In the excerpt from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many different literary devices to reveal to the narrator the character of Gatsby and the effects that Gatsby’s characteristics have on the narrator Nick. The author uses tone, point of view, imagery, and diction to allow the reader to learn more about the mysterious Gatsby but also show the effect that Gatsby has on people through Nick’s eyes as the narrator. Through the use of tone and choice of detail the author shows how Gatsby can be unreliable as the ways he phrases his statements make them seem like lies. For example in the excerpt Nick says “He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford’ or swallowed it or choked on it, as though it bothered him before.” The
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Scott Fitzgerald also uses imagery to reveal Gatsby’s questionable statements, and how Gatsby’s characteristics have effected Nick. In the excerpt Nick states that “He looked at me sideways and I knew why Jordan baker had believed that he was lying.” This statement puts an image into the readers’ head of a man telling a story and looking at them from the corner, and when people do this you usually assume that they are lying. This also raises Nicks suspicions of Gatsby and the authenticity of his stories much like through his tone when he was telling him about himself. In the excerpt Gatsby shows Nick a photograph and Nick says “It was a photograph of half a dozen young men in blazers….Then it was all true.” This use of imagery lets the readers imagine a picture with some guys on it and they can visualize Gatsby with some of his colleagues while they all wear blazers. This also changes Nick’s perception of Gatsby from what he thought about him and his stories before. Before the picture Nick had assumed that Gatsby was lying and that everything he was being told never happened, but when Gatsby was able to pull out a physical piece of evidence to show some truth to his statements Nick changes his mind and thinks that maybe what Gatsby was telling him was in fact
Scott Fitzgerald also uses imagery to reveal Gatsby’s questionable statements, and how Gatsby’s characteristics have effected Nick. In the excerpt Nick states that “He looked at me sideways and I knew why Jordan baker had believed that he was lying.” This statement puts an image into the readers’ head of a man telling a story and looking at them from the corner, and when people do this you usually assume that they are lying. This also raises Nicks suspicions of Gatsby and the authenticity of his stories much like through his tone when he was telling him about himself. In the excerpt Gatsby shows Nick a photograph and Nick says “It was a photograph of half a dozen young men in blazers….Then it was all true.” This use of imagery lets the readers imagine a picture with some guys on it and they can visualize Gatsby with some of his colleagues while they all wear blazers. This also changes Nick’s perception of Gatsby from what he thought about him and his stories before. Before the picture Nick had assumed that Gatsby was lying and that everything he was being told never happened, but when Gatsby was able to pull out a physical piece of evidence to show some truth to his statements Nick changes his mind and thinks that maybe what Gatsby was telling him was in fact