Great Gatsby Passage Exposition

The passage being discussed is presented to the readers by the narrator throughout the
novel, Nick Carraway. Nick openly states his perspective upon the first arrival at the gas station
owned by George Wilson. Within the passage, particular choice of vocabulary is used in order
to portray the negative perception of Mr. Wilsons work place. When Nick states the interior
was unprosperous and bare, it indicates that the cast system was very prominent during this time
period. In addition, the word unprosperous establishes the inability for his business to succeed,
partially because it sits within the Valley of Ashes where the average income is minimal.
Furthermore, the use of the word bare refers to lack of customers and emptiness in the Garage
when Nick and Tom arrived.
In the passage, it mentions that Mr. Wilson, the owner of the garage, was wiping his
hands on a piece of waste. This sentences speaks to the negativity surrounding Mr. Wilson and
his garage, and how the act of wiping his hand on garage symbolically depicts that he himself is
one with the waste.
The Paragraph as a whole is very interesting to analyze. The structural flow, the distinct
vocabulary, and the sentences themselves within the passage all address the constant theme of
the cast system. The sentence describing Mr. Wilson as a blonde, spiritless man, anemic and
faintly handsome identifies the division of the rich and the poor, however, if you dig deeper into
the sentence, by stating that was he faintly handsome and blonde, one could interpret that
Fitzgerald states those characteristics to provide a glimmer of hope for the the people of the
Valley of Ashes, similar to the bright blue eyes on the billboard. Throughout the novel, each
significant location has its own mood that remains for the most part constant. The gas station has
such a negative presence, and every character within the book experiences some form of bad
emotions at this location.
By: Jacob Bostock