The Great Gatsby Descriptive Pieces

The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s style of writing is amazingly descriptive. His sentences are long and complex, filled with adjectives and symbolism. He uses one sentence, and is able to describe a whole scene at a party thrown by the hero of the story, Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s writing is very ornate and intensive, yet beautiful clear. The descriptive style of writing creates imagery, and he generates a type of time portal for the reader, who is able to experience the culture of the time period, which in this case is the 1920’s. Also, he is more descriptive than he is judgmental or critical of his characters. He leaves it up to the reader to make an impression on the characters. This lets him seem to be a neutral writer, while his expressive writing style gives the reader the impression that he intends for them to have.

“The flowers were unnecessary, for two o’clock a greenhouse arrived from Gatsby’s, with innumerable receptacles to contain it. An hour later the front door opened nervously, and Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie, hurried in. He was pale, and there were dark signs of sleeplessness beneath his eyes.”

I find this quote to be a very accurate description of the writing style and word choice of Fitzgerald. In this quote, he uses interesting words which work together to create flowing poetry. The way he describes the awkwardness of the situation, by using the word “unnecessary” to describe the flowers, paints the picture of Gatsby’s utter nervousness. Also, the language he chooses to talk about how Gatsby is dressed helps you visualize more of his insecurity over meeting up with Daisy, which he is therefore masking behind his sparkling and expensive clothes which shows his money. I feel as though that the writing he chooses includes extremely visual words which help you feel as if you are in the room with Gatsby himself. When he describes the sleeplessness in Gatsby’s eyes, he is showing the reader more about how nervous Gatsby really is, no matter what front he might put on. Also, when the author talks about him “hurrying in” this makes you feel the energy coming from Gatsby, which is pushed upon the whole situation, and the author, Nick, making the whole room absorb his rushed motivation. Instead of simply skipping over the detail of Gatsby being “pale” he includes it, making the whole sentence filled with an absence of colour, contrasting the previous sentences, which are filled with colour.