The Great Gatsby and the Sun Also Rises, Essay Example

The Use of Stylistic Devices in The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises

The novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald titled “The Great Gatsby” depicts various individuals living in different fictional areas. The plot mainly revolves around Jay Gatsby, who is a wealthy individual that has all that he requires. Nonetheless, the individual is still obsessed with Daisy. The book explores various themes that portray American society, explicitly showing the American Dream. It is a literary classic that is widely appreciated due to its context and how the author relays the story. The novel by Ernest Hemingway titled “The Sun Also Rises” depicts the lives of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to other regions to enjoy and have a peaceful time. The manuscript is based on the author’s experiences when he visited Paris. Moreover, the individuals used in the book are real as well as the action described. The novel has a variety of themes it utilizes such as love and death and the idea of masculinity. The paper is purposed on investigating the two books and deliberating how they are connected through the use of various literary devices. The authors of both books, “The Sun Also Rises” and “The Great Gatsby” widely employ the use of stylistic devices such as symbolism, point of view, imagery and characterization to relay their concepts such as love and death, and the American dream respectively.

The first stylistic device is a point of view. In both books, they employ the same perspective of who relays the story. In both novels, the authors use first person, whereby it is a character in the manuscript that conveys the experiences of another individual in the story. For “The Sun Also Rises,” Jake is the first-person narrator. The writer utilizes him to show the actions he does. Moreover, his comments and what he thinks are made aware to the reader. The information of other characters in the book is limited to Jake’s understanding (Hemingway 3). Events in the novel do not occur without Jake being available. Through the approach, the reader becomes intimately connected to Jake and makes the audience feel as though they are connected to what happens to him in the book. The same is for “The Great Gatsby” whereby the narrator is not the center of the plot. Nick deliberates the different stories for each character revealing what the characters undergo. He is involved in all the events of the story, and through him the reader gets a better understanding of the story. The use of first-person, although as a peripheral narrator enables a better understanding of the characters.

Both authors use symbolism in the way they utilize the colors. For “The Great Gatsby,” the author uses variants of colors to depict various elements in the plot. The green color is widely utilized throughout the book. It represents the hope and short life that Gatsby has. Moreover, it represents the riches that Gatsby attains to acquire Daisy back. In another section of the book, Michalis describes the car that kills Myrtle as green light (Fitzgerald 69). It shows the false status of an idea and the hope that Gatsby has but does not earn him anything. The other colors in the book are such white, which is used to show the immorality that dwelled in the society (Fitzgerald 81). Daisy and Jordan wear white attires, but none of them is ethically idea. Besides, the valley of the ashes is great to depict the hopelessness that existed in the region. Also, Heming way uses the colors to paint literary pictures. He describes the environment through various colors such as white roads, green fields, and the roofing of the buildings (Hemingway 49). It shows how beautiful the setting was at the time. Furthermore, it symbolizes Jake coming back to his senses after he left the city and moved to the peaceful environment of the countryside. The use of colors in the book shows the various settings and the situation the characters were in a while relaying the story.

In both novels, imagery is portrayed to reveal the ideas that the authors wanted to relay to the audience. Hemingway ensures that he vividly describes each new setting so that the audience can picture it through the description. Burguete is portrayed as more peaceful compared to Paris (Hemingway 45). The words used to depict various objects show accurate images of what the characters were seeing. The author utilizes imagery adequately to show how beautiful the cities were. The same is for Fitzgerald, who deliberates on various settings and characters. The writer describes explicitly the desolate and depressed state of the individuals residing in the Valley of Ashes (Fitzgerald 27). Moreover, he uses words that show how fun and grand the parties were at Gatsby’s. Through imagery, both books enable the readers understand better the events, characters, and surroundings.

Both books share similar aspects of characterization. Hemingway employs direct characterization in the story. This is because the story is relayed by Jake, which provides his perspective. It is easy for the reader to figure out the thoughts and actions of the characters. Jake directly communicates information concerning other individuals, especially his friends. The best example is Robert Cohn. From the beginning of the story, Jake provides an extensive description of his character. An instance is whereby Jake describes how Cohn was treated in school by asserting, “he learned it painfully to counteract the feeling of inferiority which he felt on being perceived as a Jew at Princeton” (Hemingway 1).  In his first portrayal, Jake ensures that he gives a vivid explanation and tries to limit some of the deliberations he provides on Cohn. Jake hides Cohn’s flaws and shows his love for him. Moreover, the description of Pedro Romero’s performance aids in understanding the person, individually, how brave he was since there is description of each movement in the ring (Hemingway 85). Through the display of the individual’s deeds, the reader gets to understand the character better. For Brett, she continually states that she needs to bath, depicting she is insecure about her being unclean and is determined to wash away her sins (Hemingway 38). Similar to Fitzgerald’s novel, there is use of various elements to portray characterization. There are ambiguous signs that are used to depict the ethical dimension of multiple characters such as Hawthorne and Melville (Fitzgerald 97). In the book Gatsby falls in love with Daisy due to her voice. Furthermore, with her voice, Nick denotes that Daisy is insincere based on what she said (Fitzgerald 24). The author also reveals that “Daisy had caught a cold and it made her voice huskier” (Fitzergald 88). Gatsby was attracted to it and noted that it revealed wealth. Through the use of characterization, the reader has an in-depth understanding of the individuals in the book and comprehend how they feel and conduct themselves.

In conclusion, the two books are significant in classical literature. Each is unique in the story they relay. Moreover, the two books share connections through the use of literary devices, which are used similarly. They include symbolism, imagery, point of view, and characterization. Through the use of the elements, the readers comprehend better the ideas that the authors communicate. The primary connection is how the devices are employed to enhance the meaning of the works.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 1954. Print.