Literary Form (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes

Literary Form

F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece blends multiple literary genres to create a complex and layered narrative. Understanding how Fitzgerald combines different literary traditions helps us appreciate the novel's enduring power and relevance in American literature.

Genre and literary influences

Multiple genre elements

The Great Gatsby incorporates elements from several literary genres, making it difficult to categorise simply.

Fitzgerald's novel contains elements of tragedy, realism, modernism, and social satire, creating a unique literary hybrid that defies simple classification.

Many critics consider The Great Gatsby a modern tragedy, but it differs significantly from classical tragic forms. Where classical tragedies showed the fall of noble characters punished by gods for their mistakes, modern tragedy focuses on how society itself becomes the destructive force.

Realist and modernist elements

The novel also functions as a realist work through its authentic depiction of 1920s America. Fitzgerald grounds his story in recognisable locations like the Plaza Hotel and Central Park, though he renames geographical areas (Great Neck becomes East Egg, Manhasset Neck becomes West Egg). He incorporates real historical events like the 1919 World Series and factual figures, placing the novel firmly within the realist tradition.

Fitzgerald's social satire emerges through his use of irony, exaggeration, and ridicule to expose the superficiality and moral emptiness of 1920s American society. Consider Nick's extensive guest list - none of Gatsby's party attendees truly knew who he was, highlighting the shallow nature of these social connections. The novel reveals how those from lower social classes become victims of an unjust system, while the wealthy remain insulated by their privilege.

The Great Gatsby also exhibits strong modernist characteristics. Modernism emerged in the early twentieth century as a conscious break from traditional literary forms, reflecting what Hugh Holman described as "historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair."

Literary influences and intertextuality

Fitzgerald drew inspiration from several major literary sources, most notably the Romantic poets and T.S. Eliot's modernist poetry. The influence of John Keats appears in the novel's treatment of beauty and mortality, particularly in Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale," where the speaker is torn between life's enchanting and uncertain aspects.

T.S. Eliot's influence proves equally significant, particularly through his poem "The Waste Land." The Valley of Ashes directly alludes to Eliot's wasteland imagery, with both writers criticising modernity's destruction of natural and spiritual values. Fitzgerald acknowledged being a "worshipper" of Eliot's poetry, and this influence appears in the novel's fragmented narrative structure and its exploration of spiritual emptiness in modern life.

Narrative structure and technique

The novel's narrative complexity stems from Fitzgerald's sophisticated handling of point of view, time, and storytelling technique. Understanding these elements reveals how the story's meaning emerges through its form.

Nick Carraway as narrator and metafictional elements

Rather than using an omniscient narrator, Fitzgerald employs Nick Carraway, whose limited perspective shapes our entire understanding of events. This creates what critics call a "metafictional" element - the novel becomes self-conscious about its own construction as a story.

Nick frequently reminds readers that he's writing "this book," consciously experimenting with his narrative style and structure. This approach, possibly influenced by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, makes both Nick and Marlow unreliable yet self-aware narrators.

Three narrative strands and structural complexity

Nick weaves together three distinct storytelling approaches throughout the novel:

1. His own experiences living in the East, which provides the chronological backbone based on his personal memories
2. Gatsby's backstory through multiple perspectives - party guests speculating about Gatsby's identity, Jordan's accounts of his relationship with Daisy, and eventually Gatsby's own revelations
3. His own reflections and interpretations, though these don't follow chronological order and often contradict his earlier statements

The novel follows a quasi-volta structure, with nine chapters pivoting around the central fifth chapter where Gatsby and Daisy reunite. The first half builds towards this reunion, while the second half explores the inevitable consequences of Gatsby's unchecked infatuation.

Retrospective narration and unreliability

Nick tells his story two years after the events of summer 1922, relying on memory rather than immediate experience. This temporal distance creates multiple opportunities for unreliability - he might have forgotten crucial details, unconsciously altered events, or deliberately shaped his narrative to serve particular purposes.

