Narrative Technique
The Great Gatsby employs a first-person limited narrative mode, telling Gatsby's story through the eyes of Nick Carraway. Nick is not only the narrator but also a central character in the story, presenting Gatsby's love story with Daisy and the social landscape of the time through his observations and experiences. This narrative technique highlights the plot and themes while conveying the work's meaning on multiple levels.
Symbolism
Symbolism is another important artistic writing technique in The Great Gatsby. The author uses a plethora of symbolic images to suggest character traits, destiny, and the thematic ideas of the work.
The most famous symbolic image is undoubtedly the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. This light symbolizes Gatsby's eternal dream of winning Daisy's love. However, after Gatsby pays the price of his life for this dream, readers realize that the light is merely an illusory guide to achieving the "American Dream," leading ultimately to disillusionment and nothingness.
Additionally, the image of eyes in the novel is noteworthy. The large eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg on the billboard loom over the tragedies like a god, symbolizing the power of morality and justice, silently scrutinizing human greed and depravity.
Rhetoric
Firstly, the author skillfully uses metaphors to portray character traits and describe scenes. For example, after Gatsby meets Daisy, he is "as exhausted as a clock that has been wound up too tightly," vividly depicting Gatsby's infatuated and kind nature, also foreshadowing his later sacrifice for Daisy.
Secondly, the author is adept at using rhetorical devices such as parallelism and repetition to enhance the rhythm and appeal of the language. For instance, when describing the dinner at Gatsby's house, "All summer nights there were music and laughter from my neighbor's house. In his blue garden, men and women moved like moths among the laughter, champagne, and stars." This passage vividly depicts the noise and restlessness of the dinner through parallelism and repetition.
Lastly, the author cleverly employs irony to reveal the hypocrisy and indifference of society. For example, after Gatsby's death, those who had been favored by him shirk responsibility, and some even fabricate lies to distance themselves. This ironic technique profoundly exposes human selfishness and indifference, as well as societal injustice and hypocrisy.
In summary, The Great Gatsby successfully shapes a touching story about dreams, love, and disillusionment through delicate narrative techniques, rich symbolic images, and skillful rhetorical devices. These artistic writing methods not only enhance the artistic appeal of the work but also make its thematic ideas more profound and thought-provoking.
文案|2023级10班 熊嘉奕 倪可莹
图片|2023级10班 李思凝
排版|2023级10班 李思凝
指导老师| 王德义
