6.2.1
Form & Language
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Novel Opening - Epigram
The novel begins with an epigram from Thomas Parke D’Invilliers. Epigrams usually offer a pithy insight into the action and narrative of the novel.
The epigram
- ‘Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry ‘Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!’
Reading of the epigram
- In this case, this seems to be apt because Gatsby tries to be the ‘high-bouncing lover’.
- At the same time as this is true, we also know that bouncing is an erratic and uncontrollable movement, which indicates the uncontrollable nature of love as well as the potential for tragedy.
Significance of the epigram
- Novelists often lay down clues like this in the text.
- We have no idea who D’Invilliers was but it seems to mark a French connection, precisely of the pretentious kind that Gatsby tries to simulate.
- The gold hat obviously refers to the riches Gatsby now has.
- You will find the epigram connecting to several moments in the novel, and this helps to unify the structure.
Language
Here is an overview of how Fitzgerald uses language in The Great Gatsby:
Recurrent descriptions
- Much of the language of the novel describes the garish world in which the characters operate in.
- The language also celebrates the rise of consumerism and materialism at this point in American history, so some of the text is devoted to the new things that could be bought and the social world of the period. This is particularly found in the sequences in West Egg and in New York City.
Language describing organised crime
- Fitzgerald is very discreet in the way he uses language to describe the organised crime culture under the surface of the narrative. Usually, characters talk about illegal activity in very subtle and clever ways.
Contrast - Gatsby and Nick
- Much of Fitzgerald’s prose is devoted to describing either the bizarre or vulgar nature of Gatsby’s lifestyle, contrasted with the mild-mannered and more innocent Nick Carraway.
Adumbrated writing style
- Fitzgerald’s writing style is often termed adumbrated, which means to ‘purposefully make things obscure’. The novelist does this at several points in the narrative, to purposefully put a fog around peoples’ pasts – not only with Gatsby but also with Nick and Jordan.
'Hard-boiled'
- The style of writing used by Fitzgerald fits that known as ‘hard-boiled’.
- This is a term applied to crime fiction in the early twentieth century but it has come to represent a kind of gritty realism in American literature in English.
- This is especially found in Fitzgerald’s description of the ‘Valley of the Ashes’ and in the way he presents dialogue.
Dramatic dialogue
- The way that dialogue is presented often has a dramatic feel to it, and this may be because Fitzgerald was simultaneously a screenwriter and playwright.
- Many observers have commented on the ‘cinematic’ language and description in the novel.
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Jump to other topics
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Practice questions on Form & Language
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1Opening EpigramPut in order
- 2
- 3
- 4Complete the lines from the opening epigram:Fill in the list
- 5What does Fitzgerald describe using very subtle description?Multiple choice
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