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Great Gatsby


            When Fitzgerald describes something in one of his works, he never comes right out and describes the person or place. Instead, he brings life to the object. In this passage from The Great Gatsby, the house of Tom and Daisy Buchanan is brought out of its normal existence. Fitzgerald uses several contrasting words, switching back and forth between words that give off a soft connotation with those that give off a harsh connotation, in order to give the house almost surreal qualities that better portray the place instead of an actual, straightforward description. This not only provides more details for the reader, but also allows the reader to incorporate their imagination in portraying the person or place in their head.
             The parts of the passage that seem to most stand out are the word choices. Words are chosen to contrast either in this passage. For example, in the second paragraph, a breeze is described to blow through the room in the house, yet immediately afterwards, the breeze "twists" up. Instead of using a word with a softer connotation, such as float or wind, Fitzgerald chooses the word "twist". Somehow this gives a livelier quality to the breeze within the house and, ultimately, the house itself is seen to be alive. Even the "only stationary object in the room," the couch that two women sit upon, is said to look as though it is an "anchored balloon". The dresses of the women "ripple" and "flutter," yet the curtains "whip" and "snap." These two objects are similar in background (both are fabric), yet they are illustrated very differently. Even these small details allow the reader to feel as though the house is alive.
            


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