F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby immediately captures the reader's attention through the use of a first peson narrative and an epigraph. The first-person point of view is a welcome change from Wharton's third person point of view in The House of Mirth. Instead of reading of the character's thoughts and actions, the reader is subjected to the innermost feelings and emotions of the character himself as he tells the tale. This gives the reader a special insight into the story, and allows the author the use of more literary tools, such as flashbacks and foreshadowing. For example, at the beginning of Fitzgerald's novel, the narrator uses a personal epigraph.
'"Whenever you feel like criticiszing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had"' (Fitzgerald, 1).
Judging by the placement and the summary, this quote accurately reflects the theme of the story. Epigraphs allow the reader a glimpse of how the story will proceed. Throughout the rest of the story, the reader will reflect and reference back to the meaningful quotation. An epigraph's goal, besides giving a hint to the theme, is to emphasize the moral or lesson the characters will learn. The fact that the the quote was from the narrator's father only emphasizes the personal connection the narrator has with the lesson the epigraph, and the author, is trying to convey.
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