Drink, Sleep, Repeat

The band blared their intoxicating notes soaked in energy and passion. The women were all dolled up, draped in stunning dresses that looked perfect under the sparkling stars of the clear night. Their drunkenness was as ample as the amount of bubbles in their glittering champagne glasses. The blur of faces that swept past one's vision had absolutely no meaning, seeing as none of them had much of any connection to anyone else at the party. Even if they did, barely anyone will remember these faces or conversations or events or excessive drinks by morning as they nurse their blistering headaches - a pleasant morning gift upon rolling out of whoever's bed they crawled in earlier that morning. 

Image provided by Victoria Pickering.

This uncommon setting was considered the norm at the Gatsby mansion. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic known and beloved by many. While the general setting in this piece possesses the extravagant image of life in the 1920's, conjuring much interest and fascination - at least on my end - the most enjoyment I find from reading this book comes from his diction. 

For those of you who have not read The Great Gatsby yet, the constant use of overly descriptive terminology, beautiful imagery that will leave paintings of the characters and their worlds framed in your memory, and language that will leave you breathless starts with the first word and is engrained in the minds of readers far after the final word is breathed. What makes this style so fitting for this novel is the fact that Fitzgerald's writing could be seen as mirroring some of his main characters. Using flamboyant adjectives and imagery always when describing the gorgeous antagonists, the novel takes on a mirror-image of its subjects. 

Not only is the diction in this piece thoughtful and complimenting, but the choice in narrator is perfect! While an author may choose to make the main character of a story the narrator, Fitzgerald decided to make a character that would generally have no influence in a story as such. When experiencing the unfurling events, readers are witnessing the story through the words of Gatsby's next-door neighbor. The choice of narrator could even be seen as a window allowing light to shine on the truth behind the beautiful facades of the wealthy, especially since the narrator comes from a lower economic standing, portrays a better understanding of reality, and can see through the masks his rich acquaintances wear. 

In regards to The Great Gatsby, Gertrude Stein, a fellow author, remarked how Fitzgerald "will be read when many of his well known contemporaries are forgotten," according to a New York Times article. Also in this article is a priceless synopsis of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby written in a paper from the 1920's! I recommend reading this original Times summary noted in italics if only to take a step back in time. 

This image provided by Cassia Noelle.

This Fitzgerald piece is the definition of deception with almost every event in the plot revolving around an affair of a lifetime and the deep, dark secrets that will come back to bite.