Our Objective

• To look at the syntax of 3 passages from Great Gatsby.

• We will look at repetition of words, parallelism, dashes, semicolons and parenthesis in the passage. These are all syntax choices the author makes.

• When you analyze an author's words, consider the effect these strategies have on the overall meaning of the text. And when you do your own writing, consider using these strategies to add meaning and power to your own words.

Repetition

• The repeating of a word or phrase to create rhythm and emphasis

An example of Fitzgerald using repetition:

• “The other girl, Daisy, made an attempt to rise—she leaned slightly toward with a conscientious expression—then she laughed an absurd, charming little laugh and I laughed too and came forward into the room.

• What does the repetition of the word “laugh” show us about the situation?

More Fitzgerald Repetition:

• “Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth—but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget.”

• This quote describes Daisy. What does it make us think of her?

• Can you find another quotation in the passages where Fitzgerald uses repetition?

Create Your Own!

• Write two sentences of your own that contain repetition.

• First one should be about someone you love.

• Second: A place you like to go to be with friends.

Parallelism

• Parallelism is the repeating of phrases or sentences that are similar (parallel) in meaning and structure.

• Emphasizes that these ideas have the same level of importance.

Example of Fitzgerald’s use of parallelism:

• “Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York—every Monday these same oranges and lemons left the back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves.”

• What does the parallel structure emphasize about the parties?

Another example of parallelism in Gatsby:

• “A whispered ‘listen,” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.”

• What does the parallel structure of this quote accomplish?

You Try!

• Use parallel structure to create one sentence about a party you went to:

The dash --

• The dash is a sentence interrupter

• Used to indicate a sudden break or change in the sentence.

For example

• “At any rate Miss Baker’s lips fluttered, she nodded at me almost imperceptively and then quickly tipped her head back again– the object she was balancing had obviously tottered a little and given her something of a fright.”

• What does the dash do in the sentence?

Fitzgerald loves dashes

• Find two more sentences in the passages that make use of the dash

You Do It!

• Create two sentence that use the dash.

• The first is about a memorable event in your life.

• The second is about one of your pet peeves.

Semicolon ;

• Used to connect two complete but related sentences. Start the second sentence with a lowercase letter.

• Fitzgerald was an expatriate writer of American Modernism; he wrote The Great Gatsby in France in the summer of 1924.

Fitzgerald's Examples

• “The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner.”

• Think of the semicolon as the centerpoint of a teeter-totter that holds both sides of the sentence in balance.

• What two ideas are being related or balanced?

Practice!

• Write a sentence of your own using a semicolon. Write about your learning experience in public school. Remember, the ideas must be closely related, but the grammar must be of two complete and distinct sentences.

(Parentheses)

• Used to surround explanations or extra information

• Interrupts the normal sentence structure

• Think of this as a whispered side comment to the reader in the middle of the writing – often witty!

Fitzgerald uses parentheses in passage #1

• “She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker. (I've heard it said that Daisy's murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.)”

• What is the effect of the parenthesis?

• Avoid using parentheses in formal essay writing; build the idea into your sentence with commas instead.

Comma lists with parallel structure

• A longer sentence in which a lot of information is given to the reader by separating items with commas

• To emphasize how much of something there is or to list off specifics that may otherwise not fit into the sentence

• To create rhythm and flow or to draw attention to an important point

Fitzgerald uses comma lists:

• “The groups [at the party] change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath…”

• What effect does the structure of this sentence have in describing Gatsby’s party?

Another Example“Occasionally, a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest.”

Can you find another sentence where Fitzgerald uses a comma list with parallel structure?

Write your own parallel sentence about The Great Gatsby characters.