Gatsby Syntax

“Almost before I had grasped her meaning there was the flutter of a dress and the crunch of leather boots, and Tom and Daisy were back at the table”

This example of metonymy serves multiple purposes in revealing the nature of the Buchanans. Fitzgerald chooses to refer to them by Tom’s boots and by Daisy’s dress, rather than by some feature of their faces or any verbal exclamation because it highlights the shallowness of their character. Their expensive, lavish clothing hints at the lifestyle they lead, a carefree and opulent one. The clothes essentially personify them as well, with Tom’s hard bulk imposing on others like his crunching boots and Daisy floating about like her dress fluttering as she walks from person to person, captivating them briefly and then leaving them without a clue but wanting more. The other purpose of the sentence is to denote the pace of the lifestyle the Buchanans live. They are members of a nouveau riche- young connected people at the very pinnacle of the emerging society who live a fast-paced, consequence free life, and they seem nearly to teleport from one event to another, without any time for reflection in between.

“Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder” (69).

At this moment, Nick is perhaps at the height of his entrancement with Gatsby. He feels that, with this man, in this city, in this beautiful car on such a perfect day, that just about anything may be possible. The phrase “without any particular wonder” is particularly effective, showing the reader the full level of beauty contained in Gatsby’s sphere of the world and how hypnotic his persona is, that it does not even require an imagination to conjure up incredulous things when in his presence.