Sunday, October 25, 2009
Words, words, words!
Thank you for responses last week. I am interested in how the language of the The Great Gatsby affects you as a reader. Please choose a passage from the novel and explain what affect the author's diction and use of figurative language has on you as a reader. Consider using the same questions on the How To Read a Poem worksheet to help you decipher your feelings. Thanks!
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"On Sunday morning while church bells rang in the villages alongshore, the world and its mistress returned to Gatsby's house and twinkled hillariously o his lawn". (61)
ReplyDeleteThis passage effected me in a positive manner. I liked the way he contradicted a metaphor and reality to prove his point and describe Gatsby and his relationship between parties and regular life.
- Ian Goings
"On Sunday morning while church bells rang in the villages alongshore, the world and its mistress returned to Gatsby's house and twinkled hillariously o his lawn". (61)
ReplyDeleteThis passage is a perfect example of diction. The author's diction creates personification, assonance, and it is an example of a juxtaposition. Being the opening passage of the chapter, the author's diciton also gives you a visual of the setting. The author's diction also makes the passage more intriguing. The author could have said the sun rised and shined on Gatsby's house but instead he stated " the world and his mistress" and "twinkled hilariously on his lawn". This makes the reader think about who is the "world's mistress" and how does the sun "twinkle hilariously". The choice of diction the author uses can determine whether a novel is intriguing or dull.
Tymisha Gray
Period 2
Ap. Literature
"I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark comices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl beside me.."(page 80)
ReplyDeleteThese words left a resounding effect in my mind after reading because of the specific vulnacular and imagery that is shown in the text. The specific word "disembodied" caused me to make the conjecture that Nick Carraway was lonely but upom discussing it in class it turned out tu be totally opposite. That in fact, Nick was not the lonely one, in this passage Nick condesends on the fact that Tom and Daisy both have to hide their love for other people., when Nick does not. This is also a foreshadowing of a future relationship betwwen Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker. So just based on F. Scott Fitzgeralds's figurative languange and diction, it helps the reader to draw conclusion about future events in the book.
DaVeon Smith
AP Lit
Prd. 2
At the close of chapter four, Fitzgerald creates a metaphor that precisely illustrates his style of writing, simultaneously setting the tone of the story. Nick, our narrator, highlights the distinction between Gatsby, Tom, and himself using a metaphor. "Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs" the ambiguosity of this quote intrigues me although one thing is constant. Nick doesn’t have the nuisance of a woman distracting him and simply controlling his every move. On the other hand, it can either mean that neither Tom nor Gatsby actually possess Daisy so no matter what they do, so they are forced to think of her always and she ultimately inhabits their minds, or it can mean they have their personal images of her, but none are actually true, no one knows the real Daisy. See, the tone, the diction and even the figurative language forces the reader to think metacognitively in order to gain understanding. Fitzgerald's style of writing forces me to bend limits and explore notions that I would usually shy away from. His words intrigue me to a point where I can not just skim the chapters or read the spark notes. I actually have to take the time to read the chapters if only to satisfy my curiosity.
ReplyDeleteKumari Iboko
Period 2
"I remember the porttrait of him up in Gatsby's bedroom, a gray , florid man with a hard, empty face-the pioneer dabauchee, who during one phase of American life brought back to the eastern seaboard the savage violence of the frontier brothel and saloon."
ReplyDeleteI chose this qoute because as a reader it gives lots of images through the figurative language.This qoute gives me an actual vivid picture of a man giving a serious stare as if looking at something very important.
D'Juan Grant
per.2
This quote “On Sunday morning while church bells rang in the villages alongshore, the world and its mistress returned to Gatsby's house and twinkled hilariously o his lawn". (61) This affected me the most because it shows the relationship between two different forms of celebration on the same day. The juxtaposition between these two events show how there is a specific group of people that show case sin at night and specific people that show case there love for God. I liked the way he contradicted a metaphor and reality to prove his point and describe Gatsby and his relationship between parties that tend to do with sin on Sunday nights and church on Sunday mornings.
ReplyDeleteJ.T
"The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose(23)."
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this passage I thought the author was trying to describe a doctor with big blue eyes and a small nose. I didn't think there was another meaning to it at all, so I just simply kept reading and went on. I didn't learn until our discussion in class that it was actually a billboard and the eyes being "one yard high" was not a hyperbole but it could actually be true.
The author,Fitzgerald, seems to have a way of using words to make you think he means one thing but they're actually just metaphors and hyperboles. This has been one of my problems while I’ve been reading The Great Gatsby. When I think something is literal it actually turns out to be figurative and vice versa.
Dominique Smith
Period 2
AP Literature
“He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor”. I really liked this quote because the metaphor used here really helps the reader understand what just happened. A birth is a powerful event, and makes us step back and really re-examine what just happened. When Nick basically says that Gatsby was reborn it really shows that to him, his old idea of Gatsby is gone, and has been replaced with a new person. I really like that Fitzgerald used really powerful language to help us readers really see what is happening in the story, and lets us know when something really important happens.
ReplyDelete*jmash322=Jamil
ReplyDelete"Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delieverd suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor."
ReplyDeleteThis affected me cause it showed the revelation Nick had . He didnt understand Gatsby or what he stood for but this quote shows that everything is finally coming to him. Which may give him a chance to actually accept Gatsby instead of trying to analyze him and what he does.This may also help him not be so judgemental towards Gatsby, since he claims to be a non judgemental person . I like the way Fitzgerald kind of allowed Nick a choice so to speak, to live your life the way you claim.
