The Scowl Behind the Mask A quiet woman politely refuses a bowl of rice, her porcelain fingers trembling as she lays her chopsticks on the tatami mat. An elderly babushka gently sweeps back and forth as she carefully watches the children in the yard. A young girl languishes in the warm water, waving a lazy hello to the sailors as they pass. Behind their masks of innocence lurk vicious monsters. As the quiet woman rests back on her heels, the gaping mouth on the back of her head tears her father apart—the Futakuchi-onna devouring its first meal. As the children’s parents scream in the kitchen, the Babushka frowns, her spectral arms clambering towards the children’s necks—the Kikimora preparing to punish their parents for their insolence. As
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Scott Fitzgerald uses a combination of diction and choice of detail to compare Daisy to a siren of myth. The author constantly emphasises her “breathless,” “thrilling,” “glowing and singing” voice, and the palpable effect of her song (Fitzgerald 9). By using exciting, enthralling diction to describe her tone, Fitzgerald begins to paint Buchanan as the enchanting Grecian monster. Occasionally, Fitzgerald even describes her voice as a “s[o]ng,” (15) or, she’ll “[sing]” instead of speak (16). By giving her voice such melodic qualities, Daisy becomes the siren. Her voice becomes “human magic” and she bewitches every man she sees, like her Grecian counterparts. When she grows upset, she makes “a strained sound” and “beg[i]n[s] to cry stormily” (92). Fitzgerald deliberately chooses to include the “strained sound” she makes, alluding to frantic caws sirens make when they grow desperate or despondent. The author continues this comparison as she “beg[i]n[s] to cry, ” doing so “stormily.” The diction Fitzgerald uses alludes to the sea-based monsters. Even her name, Daisy Fay, is reminiscent of the “flower[y]” island of the sirens in the source of the myth—The Odyssey (Homer 12.158–9). The use of figurative language lays the groundwork for Daisy’s transformation to a …show more content…
When he meets Daisy, at first her voice enthralls him, and he notices how “[her] murmur… make[s] people lean toward her,” similar to how the siren’s croon would coerce sailors to peer over the edge of a ship (Fitzgerald 9). However, as soon as she falls silent, he realizes the “basic insincerity of what [his cousin] had [just] said” (17). Despite the fact that her voice commands “the ear [to] [follow] [it] up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again,” (9) despite the fact that Daisy’s voice is a “promise[s]… gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour,” and despite the fact her words “compel[s] [people] forward breathlessly” (14), her voice is merely that—a noise. Like Odysseus in The Odyssey, Carraway realizes that her power comes from her voice—and without her voice, she has no power. When he breaks her spell over him, Nick acknowledges that his cousin “[is] a careless [person]— smash[ing] up things and creatures,” indifferent to the misery she leaves in her wake (179). He realizes that even though sirens may be beautiful and lovely, that at their heart, they are vicious monsters.
Though sirens have existed for centuries, from The Odyssey, to Harry Potter, to the Pirates of the Caribbean, the novel The Great Gatsby puts a modern twist on the ancient Grecian legend. Through narrator
Scott Fitzgerald uses a combination of diction and choice of detail to compare Daisy to a siren of myth. The author constantly emphasises her “breathless,” “thrilling,” “glowing and singing” voice, and the palpable effect of her song (Fitzgerald 9). By using exciting, enthralling diction to describe her tone, Fitzgerald begins to paint Buchanan as the enchanting Grecian monster. Occasionally, Fitzgerald even describes her voice as a “s[o]ng,” (15) or, she’ll “[sing]” instead of speak (16). By giving her voice such melodic qualities, Daisy becomes the siren. Her voice becomes “human magic” and she bewitches every man she sees, like her Grecian counterparts. When she grows upset, she makes “a strained sound” and “beg[i]n[s] to cry stormily” (92). Fitzgerald deliberately chooses to include the “strained sound” she makes, alluding to frantic caws sirens make when they grow desperate or despondent. The author continues this comparison as she “beg[i]n[s] to cry, ” doing so “stormily.” The diction Fitzgerald uses alludes to the sea-based monsters. Even her name, Daisy Fay, is reminiscent of the “flower[y]” island of the sirens in the source of the myth—The Odyssey (Homer 12.158–9). The use of figurative language lays the groundwork for Daisy’s transformation to a …show more content…
When he meets Daisy, at first her voice enthralls him, and he notices how “[her] murmur… make[s] people lean toward her,” similar to how the siren’s croon would coerce sailors to peer over the edge of a ship (Fitzgerald 9). However, as soon as she falls silent, he realizes the “basic insincerity of what [his cousin] had [just] said” (17). Despite the fact that her voice commands “the ear [to] [follow] [it] up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again,” (9) despite the fact that Daisy’s voice is a “promise[s]… gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour,” and despite the fact her words “compel[s] [people] forward breathlessly” (14), her voice is merely that—a noise. Like Odysseus in The Odyssey, Carraway realizes that her power comes from her voice—and without her voice, she has no power. When he breaks her spell over him, Nick acknowledges that his cousin “[is] a careless [person]— smash[ing] up things and creatures,” indifferent to the misery she leaves in her wake (179). He realizes that even though sirens may be beautiful and lovely, that at their heart, they are vicious monsters.
Though sirens have existed for centuries, from The Odyssey, to Harry Potter, to the Pirates of the Caribbean, the novel The Great Gatsby puts a modern twist on the ancient Grecian legend. Through narrator