In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses music to present the vast extent of human emotion. In relation to the signification gap, music is a direct link between signifier and signified. Music alone can hold the emotional depth that words simply cannot encompass: “Whenever there was a pause in the song she filled it with gasping, broken sobs” (Fitzgerald, 51). Evidently, the stranger’s song captures Nick’s attention because of its haunting, poignant sentiment. The singer’s “gasping, broken sobs” refers to society’s disillusionment with a utopian America. Therefore, the singer may be a symbol of mourning for the loss of secure worldviews, and an acknowledgement of society’s true fragmented state. Her lamentation is a realization that reality fails
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The song’s “pause,” in fact, may be an ostensible expression for an underlying reality — America’s sense of emptiness. In order to fill the moral void that was once occupied by indiscriminate religious acceptance, the Roaring-Twenties initiated a trend toward mass consumerism. In addition, Fitzgerald uses music to highlight the material drive that stimulates Gatsby’s ambition. Spurred by his persistent resolve to gain Daisy’s affection, Gatsby transforms himself, albeit through illicit means. However, the lyrics of the “Sheik of Araby” indicate that love alone does not drive Gatsby’s efforts: “I’m the Sheik of Araby. Your love belongs to me” (Fitzgerald, 147). Essentially, these lyrics reveal Gatsby’s assertion that Daisy must love him. Gatsby originally views Daisy as a signifier for the wealth that he had long desire. Gatsby does not value Daisy as a woman, but as an object that “belongs to [him].” Gatsby had thus far been capable of overcoming all social boundaries; however, this obsessive outlook becomes Gatsby’s mentality in his pursuit of …show more content…
Hemingway’s writing style itself is modernistic, as he largely forgoes rhetorical flourishes in favor of unembellished diction and syntax. Hemingway attributes his writing style to the self-titled Iceberg Principle: “Eliminate everything unnecessary… [so that] the reader… will have a feeling of [what is absent] as strongly as though the writer had stated [it]” (Wood, 102-103). Hemingway was renowned for his distinct clarity and minimalism, which kept his message implicit and allowed the reader to analyze connections. Hemingway recognized that, in this way, the reader could engage in a higher level of thought and interaction. Each reader could interpret his scarce prose in a creative, original manner. Though Hemingway’s writing seems ostensibly simple, his verbiage is deliberate and intentional; it is a staple of literary formal modernism. Most notably, Jake reveals his inner turmoil only through subtle intimations: “I was a little ashamed… [but] realized there was nothing I could do about it” (Hemingway, 103). Jake never elaborates on his war injury — his sexual debility. Jake’s avoidance of such matter illustrates the war’s physical and psychological toll on his psyche. Jake’s cynicism and defeatist mentality particularly manifest themselves when he attempts to dilute his inner strain with alcohol. Jake’s physical debilitation convince him that
The song’s “pause,” in fact, may be an ostensible expression for an underlying reality — America’s sense of emptiness. In order to fill the moral void that was once occupied by indiscriminate religious acceptance, the Roaring-Twenties initiated a trend toward mass consumerism. In addition, Fitzgerald uses music to highlight the material drive that stimulates Gatsby’s ambition. Spurred by his persistent resolve to gain Daisy’s affection, Gatsby transforms himself, albeit through illicit means. However, the lyrics of the “Sheik of Araby” indicate that love alone does not drive Gatsby’s efforts: “I’m the Sheik of Araby. Your love belongs to me” (Fitzgerald, 147). Essentially, these lyrics reveal Gatsby’s assertion that Daisy must love him. Gatsby originally views Daisy as a signifier for the wealth that he had long desire. Gatsby does not value Daisy as a woman, but as an object that “belongs to [him].” Gatsby had thus far been capable of overcoming all social boundaries; however, this obsessive outlook becomes Gatsby’s mentality in his pursuit of …show more content…
Hemingway’s writing style itself is modernistic, as he largely forgoes rhetorical flourishes in favor of unembellished diction and syntax. Hemingway attributes his writing style to the self-titled Iceberg Principle: “Eliminate everything unnecessary… [so that] the reader… will have a feeling of [what is absent] as strongly as though the writer had stated [it]” (Wood, 102-103). Hemingway was renowned for his distinct clarity and minimalism, which kept his message implicit and allowed the reader to analyze connections. Hemingway recognized that, in this way, the reader could engage in a higher level of thought and interaction. Each reader could interpret his scarce prose in a creative, original manner. Though Hemingway’s writing seems ostensibly simple, his verbiage is deliberate and intentional; it is a staple of literary formal modernism. Most notably, Jake reveals his inner turmoil only through subtle intimations: “I was a little ashamed… [but] realized there was nothing I could do about it” (Hemingway, 103). Jake never elaborates on his war injury — his sexual debility. Jake’s avoidance of such matter illustrates the war’s physical and psychological toll on his psyche. Jake’s cynicism and defeatist mentality particularly manifest themselves when he attempts to dilute his inner strain with alcohol. Jake’s physical debilitation convince him that