Conversations Ongoing: Gatsby- Writing Style and Content



I would like to highlight two observations from my early reading of Great Gatsby.

One, in terms of writing style, I notice that Fitzgerald uses descriptive writing to set the mood, tone, and further action. If the curtains are flowing as Tom and Daisy enter the room and stop flowing when they close the door, they comment on it. This is done in such a fluid way that one doesn't skip a beat with the action. (I would say it is also a nice way to tell a story.)

Second, in terms of content, the book starts of with the admission and advice from Nicks's father that: "a sense of fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth." This can be taken two ways as I see it. One, some people are bad, some are good. This interpretation simply states a fact without any cause or reason. For most, this satisfies them. 

I like this second definition and interpretation, though both are related. In the second interpretation, it lends to the idea that the reason some people are different, bad, whatever, is because of a lack of some thing they needed in their upbringing. It can mean that some people are not endowed with some of the basic human decencies that should be afforded to all people. It could be a missing parent, food, shelter, love. If one or more of the human decencies is missing, or neglected, then the result is some people having advantages over others.

How can you judge someone harshly when you know that, through their life, the basic human decency that should have been afforded them, ideally, was not?

In this light, one is not simply dealing with the admission that some people are bad and some are good, but rather that some people start off with the things necessary for proper development, including empathy and basic social skills. With these things missing it is no wonder we see the perverted nature of society today.

Tend to basic human decency and you will be trending towards justice.

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