I am surprised at how much enjoyment I found while reading the stories by Fitzgerald. It wasn't really because of the stories themselves because I thought they were rather dull. The sophistication of the words are what drew me in.
"She wore a blue gingham dress, rimmed at throat and shoulders with a white edging that accentuated her tan. The quality of exaggeration, of thinness that had made her passionate eyes and down turning mouth absurd at eleven was gone now. She was arrestingly beautiful. The color in her cheeks was centered like the color in a picture - it was not a "high" color, but a sort of fluctuating and feverish warmth, so shaded that it seemed at any moment it would recede and disappear. This color and the mobility of her mouth gave a continual impression of flux, of intense life, of passionate vitality - balanced only partially by the sad luxury of her eyes."
He uses words I would never think of when writing a story. Even though I thought this story was boring, I couldn't help but sympathize with Derek and Judy. Their lives were vividly painted in my mind, and I was hoping for a happy outcome for them both. This is another thing I like about Fitzgerald's writing. The stories have real endings. They aren't always happy, but they teach you about life in the real world. Usually, books I read have good endings which were fully expected through the entire thing.
I enjoyed Fitzgerald's style of writing, but I loved William Faulkner's stories. A Rose for Emily was my favorite. I've always been intrigued by the human mind. One of my favorite shows is Criminal Minds. It is about a Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in the FBI whose job is to think like a killer in order to find them.
Even before we knew Emily had killed a man, it was apparent there was something wrong with her psychologically. This is what kept me reading. I wanted to know what they would find in Miss Emily's house because it would unveil the secrets of her mind.
This semester has been insightful. I have discovered many different writing techniques which have intrigued me. I'm looking forward to the 1st half of American Literature in the fall.
I had to comment because I liked how you said Fitzgerald's stories had real ending, and I completely agree. That is something I liked about his story of writing. The Happy ending has been done to death in writing, and not a typical in actual life. I thought this particular style of writing was realistic and refreshing. I also thought his style of writing was very visual, but he mixed descriptions in with the rest of the text so well that it did not seem bulky or like a side-note.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did not really care for Faulkner's A Rose for Emily. It wasn't really bad, but it just did not have that zing for me. I do happen to love Criminal Minds though! It was very clear that something was wrong with Ms. Emily, that much is true, but I suppose I just didn't like Faulkner's style or something, maybe if we could have given this idea to Fitzgerald and I could have been enthralled!