The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
-analysis of chapter One-
The inaugural chapter to F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, is a fitting
introduction to what many consider one of the greatest pieces of American
literature. Chapter one of The Great Gatsby does a fine job in displaying
Fitzgerald’s renowned literary talents as well as captivating the reader and
introducing a story that begs to be read. The vital characters of the story are
introduced beautifully in chapter one, as Fitzgerald uses selective language to
reveal what he wants about the characters without giving too much away. Some of
the characters’ main qualities are revealed, both through Nick’s extensive
narration and their own statements. The setting of the book is also wonderfully
introduced as Nick goes through the geography and housing he finds out on Long
Island. The rival communities of West Egg and East Egg are introduced, as well
as the respective homes of all of the major characters. In chapter one as in the
rest of the novel and the rest of his works, Fitzgerald utilizes obsessively
chosen words to convey exactly what he means. Fitzgerald’s syntax is similarly
chosen and intended, as all unneeded words are excluded and enormous run-on
sentences add to the feeling and the style of the story. In the category of
imagery, The Great Gatsby is again overflowing as Fitzgerald captivates
the reader with marvelous descriptions of the Long Island mansions and creates
symbols out of the most mundane objects. Chapter one of The Great Gatsby
is packed with examples of Fitzgerald’s talents displayed in wonderful
diction, syntax, and imagery that make chapter one an extremely beautiful and
effective introduction to Fitzgerald’s masterwork.
The Great Gatsby appears to be
somewhat slim to be considered on of the great works of American literature as
chapter one is barely twenty-one pages long and the entire work weighs in at
less than one hundred and ninety pages. However, this length is perfect for such
a wordsmith as F. Scott Fitzgerald; a man who deliberated over the smallest
detail or word change to convey exactly what he meant. In the case of The
Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald went back and forth with his editor, Maxell
Perkins, before settling on the manuscript with exactly the right diction. In
chapter one, Fitzgerald’s particular use in specific diction is in the
descriptions and insights into the characters and settings of the novel, an
imperative procedure necessary to set up the rest of the book. Nick’s specific
narration in the beginning of the chapter reveals how much he admired Gatsby
even though the man “represented everything for which I have unaffected
scorn,” and was the opposite of the high morality that Nick seeks. The reader
is also informed about Nick’s upbringing, another topic that is laid out by
Fitzgerald’s carefully chosen words, making Nick neutral, neither extremely
poor or extremely rich. Nick instead is part of a “prominent,
well-to-do…clan” that has lived in the morally upstanding Midwest for three
generations. Diction in the book’s dialogue also does a good job of
introducing characters, as Tom’s ironic first words are “I’ve got a nice
place here.” The expected phrase would be a compliment from Nick to Tom about
Tom’s property, but the narcissistic East Egger gives himself the compliment
instead. Also, the description of Tom is carefully worded, as Nick terms Tom’s
massive, athletic physique as “a body capable of enormous leverage—a cruel
body,” there is nothing sexy or even positive about the body or its owner.
Diction also plays a strong role in the reader’s perception of the setting of
the novel, the houses in particular. First of all, the dwellings in chapter one
are never referred to as a home, they are called mansions, palaces, Nick refers
to Gatsby’s mansion as “a colossal affair,” and Nick calls his own shack a
“cardboard bungalow.” These buildings are never called something as personal
as home, a place were people live and grow; they are simply colossal overgrown
houses whose sole purpose is to convey a positive wealthy image to the outside
world.
Another
one of Fitzgerald’s tools in tweaking The Great Gatsby is the syntax
that was used in creating the novel and defining Fitzgerald’s particular
style. Along with choosing exact words for his novel through numerous revisions,
Fitzgerald also eliminated any unneeded words from his work, another reason for
book’s small size. An example of this word cutting occurs in the scene in
chapter one where a stranger asks Nick how to get to West Egg Village. Instead
of going into detail about directions and wasting space, Fitzgerald simply has
Nick state that “I told him,” and Fitzgerald instead dives into the more
important matter of Nick’s reaction of pride to his ability to be a guide to
another human being. In contrast to this three-word sentence, there are
sentences of more than five lines that frequently occur in Nick’s narration.
