F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of flashback in The Great Gatsby proves to be an effective tool in order to reveal information from the characters’ past. These flashbacks are effective because they allow the reader to know and understand the character better before a situation in the novel arises. Three examples of flashbacks that Fitzgerald uses are when Jordan explains to Nick how and when she first met Gatsby on page 79, when Nick explains to the reader how Gatsby got his name and what his childhood was like on page 104, and when Nick explains again to the reader what happened when Gatsby returned from the war on page 160. The placement and effectiveness of these flashbacks allow Fitzgerald to give more background to each character and to allow the reader to better understand the situation that each character is experiencing. The first example of flashback that Fitzgerald provides takes place on page 79.
Int his flashback, Jordan explains to Nick how she first met Gatsby. She explains to Nick that when the girls were eighteen, he was with Daisy Fay in her “little white roadster.” This flashback is effective because it gives us an idea of how Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship was purely based on beauty and not friendship. The placement of the above quote was essential because it allows us to experience early in the novel how Gatsby had a relationship with Daisy. This first example of flashback by Fitzgerald proves to be effective and its placement essential because of the way it is used in the play. A second example of flashback that Fitzgerald uses is on page 104. Here, Nick explains to the reader how “James Gatsby” got his name Jay Gatsby.
The Essay on Gatsby and Nick’s Friendship
Gatsby’s life, his dreams, and his failures; all summed up by one last line. Nick likens Gatsby’s struggles unto a boat, possibly having a connection with the birth of Gatsby being on a boat (Dan Cody’s yacht), and yet paraphrases his difficulties. The tide of life is different upon where you are sailing, and Gatsby sailed in treacherous waters. His affiliation into wealthy society begins by his ...
He chose the name Jay because James sounded to plain and it would not impress someone of Daisy’s status. It also explains Gatsby’s childhood. This is an effective flashback because it gives the reader an insight to how Gatsby made his money and his relationship with Dan Cody, the man who gave him his start. Fitzgerald places this flashback in an appropriate spot because it is important that the reader know how Gatsby made his money before the story gets too involved otherwise the reader would not be able to understand why Gatsby made his money in the first place. Otherwise, the reader is too wrapped up in other plots that are forming. The second example that Fitzgerald provides proves to very effective.
The third and final example that Fitzgerald provides is on page 160. In this flashback, Nick explains to the reader what Gatsby does when he finally returns home from the war. This flashbacks causes the reader to realize that Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy. Gatsby goes to Louisville with “the last of his military pay” just to reminisce the days he and Daisy spent together.
The placement was important because the reader can now appreciate the action that is to come after the climax of the story. The third flashback that Fitzgerald incorporates is and effective one that allows us to understand the end chapters of the book. The use and placement of flashbacks by Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby provide the novel with background for the reader to understand. The three flashbacks discussed are only a few out of the many throughout the novel.
Fitzgerald places these flashbacks inappropriate places and they are an effective tool in revealing the past of the characters of the novel The Great Gatsby.
