The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Beginning chapter two, Fitzgerald sets a dark, somber mood with his extended metaphor describing "a valley of ashes". In this desolate valley, " . . . ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men . . . " (Fitzgerald 23). Employing such a lurid metaphor, Fitzgerald promotes the idea that in this valley, the place where protagonist Nick Carraway and chauvinist Tom Buchanan find themselves, nothing good will occur. Further emphasizing the horrid nature of this area of land, Fitzgerald introduces Doctor T. J. Eckleberg, a man keeping constant watch on this culmination of ash. As such, Doctor Eckleberg becomes more a warden and the valley more a jail to place the finishing touch on Fitzgerald's depressing setting. From this setting, Tom Buchanan introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Introduced in congruence with the panoramic darkness that Fitzgerald built with his valley of ashes metaphor and gloomy imagery, the affair between Tom and Myrtle seems doomed to fail. Fitzgerald vindicates his efforts at foreshadowing when, at the end of the chapter, Tom breaks Myrtle's nose during an argument about Daisy. Accordingly, Tom becomes indirectly characterized as even more violent than initially let on. I fear Tom's violent nature could lead to misfortune later on for Nick or his cousin Daisy. Nevertheless, Tom still has not shown any major negative behavior toward Nick, so I cannot yet classify him as an antagonist. In fact, Nick has not been surrounded by any truly meaningful conflict or negative characters at all, which leaves the subjects of possible antagonists and major plot-driving conflicts shrouded in mystery. I guess I'll just have to read and find out.
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