Devin NeShay Davis
AP English Literature and Composition
Period.2
In F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby he uses metaphors to describe scenery in the book. This is present when he’s explaining the “valley of ashes” by him writing, “A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens.” (p.23) He uses metaphors to describe how dirty and dead this place is. This place being described is not a true “valley of ashes” but has the characteristics some similar that it would be described this way. With the use of figurative language from Mr. Fitzgerald it gives the reader a better understanding of the surrounding that the scene is happening in or even of a particular character. With this type of language it can engage the reader because a reader can actually use its imagination and appealing to the readers different senses. In doing so engaging the reader more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteleilani jefferson
ReplyDeleteperiod 2
"I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
ReplyDeleteDaisy was speaking about her daughter with Nick, how she was going to be anything but a pretty little stupid girl for the boys. Daisy says this because she stating that the younger generation is out there having fun, doing pleasure-seeking activitys. This affected me because I felt that she was putting down women and young girls. she used Figurative Language to get her point across to Nick so he could understand it in low manured terms.
Denesha Age
per. 2
"The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose(23)."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the page over and over again, I came to the conclusion that the billboard of Doctor T.J Eckleburg's eyes represented gods eyes looking over the land, And when the billboard starts to fade gods presence in the land begins to do the same. which causes the moral decline to start to become more apparent
Tellis Joseph Frank III
A.P Literature
period 2
The green light accross the water from Gatsby's house is a symbol of his future with daisy. I relate the green light with the green light in a traffic light. Like how cars have to wait to proceed, the same happened with Gatsby because of the war (which symbolized his "red light"), he couldnt persue Daisys heart. But now that he is out of the war he can chase after her.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the Great Gatsby by D. Scott Fitzgerald the quote that affected me the most, was a quote that merely described a billboard.
ReplyDelete"The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose.” (23).
Prior to discussing the quote in class, I thought it was simply about an eye doctor who had a rather gaudy advertisement. But as I continued to read, and after we discussed it in class I soon realized the author’s use of figurative language. Gatsby uses a hyperbole when he describes the doctors eyes as being “one yard high” The fact that this billboard is touring over the Valley of ashes shows that no matter what happens in that valley, some one is always watching. As a reader it is hard to comprehend because there are so many new adjectives that I’ve never seen before. Thanks to our daily vocabulary these word are becoming a lot easier to understand, and use.
Darra Sellers
Per-2
Ap Lit
"In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores." (pg 1)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this quote I was confused. I had to read the entire page twice before i understood what the author was trying to express. Also when we went over it in class this quote helped me determine Nick's character. The quote shows that Nick is supposedly a non-judgemental person and because of this people are drawn to him. I liked this quote due to it's diction. Personally, I like to think of myself as non-judgemental so I felt like would be able to determine if Nick truly was non-judgemental as the book progressed. So far it has been made clear that he is indeed judgemental.
"After that I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe-Paris, Venice, Rome-collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little..."
ReplyDeleteThis quote means simply means that Gatsby lived life on the wealthy side in a lot of the major cities in Europe. At first I had to figure out what a rajah was even though I could have almost figured out what it was by all of the context clues. The type of figurative language used in this quote is a simile. The author compares Gatsby to a rajah using the word "like".
-William Rhodes
Per. 2
"I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl besides me, tightening my arms."(80)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage the author displays a sense of imagery. The other makes it seem like the protagonist Nick Carraway was so lonely and could not find a girl, but i feel as though he did not want a relationship due to all the consequences that comes with having a faithful relationship. NIck feels as though he does not want his relationship to turn out like the Buchanan family because their not together because they love one another their together because their both wealthy and to please their families. This book is really great and i can not wait to finish the story to see what else is in store.
Lauren Lang
Per. 2
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light form the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can.Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but the nerves of her body were continually smouldering." (pg. 25)
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because it gives me a great image of Myrtle. This is important because the way Myrtle looks is compared to Daisy Buchanan's looks. This partly explains why Tom Buchanan is cheating on his wife Daisy.This quote gives a good image through the figurative language.
Chanelle Green
Per. 2
"Then it had not been merely the stars to which he aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delievered from the womb of his purposeless splendor."
ReplyDeleteFitzgerald's use of diction in this pasage was very interesting to me. He did not just simply say that Nick had a better understanding of the mysterious Jay Gatsby, but he told use how much Gatsby's appearance changed to Nick. He had said that he was now alive to him.It is as if he is meeting him for the first time. This man who everyone is trying to figure out turned out to been simply a lover trying to when back the heart of the woman whom he had been in love with for many years.
"her throat, full of aching, grieving, beauty, told only of her unexpected joy"
ReplyDeleteThis poem affected me, because the language Fitzgerald uses is deep. The author could have simply said she was happy, but he describes the way she was feeling. He goes into detail and gives us a clue to way she was feeling. Daisy wasnt just happy to see Gatsby , she was happy with tears. He shows us the deep emotion and connection that Daisy has to Gatsby.
-Norman Simplis
per.2
"Her throat, full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy"(89)
ReplyDeleteThe author went futher into explaining exactly how her voice sounded. Beyond the simple fact that she was happy, i felt a deeper emotion behind these words. Although she was crying he brings out the beauty and happiness she has within her own tears. Although this line is simple, many people can interprut it many diffrent ways. To agree with Norma, there is a deeper relationship between Daisy and Gatsby in this passage.