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The Great Gatsby - Aspects of Narrative

Chapter 1
1. Flashback
  1. P: Nick is an Intrusive narrator who looks back on his past
  2. E: "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice...Whenever you feel like criticising anyone...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.""
  3. A: This flashback "In my younger years" suggests he is unreliable. He is looking back on the past and his memories will be distorted by the things he has witnessed throughout the book. Also, why is his father telling him this? This dialogue makes the readers question the how reliable Nick is as later he contradicts himself saying that he is "inclines to reserve all judgements". His father may be telling him this because he knows Nick judges people for being lower then him. Also, structurally, this builds Nick's characterisation for later on in the narrative.
2. Symbolism
  1. P: The symbolism of the green light highlights Gatsby's dream.
  2. E: "He stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way...I could have sworn to seen him trembling...and distinguished nothing except a single green light."
  3. A: Connotes envy, sick, jealousy, hope. By him reaching out and "trembling" shows how bad he wants to achieve his dream. This hope keeps Gatsby alive and fighting for Daisy. It also adds to the mysteriousness of Gatsby. Reflects the American Dream
3. Setting
  1. P: The setting shows how class were divided in society
  2. E: "I lived at West Egg, the - well, the less fashionable of the two"
  3. This foreshadows how Gatsby will never end up with Gatsby. In West Egg, there are people who are rich from making their own money and they didn't inherit it. East Egg is fashionable but faking its appealing surfaces hides the realities. This portrays the different status of Daisy and Tom depict they will never be together, foreshadowing a tragic ending
4. Foreshadowing
  1. P: the description of Gatsby's mansion, mentioning the pool foreshadows the death of Gatsby's death
  2. E: "Spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool...it was Gatsby's mansion"
  3. A: Includes the description of the swimming pool to highlight it's importance. The swimming pool has great significance at the ending. The extravagant image that Fitzgerald presents the readers with of Gatsby's mansion suggests that this story can be classed as a romantic novel. How much Gatsby 'loves' Daisy. Gatsby's mansion is often reflected back to by Fitzgerald throughout the narrative.
Chapter 2
1. Setting
  1. P: The setting highlights the division of class
  2. E: "This is the valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow...and grotesque gardens...ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke."
  3. A: The valley of ashes is a place of poverty and is a dumping ground. It can be seen as the physical dumping ground of dumping waste but also the literal dumping ground where people dump their problems. The upper class ignore the reality of the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald also uses lexis of destruction. "ashes" "smoke" and "grotesque"
2. Characterisation
  1. P: Tom's is conveyed as being a racist and his nature is violent
  2. E: "Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand"
  3. A: Structurally, this foreshadows later events. It highlights Tom's personality and how he is going to react to later events. This also builds his characterisation. This also further highlights the division of class as it depicts how the upper class treat the lower class.
3. Narrator
  1. P: The way Nick describes Tom. Is he reliable?
  2. E: "Tom glanced impatiently around the garage"
  3. A: Nick's narration of Tom can be seen to be extremely bias. This is because in the previous chapter, Nick declares that
4. Symbolism
  1. P: The eyes of TJ Eckleburg can be symbolise God.
  2. E: "The eyes of TJ Eckleburg are blue and gigantic...Doctor Ekleburg's persistent stare"
  3. A: The eyes are referred to as "gigantic" which makes the readers feel as though they are the eyes of God constantly watching society. These eyes watch everything go wrong and they watch upon the destruction of lives. The eyes judge society and the morals of the people. These can also be seen as the most sinister eyes in throughout the narrative. Wilson sees the old optician advert as the eyes of God, this could also symbolise that a society that needs "vision correcting" in order to see its faults.
Chapter 3
1. Setting
  1. P: The setting highlights
2. Symbolism
3. Narration
4. Foreshadowing
Chapter 4
1. Narration
2. Characterisation
3. Symbolism
4. Setting
Chapter 5
1. Setting
2. Foreshadowing
3. Narration
4. Symbolism
Chapter 6
1. Characterisation
2. Flashback
3. Dialogue
4. Symbolism
Chapter 7
1. Narration
2. Symbolism
3. Setting
4. Characterisation
Chapter 8
1. Flashback
2. Narration
3. Symbolism
4. Foreshadowing
Chapter 9
1. Lexical Feild
2. Symbolism
3. Narration
4. Setting

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The Great Gatsby - Aspects of Narrative

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	Created by sophielouise98 over 9 years ago