characters like Gatsby he was so mysterious he had me with so much questions. Daisy caught my eye the most she was calm and innocent in the beginning of the book i feel like they way the author linked...
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...A Analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole, but a Literary analysis focuses on how plot plus structure, character, setting, and many other techniques. That's what I intend to achieve in this essay about The Great Gatsby. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of wealth can breed carelessness in my own opinion. Using the literary techniques of point of view, juxtaposition, and foreshadowing to create meaning in his classic work. The word “careless” sums up Nick's friends as I think and also what the author says in the book himself. For example I feel like Gatsby’s whole life trying to contract his money and status so that he could reach a certain position in life. This is what motivated him to move to west egg to be right across the lake from Daisy, making as much money by doing anything possible. I felt in his position Daisy wanted and needed a man that was wealthy so he changed himself to win her back. At a point him and Daisy were perfect for eachother when he was unwealthy, but their affair foreshadowed that it was a doomed relationship showing that she only wanted him for his money now. As we can see now, the relationship was never doomed at the end for Daisy as she runs away, as her secondary lover dies. Another...
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...In what ways does Fitzgerald and Williams present the importance of hopes and dreams? Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Arthur Miller’s ‘A Death of a Salesman’ focus their main ideas on the importance of hopes and dreams. Death of a Salesman, produced in 1949, has become a classic of modern American theatre. It is a story of an average salesman with a dream of being rich and well-liked. Willy believes whole heartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream. In the 1940’s The American Dream was as simple as it gets, to have a perfect, successful life with a common nuclear family, a house in the suburbs, a nice car and a life without conflict or family strife. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a highly symbolic reflection on 1920’s America as a whole, in particular the disappearance of the American Dream in an era of material excess. On the surface, ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a story of the eternal love between a man and a woman. However, in reality the main theme of the novel involves a much larger, less romantic outlook. The 1920’s was an era of decayed social and moral values, which means that the idea of The American Dream was different to what it is now. When World War 1 ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who fought the war became intensely disillusioned. The rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden increase in the national wealth and a new found materialism, leading the younger generation to pursue a life of extravagance...
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...critical theory today critical theory today A Us e r - F r i e n d l y G u i d e S E C O N D E D I T I O N L O I S T Y S O N New York London Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2 Park Square Milton Park, Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN © 2006 by Lois Tyson Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number‑10: 0‑415‑97410‑0 (Softcover) 0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑415‑97410‑3 (Softcover) 978‑0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Tyson, Lois, 1950‑ Critical theory today : a user‑friendly guide / Lois Tyson.‑‑ 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0‑415‑97409‑7 (hb) ‑‑ ISBN 0‑415‑97410‑0 (pb) 1. Criticism...
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...The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald Chapter 6 Color Analysis May 24, 2011 Jay Gatsby | -“torn green jersey” (104): The color green symbolizes wealth and money. At this time in the book, Gatsby is working for Dan Cody, the guy who greatly supplies his wealth. The fact that the jersey is torn signifies the hard work that Gatsby demonstrates which then leads to him reaping the benefits of hard work. This section furthers to talk about his parents and how they were “unsuccessful farm people” also that Gatsby “was a son of God.” This is to say that although Gatsby’s parents were hard workers, they were unsuccessful in reaching their ideal “American dream”. Gatsby is currently making those dreams happen. He was helping to complete his father’s business, and is therefore relatively “a son of God.”---- The green jersey also symbolizes the new life that he yearns for that is full of wealth. Right at this stage in the book, Gatsby is called different names: Gatsby, James Gats, Jay Gatsby, young Gats: Each name recognizes a different stages of growth towards the Wealthy life.-“His brown, hardened body lived naturally through the half fierce, half lazy work of the bracing days.” (104): Brown is the color of earth, and of “getting down and dirty”. It further symbolizes the humility Gatsby underwent while with Dan Cody. Because the idea of wealth plagued Gatsby (“his heart was in a constant turbulent riot.”), he reaped the fruit of his labor as discussed with the color change discussed...
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...Application of Marxism on The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Marxist literary critics tend to look for tensions and contradictions within literary works. This is appropriate because Marxism was originally formulated to analyze just such tensions and contradictions within society. Marxist literary critics also see literature as intimately linked to social power, and thus their analysis of literature is linked to larger social questions. Since Marxism is a belief system which can be used to analyze society at the grandest or most detailed level, Marxist literary criticism is ultimately part of a much larger effort to uncover the inner workings of society 1. Title of the Book – The Great Gatsby: Gatsby became rich because, most probably Cody – the owner of the yatch, left him money but at the same time he is was committed to earning money at an early stage in his life. And the adjective Great added to the word noun, accounts for Fitzgerald reason why a man could be called a great that is he struggled hard to achieve the love of his life by trying to raise his stature. The word “Great” is added to emphasize the fact that he rose from rags to riches, and this fact should be respected and valued. Nick: “I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people--his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception...
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...Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Advanced Placement English III First Six Weeks – Introductory Activities: ▪ Class rules, expectations, procedures ▪ Students review patterns of writing, which they will imitate throughout the course: reflection, narration and description, critical analysis, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and persuasion and argument. ▪ Students review annotation acronyms, how to do a close reading, literary elements and rhetorical devices. Students also review the SOAPSTONE (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone, organization, narrative style and evidence) strategy for use in analyzing prose and visual texts along with three of the five cannons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement and style. ▪ Students learn the format of the AP test, essay rubric and essay structure. ▪ Students take a full-length AP test for comparison purposes in the spring. Reading: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Writing: Answer the following question in one paragraph. Use quotes from the novel as evidence. Some readers believe that the elaborate decoration that Hester embroiders on the scarlet letter indicates her rejection of the community’s view of her act. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position using evidence from the text. (test grade) Writing: Write a well-developed essay addressing the following prompt. Document all sources using MLA citation. Compare Hester to a modern...
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...NORTH AMERICAN FICTION BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Before starting our study of American Fiction we must understand what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know...
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...General guide to referencing 2014 edition From the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Quality) Many students find learning the unfamiliar nature of academic writing a challenging experience. The puzzling art of referencing is no exception, with its traditions and initially obscure formatting rules, referencing can seem to be an overwhelming and annoying requirement standing between you and submitting your assignment by the due date. This guide has been written especially for you, new and returning Federation University Australia (FedUni) students, to demystify referencing and provide numerous practical examples of when and how referencing should be used in your writing at FedUni. As you study, you’ll come to understand that referencing is just a set of rules that you need to follow to adequately acknowledge the work and thinking of others in your assignments. These rules are important because they allow your teachers to decide whether you’ve demonstrated that you understand the topic at hand and show that you have completed the assignment yourself. If you ignore the requirements to reference source materials in your assignment, your teacher may decide you have committed ‘plagiarism’. This means you have failed to reference according to the rules and in doing so, not demonstrated that you have used the work of others in your work. Plagiarism is a very serious matter that can result in unpleasant consequences for your studies and career. So please take the time to understand...
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