How Does Fitzgerald Use Literary Techniques In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring Twenties was a decade in American history where dramatic social, political and economic change swept through the continent. This decade also known as the Jazz Age, was when flappers, jazz music, dance and extravagant parties was considered the social norm for the upper class. F. Scott Fitzgerald incorporated much of the elements present during the Jazz Age into his novel The Great Gatsby. His use of various complex literary techniques is what captures the hearts of people all over the world. It is these techniques present in the novel that connect and develop and captivate readers in terms of depicting the messages Fitzgerald expresses.
Society and class is one the main themes that is conveyed through imagery in the novel. It is through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway, that the reader is able to …show more content…
Fitzgerald’s ingenious use of metaphors cleverly support the ideas he is trying to express. The Great Gatsby itself tells the story of love between Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan. After Gatsby and Daisy’s successful reunion, it seems as if Gatsby is visibly affected and a haze washes over the significance of the green light. As Nick observes "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever....Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one". It can be suggested that Gatsby realises that he much face the reality of Daisy, rather than the need to impress her and win her back over. Furthermore their delicate relationship can also be understood when Owl Eyes compares Gatsby’s mansion to a house of cards, muttering that "…that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse…” Eventually this metaphor explains itself, as the inevitable occurs as Gatsby is killed and loses Daisy, leaving him alone and friendless and unsuccessful at fulfilling his great American