Blog Topic #2: Diction

            Fitzgerald’s premiere strength of writing The Great Gatsby is by his use of language, or his diction. His vocabulary succeeds that of the most acknowledged authors, and for good reason; his elaborate diction paints beautiful scenery and settings, while simultaneously conjuring up the most solemn and dreary settings. For example, Fitzgerald illustrates Nick’s first party at Gatsby’s house by means of his amazing diction. The garden swells with “colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden.” (40) “Girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39) associated with the behavior being at “an amusement park.” (41) “Laughter is easier minute by minute… [tipping] out at a cheerful word.” (40) This is only a glimpse of Fitzgerald’s potential, only one of his brilliant narrations. This one in particular conveys a tone of light-heartedness, of free-flowing spirits, similar to the overall theme of the book. Fitzgerald sees life as a sort of party one could imagine, where anyone can arrive and hook up with anybody they desire. This theme is clearly evident when the latter plot of the book is unveiled.

            Fitzgerald is completely capable of bringing a liberating, exciting tone to his novel through his diction, but he is certainly able to deliver a solemn, darkening one as well. Halfway between New York and the West Egg lies the “valley of the ashes” where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills,” where the “ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke,” and where men move “dimly… already crumbling through the powdery air.” (23) Fitzgerald here expresses a serious, almost saddening tone, as if industry has taken away the beauty of nature. Ashes now fill the air, smoke clouds the once-beheld views of beauty, and man is now suffering through his own work. Fitzgerald effectively uses diction to move his audience, either in a positive or negative way.