Naturalism and Impressionism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald does a masterful job of weaving elements of naturalism, impressionism and realism. At times, Fitzgerald's form is naturalistic, as he presents pieces of information throughout the book with the purpose of leading the reader to a distinct conclusion. Yet, with this naturalistic form, Fitzgerald combines elements of impressionism and realism in his content. Sometimes the content takes on a lyrical, dreamy quality that leaves the reader with the author's impressions of the situation or character. At other times, the content is presented in a direct, straightforward manner that clearly defines the action.

One dramatic example of Fitzgerald's use of naturalism is in his description of the enormity of Gatsby's parties and of the impact these parties have on the social scene. Fitzgerald could have simply told the reader that there were many people of varying character and different backgrounds. What he chooses to do, however, is to list for us those who attended. And what a list it is, too. Fitzgerald spends several paragraphs at the beginning of chapter four simply listing everyone who attended these parties, and this method is so much more effective in making the reader truly understand the scope of these events.
 
The form that Fitzgerald uses to describe to us the character of Tom Buchanan is decidedly naturalistic. Fitzgerald wishes to convince the reader that Tom is a highly despicable character, but he does not come out and say such in so many words. Rather, he meticulously describes Tom's actions so that the reader is left to draw no other conclusion. On the other hand, the content of the description of Tom varies between impressionistic and realistic. Some of the descriptions leave the reader with an uneasy impression of Tom. Others simply spell out in clear detail his behavior.

Tom is first introduced to the story during the description of the Buchanan property. Fitzgerald's lilting description of the beach, yard, and house is suddenly interrupted because "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch." Later, when Nick Carraway enters the room where Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker are waiting, we see again a very dreamy description of the environment interrupted by the presence of Tom Buchanan, as "the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor" when Tom closes the windows. Again, the reader is left with the impression of Tom Buchanan being the type of person who sucks the life out of the things around him.

Impressionism is again used when Nick Carraway is arriving home after his evening with the Buchanans and Jordan Baker. The reader is told that "The wind had blown off, leaving a loud, bright night, with wings beating in the trees and a persistent organ sound as the full bellows of the earth blew the frogs full of life". Fitzgerald does an incredible job of giving the reader the impression of the evening.
 
The content is much different when Fitzgerald describes the scene in which Myrtle is attempting to get a rise out of Tom. This time, Tom's reaction is presented in terms of cold, hard facts when Fitzgerald relates that "Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand." Here, Fitzgerald layers on more evidence of Tom's overall character, but he is more straightforward in his presentation, not leaving this description to the realm of impression.

The evidence against Tom continues to build as we see the fallout from the accident. Tom seems to be initially affected very deeply by Myrtle's death, shedding tears as they leave the scene. When Nick talks to him about the accident later, however, he shows no concern for his own wife's part in things. Fitzgerald completes his description of Tom, as well as Daisy, by describing them as careless people, saying, "they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."

Another instance of Fitzgerald's use of realism occurs when Gatsby and Carraway are discussing Myrtle's death. When Gatsby indicates his feeling that Myrtle was killed in the accident, Nick responds, "It ripped her open-" (110). This statement is shocking for its clarity, especially in contrast to Gatsby's rambling description of the events leading up to Myrtle's being hit.

Fitzgerald's mixture of impressionism, naturalism and realism weaves a compelling story of New York City in the 1920's. The impressionism lends a lyrical quality to the story. Naturalism is used especially to build the character of Tom Buchanan. The instances of realism are made more poignant by their placement among so much impressionism, giving them a very shocking quality.