Blog Topic #3: Syntax

·         “Is everything alright?... What grass?... Oh, the grass in the yard… Have you got anything in the shape of – of tea?” “Will they do?” “Of course, of course! They’re fine!... Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late!” (Fitzgerald 84-85)

This passage is found prior to Gatsby’s first meeting with Daisy in over five years. The syntax here implores over-mounting anxiety and nervousness as Gatsby counts down to Daisy’s arrival. The tension Gatsby feels over a simple question as ,”Does the grass look fine?” startles his state of mind. Even a simple confirmation, “Will they [the tea] do?” (84) is replied with a frantic “Of course, of course!” (84) conveying Gatsby’s ever-growing nerves. It leads straight into the quiet, awkward conversation between Gatsby and Daisy, where his posture and movement reflect the same fear.

·         “Oh you want too much!” she cried to Gatsby. “I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.” She began to sob helplessly. “I did love [Tom] once—but I loved you too.” (132)

After an intense brawl of statements between Gatsby and Tom, Daisy here reveals a secret Tom never dreamt of hearing: his own wife loves another more than himself. Daisy’s words were said with irreversible meaning, as quick, as choppy, as frantic as the conversation as a whole. The purpose of this writing style is not only to convey the angered subject being discussed, but to foreshadow the tension that looms between Gatsby and Tom through the remainder of the novel. This tension only mounts when Gatsby kills Tom’s lady-friend, Myrtle…

·         “Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od! Oh, my Ga-od!” (139)

Myrtle, wife of Mr. Wilson the car shop owner, was just tragically killed by Mr. Gatsby’s car. This specific passage was spoken by Mr. Wilson himself, astonished and flabbergasted with confusion. His repetitive, brief shouts of panic convey the most extreme sorrow mixed with shock. Obviously, having just lost a spouse would be tantalizing, and no doubt his anger would mount toward Mr. Gatsby, suspected of ramming his wife with the car. The passage then foreshadows the death of Gatsby, a cold-blooded murder, and the suicide of Mr. Wilson, the result of pure insanity.