Examples of syntax:
- “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg,
Long Island , sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (98).
The syntax that the author uses in this quote influences the purpose and style of this piece. Nick describes Gatsby’s history by using a comparison between Gatsby and Jesus to illuminate Gatsby’s creation of his identity. The purpose of this quote is to describe to the reader how similar Gatsby and Jesus are when the subject of their identity comes up. Gatsby transformed into the person that he created for himself a, “Platonic conception of himself” (98) and he remained committed to that identity, regardless of the attempts to stop him from achieving his dream. Fitzgerald uses several commas and a couple of dashes in this quote. This style of writing helps to explain the meaning of the quote and the life of Gatsby.
I don't exactly agree that Fitzgerald was comparing Gatsby to Jesus, especially in this quote. Fitzgerald did not strike me as atheist or anti-Christian, so I don't associate this quote, which describes Gatsby in relation to "the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty", as a comparison to Jesus. Maybe he did mean it that way, but that just isn't how it struck me.
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