Writing Styles in "Classic" Literature

For me, F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style in The Great Gatsby epitomizes quintessential American literature. His vivid descriptions of the optimism, albeit false, following the Great War encapsulate a certain unwavering belief in the idea of what America stands for. Quotes from The Great Gatsby have always echoed with a sense of the grandeur that has defined America. Personally, I am always struck by the eternal optimism that the novel concludes with, despite all the of the horror that precedes it. Who else but Fitzgerald could write such beautiful and unforgettable lines like "It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believe in you as you would like to believe in yourself" and "So we beat on, boats against the current, bourne back ceaselessly into the past." Unarguably, The Great Gatsby defines both a generation and America as a nation.

I was less sure that John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath successfully defines American literature. Instead, I was always struck by the pessimism of Steinbeck's novel. Rather than an America where anything was possible if individuals worked hard, the Joads are constantly at a loss. Their journey West is not in search of riches, but in order to survive. Thus The Grapes of Wrath has always reverberated with me as more of the tragedy of a failed America.

When I last read The Grapes of Wrath I was a junior in high school. I did not want to see an image of a nation where people were not guaranteed success or where the only real currency is survival as I applied to colleges and hoped for the best. Although we are just beginning to climb out the recession, thus far it has not affected me as profoundly as it did others. However, I think it has forced us to witness the reality of an America divided between the “Haves and the Have-Nots.”

So this time around, I am reading The Grapes of Wrath with a more expanded mindset. Steinbeck and Fitzgerald suggest that the “America” is not a one-dimensional protagonist. Instead, like many of the other characters, this figure is also striving to mature, come to terms with its past, and adjust for whatever the future may bring.

Architecture in The Great Gatsby

After reading Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, I was interested in looking at the architecture that characterized the “Gilded Age.” More specifically, after researching different styles of the time, I found there to be two distinct varieties. Homes were either in the Beaux Art style or replicas of Rhine Valley Castles. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the description of the Buchanan’s house is in the Beaux Art style, while Gatsby’s home resembles a medieval castle. The discrepancy between their architectural styles suggest that the Buchanan’s are more up-to-date on current styles, while Gatsby can merely copy styles from the past.

The Buchanan’s home is based on the classic styles of Greco Roman architecture. Beaux Art originated in France and was based on neo-classical style. However, it is more exaggerated and elaborate. Feature of the Beaux Art style include balustrades, balconies, massive structures, columns, cornices, pilasters, pediments, and grand stairways. Nick describes their house stating:

“Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water… Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay… The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm windy afternoon…a breeze blew through the room…twisting [the curtains] up toward the frosted wedding-cake of a ceiling” (6-8).

Not only is their house on the fashionable “Egg,” but it is also in the correct classical style. The architecture is timeless and seems to blend effortlessly with the landscape. The Buchanan’s understand how to play the performance of wealth and their home aptly highlights this.

Conversely, Gatsby’s home is in the gothic style. This palatial and almost gaudy style seems out of place on Long Island. Nick explains:

“The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool” (5).

Nick describes Gatsby’s house as a “factual imitation” highlighting the absence of originality in its design. Everything about the home is new and unused, further suggesting how out of place the castle is. Like his house, Gatsby can attempt to replicate correct manners, but it always appears archaic and just out of touch.

Fitzgerald’s use of architecture to suggest the characterization of the Buchanans and Gatsby before readers are introduced to them highlights the importance of appearance. Although Nick claims to be unbiased, his first impression of his neighbors affects the way he constructs them. Thus the performance of wealth yet again dominates actual monetary value.

El Greco's "View of Toledo" and the Division of Self

“Even when the East excited me most, even when I was most keenly aware of its superiority to the bored sprawling, swollen towns beyond the Ohio, with their interminable inquisitions which spared only the children and the very old – even then it had always for me a quality of distortion. West Egg, especially, still figures in my more fantastic dreams. I see it as a night scene by El Greco: a hundred houses, at once conventional and grotesque, crouching over a sullen, overhanging sky and lusterless moon. In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress. Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels. Gravely the men turn in at a house –the wrong house. But no one knows the woman’s name, and no one cares.”

The Great Gatsby, 176

F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the end, Nick attempts to restore Gatsby’s dignity by castigating Daisy. This suggests Fitzgerald’s disapproval of the American obsession with wealth and commodification. Even for Nick, the events of the novel are hazy and almost dreamlike.

