Even being a little more than half way through "The Great Gatsby", I'm still not as interested as I was with "On Writing" and "The Crucible". One thing I do enjoy about "The Great Gatsby" is the time period, and the scandal of Tom and Daisy. Hopefully chapters 6-9 will be more exciting.
One thing noteable of Fitzgerald's work is his continuous use of colors. There is rarely a time that Fitzgerald does not mention the color of an object when he is describing it. White and gray are dominant colors, and seem to symbolize the barren lifeless area known as "The valley of ashes". Green is also mentioned in chapter one, and symbolizes Gatsby's hope.
While I do enjoy a descriptive book, "The Great Gatsby" feels overly descriptive to me. Fitzgerald goes into great detail when we meet the first characters in chapter one. He points out facial expressions, body language, possible thoughts that Nick sees through their eyes, and is sure to not leave out a single detail in every place visited. I could hear Stephen King in the back of my mind complaining about the excessive "fluff" and adverbs.
You aren't the only one who feels a bit overwhelmed by the descriptions.
ReplyDelete