Diction?

Blog Topic #2 Diction

• At the beginning of chapter two, Fitzgerald gives imagery of the location of the story. He describes it as “a valley of ashes” with “grotesque gardens”(23). Even the “ashes tale form of houses and chimneys”(23). These gloomy words create a solemn tone and aids in conveying the sense of decay of the “American Dream”.
• After the death of Gatsby, Nick ponders how Gatsby's mind created the big picture of what happened. He thinks that Gatsby “found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon a the scarcely created grass”(161). Using the words “grotesque” and “raw” adds to the mourning tone that is created by Gatsby's passing. Using the harsh words also shows the harsh reality of one's own wishes and the mourning present when you find the thing you wished for biting back at you.
• After, getting reacquainting with Daisy, Gatsby remembers awhile ago when he “kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete”(111). This created a hopeful tone in the story. The simile also illustrates the way that the feeling was mutual between them both and they both had been given a new life with that kiss. With this given hope, Gatsby hopes to reach this reincarnation again with Daisy, even if it means getting between her and Tom.