Figurative Language

Fitzgerald utilizes visual imagery often in his novel to add a vivid and descriptive depth to the story of Gatsby. One of the most poignant uses of imagery was at the end of chapter eight when Fitzgerald narrates, "There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water as the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other. With little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves, the laden mattress moved irregularly down the pool. A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water" (162). In this passage Fitzgerald never explicitly says that Gatsby was shot, but through this graphic visual imagery, readers slowly come to the horrific realization that he has been killed. The mattress moving irregularly down the water, and the wind disturbing the "accidental burden" make readers feel an uncertain and uneasy feeling. The "thin red circle in the water" create a sudden, dreadful realization in readers that Gatsby has been murdered, and it was his lifeless body which was floating in the still pool.