Instead of being the women that Gatsby desires to build his life around, Daisy devolves into a nameless, faceless “thing.” Gatsby can never separate the symbol of Daisy with what she actually is, merely a voice “full of money.” The woman is described as “drunken,” rather than dead. Ironically, this serves as a much more fitting adjective for her. Dead would connote an inability to recognize the present, while “drunken” suggests an unwillingness. Her hand “sparkles cold with jewels,” not suggesting visible physical decay, but rather an intangible moral corruption. Like Daisy, the outer façade can be beautiful even if the inner character is distorted and disturbed. Unlike Gatsby, Nick bears witness to Daisy’s corruption.

At the end of the novel, readers are struck by the realization that Gatsby will never be happy. He does not marry Daisy and thus would continue to be obsessed by what he believes she represents. More importantly however, even if Gatsby married Daisy there is the suspicion that she would fail to live up to his expectations of her. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is thus ultimately the story of the human reality that expectations are often not reality.

Veblen Goods

In his book The Theory of the Leisure: An Economic Study of Institutions Thornstein Veblen defines conspicuous consumption as lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. Later, the term “Veblen goods” was coined to identify goods whose desirability increases with their price and scarcity. For example, there are a limited number of newest Porshe hybrid vehicles on the market at all times. Similarly, the waiting list for the iconic Hermes’ Birkin Bag can take years.

This phenomenon was clearly thriving prior to the recession of 2008, despite the popularity of online shopping that displayed luxury goods to mainstream Americans. Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times writes, “In the genteel world of luxury, companies long felt that the Web was no place for merchandising exclusive products. And there was a gentlemen’s agreement with department stores not to siphon sales by reaching out directly to wealthy customers.” Websites showed videos of parties and footages from fashion shows, but no where could you actually purchase the products.

During the recession, department stores began to discount these items and luxury lines worried their products would no longer have the prized label as a “Veblen good.” Regardless, the brands are making more money because they can control prices and not pay out a department store as the middle man. Furthermore, style and marketing is more consistent.

Although shopping on the internet cannot replicate the feelings produced by actually going to the boutique, websites are beginning to offer products that are not available in stores to compensate for this. Robert Duffy, the president and vice chairman of Marc Jacobs resonated this sentiment, “I want to give people a reason to go there — if I have the same stuff on our Web site that’s at Neiman’s and Saks,” the site would have little appeal.

However, the truth remains that these websites cannot exclude anyone. The mystery, allure, and intimidation of the boutiques on Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue no longer deter mainstream Americans from pursuing their products. For better or worse, the number of products that can be called “Veblen goods” are decreasing. In their place, there will undoubtedly be more expensive and scarce products. We will just have to wait and see.

The Modern Trophy Wife

Following the first descriptions of Lily, I could not help but compare her to the modern day trophy wife. With her “vivid head, relieved against the dull tints of the crowd, made her more conspicuous” and “the modeling of her little ear, the crisp upward wave of her hair – was it ever so slightly brightened by art? – and the thick planting of her straight black lashes. Everything about her was at once vigorous and exquisite, at once strong and fine. He had a confused sense that she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious way, have been sacrificed to produce her” (26-27). Lily understands that her only currency is her looks. Further, the only way she will be accepted by society is if a man decides to purchase her. In doing so, the man will have a means to display his wealth. The more beautiful the woman, the richer the man looks.

Now, over one hundred years later women are still valued based on their appearance. Like it or not, Anne Kingston, author of “The Meaning of Wife” contends, “When we talk about a trophy, it doesn't matter how successful a woman is. It comes down to the decorative aspect and the idea that she's a babe.” I suppose it could be called progress that now success is actually brought into the conversation. However, as Kingston points out modern trophy wives are just decorations that dress well, can chitchat at cocktail parties, and are good looking. While I firmly believe women can be and are just as successful as men, I’m not sure I have as much of a problem with the concept of a “trophy wife” as I had previously thought. If a man does not value intelligence and wit in his wife, why should society tell him he has to? Alternatively, a woman needs not marry a smart man solely because our culture values it. I understand that emphasizing some women’s appearance almost necessitates that it be valued in all women. However, I think the greater issue is that a woman who is smart and attractive can only be recognized as the later. If a woman is only good looking or intelligent, then she can and should be valued as such. Yet when she is both, it is important to recognize and appreciate that.