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The Great Gatsby Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Decent Essays

In the passage, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses pugnacious and arrogant tones to reflect Nick’s initial thoughts of Tom, first through Tom’s appearance, then through his actions. Nick’s tone, when he first sees Tom waiting for him in his riding clothes, shifts from one of curiosity to fear and aggression. When Tom begins to talk, all of Nick’s initial thoughts of him are verified through Tom’s abrupt arrogance. Although Nick does not directly acknowledge his hatred and envy of Tom, through Nick’s description of Tom’s appearance and condescending attitude towards him, the reader recognizes a rigid tension between the two. The author’s diction intensifies Tom’s aggressive and arrogant persona through Nick’s hostile narration and Tom’s egotistical attitude. Nick describes Tom’s manner as “supercilious” and his body as “cruel”. Nick’s word choice indicates that although Nick has yet to have a conversation with Tom, Nick sees Tom as assertive and insensitive. Not only does Tom appear arrogant to Nick, but Tom also talks with a “gruff husky tenor” and a “harsh, defiant wistfulness.” Nick’s description of Tom’s voice further stresses Tom’s intimidating personality and his arrogant manner. Not only does Fitzgerald’s word choice show Nick’s impression of Tom, …show more content…

Before Nick arrives at the Buchannan estate, with his limited knowledge of Tom, he describes him as a man who has reached “such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax.” Tom is established early on as restless and bored, with the threat of aggression spurred by the fact that “Tom would drift on forever seeking.” Tom exhibits this manner when he started to show Nick his estate by “turning me [him] around by one arm, he [Tom] moved a broad flat hand along the front vista.” Tom’s aggressive actions explicate his arrogance and narcissist

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