Several factors undermine Nick's credibility as a narrator:

• He admits to being dishonest about his own affairs and alcohol use
• He withholds information about Gatsby's past until chapter six
• He presents contradictory accounts of events
• He includes Jordan's biassed descriptions despite acknowledging her as "incurably dishonest"
• He incorporates newspaper reports and gossip without questioning their accuracy

Perhaps most significantly, Nick positions himself as both participant and observer, claiming to be "within and without" the social circles he describes. This dual role creates inherent bias - he's wealthy enough to move among the elite but not wealthy enough to truly belong, conservative enough to judge their behaviour but too fascinated to completely withdraw.

Language and style

Fitzgerald's prose demonstrates remarkable sophistication in its rhythm, imagery, and literary technique. His language choices create the novel's distinctive atmosphere while supporting its thematic concerns.

Poetic language and rhythm

Fitzgerald employs a poetic writing style that incorporates rhythmic patterns into his prose. He describes Gatsby's "punctilious" manner in chapter four and Jordan's "bantering inconsequence" in conversation. These carefully chosen adjectives create unusual rhythmic effects that distinguish the novel's voice.

The narrator incorporates French vocabulary throughout - "coupé" for car, "hauteur" for arrogance, "amour" for love - creating a cosmopolitan atmosphere characteristic of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald also uses the distinctive adjective "orgastic" to describe future possibilities in chapter nine, alluding to both "orgiastic" (suggesting wild, uncontrolled activity) and "orgasm" (denoting sexual climax).

Repetition and emphasis techniques

Fitzgerald uses repetition strategically to create poetic rhythm and emphasis.

Earlier, Nick describes Gatsby's air-bed movement as following an "accidental course with its accidental burden," where the repetition of "accidental" contradicts any sense that Gatsby's death was predetermined, though Nick paradoxically blames the "careless" wealthy for their destructive impact.

Religious and biblical allusions

The novel contains numerous religious references that elevate Gatsby's story to mythic proportions. Nick refers to Gatsby as the "son of God" in chapter six, connecting him to Christ-like sacrifice. The verb "shouldered" alludes to Jesus carrying the cross, emphasising the predetermined nature of Gatsby's ultimate sacrifice for Daisy.

Synaesthetic language and atmospheric creation

Fitzgerald frequently employs synaesthetic language - descriptions that mix different senses to create mysterious, dreamlike atmospheres. He writes of "yellow cocktail music," "warm darkness," and "pale gold odour." These descriptions blend sight, sound, and smell in ways that shouldn't logically work but create vivid, confusing sensory experiences for readers.

The novel also uses colour and music strategically to set scenes. Fitzgerald describes ambiguous colours like "harlequin designs," where "harlequin" might refer to a bright green shade or diamond patterns, placing Gatsby in an otherworldly realm. Food appears "bewitched to a dark gold," suggesting that even ordinary objects become magical in Gatsby's world.

Symbols and imagery

The novel's symbolic framework supports its major themes while creating layers of meaning that reward careful analysis.

Green light symbolism

The green light serves as the novel's most famous symbol, representing hope, longing, and the American Dream itself. Gatsby associates the green light with Daisy, letting it symbolise his romantic aspirations. However, the colour green carries multiple meanings - envy, inexperience, fertility, freshness, and money.

Car symbolism and destruction

Cars function as symbols of both status and destruction throughout the novel. Tom uses his car to assert social and material superiority over Wilson, exploiting Wilson's lack of transportation to emphasise class differences. Tom manipulates the car as bait, promising Wilson access while maintaining his power.

The newspapers label Gatsby's car the "death car" in chapter seven, transforming it from a status symbol into a weapon of destruction. Myrtle's death - her "left breast was swinging loose like a flap" - emphasises the car's violent potential. This symbolism connects to the novel's broader critique of how material wealth becomes destructive force.

Clock symbolism and temporal confusion

Clocks represent the confusion of time and Gatsby's desperate attempt to recapture the past. Gatsby "leans too hard" against the clock during his reunion with Daisy, symbolising the pressure he places on their relationship and his determination to make the past "repeat" itself.