In fact, on the very first page there is a sentence that spans eight lines of
type as Nick tells of his great moral upstanding. Although numerous commas and
semicolons separate the massive sentence, reading it out loud leaves the reader
breathless and the mind even seems exasperated after taking in so much
information at one time. Much of the chapter is taken up with this style of
narration, as spots of dialogue are few and far between. The first line of
separated dialogue concerning Nick’s summer in the east occurs after an
initial four pages of narration, describing Nick’s background. When the
stranger asks Nick for directions he does not respond to the man in dialogue, he
simply narrates that he told him where to go and proceeds to describe other
events early in that summer. The first actual conversation that is outlined line
by line does not appear until page ten when Nick begins to talk with Daisy and
Tom. More dialogue appears as the dinner party progresses, but it is
consistently broken up by Nick’s narration. The chapter ends were it started
with a full page of Nick narrating his observation of Gatsby staring across the
bay.
Chapter
one is also one of the most beautiful and eloquent chapters of the book, which
is a result of the masterful imagery that Fitzgerald utilizes in introducing his
novel. Much of Fitzgerald’s imagery is directed toward setting the scene of
the book, particularly the lavish beautiful mansions that dominate the
landscape. Nick paints a breathtaking picture of Gatsby’s mansion in his
narrative as he describes it as “a colossal affair by any standard—it was a
factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side,
spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, a marble swimming pool, and more
than forty acres of lawn and garden.” Such imagery is practically unmatchable
in American literature and does an excellent job of setting up the story as well
as providing insight into the lavish lifestyle of Gatsby. Tom and Daisy mansion
is similarly described as “a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion,
overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door
for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning
gardens—finally, when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright
vines as though from the momentum of its run.” Nick, the most morally
upstanding character in the novel lives in relative poverty next to these
monstrosities, living in “a weatherbeaten cardboard bungalow at eighty
[dollars] a month,” which emphasizes the style over substance philosophy of
the morally corrupt upper class. Fitzgerald’s imagery is also very effective
in conveying the rich symbolism of The Great Gatsby. The most important
symbol found in chapter one is the green light that Nick observes Gatsby
reaching out towards at the end of the chapter, a light with seemingly no
significance. However, the light has an enormous significance in Gatsby’s
life, symbolizes the hope he has that the past can be repeated and that his
romance with Daisy can be rekindled. The green also symbolizes money, both the
enormous amount he possesses and its purpose of wooing Daisy. White is another
color symbol found in chapter one, as the young women, Daisy and Jordan, always
wear white. This symbolizes purity and cleanliness, but it is also the absence
of color, the absence of substance. Another style over substance symbol that
Fitzgerald uses is when he describes the scene in the Buchanan’s house where
Daisy and Jordan are sitting on the couch with their dress blown around by the
wind making them look like buoyed up balloons. Balloons only have an outside, a
fancy style, with nothing inside, no substance.
Chapter one is definitely a chapter deserving of the beginning of The Great Gatsby. The chapter does a wonderful job of both displaying F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extraordinary literary talents and introducing the characters and settings of the story without giving too much of the plot away. Fitzgerald’s obsessive diction is evident in chapter one as both narration and dialogue provide subtle insights into the novel’s characters. Syntax is similarly chosen and does a fine job of excluding unneeded words while keeping the mind of the reader interested. Imagery is another one of the chapter’s strong points as Fitzgerald utilizes it to set the scene for the novel, establish numerous symbols, and make the chapter one of the most beautiful and appealing passages in the book. Overall, chapter one goes above and beyond simply setting up the storyline, it also interests the reader and displays Fitzgerald’s mastery as an American author.