The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby: Situational Irony 1 key example

Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Gatsby's Death:

Gatsby’s death in Chapter 8 is an instance of situational irony:

The chauffeur—he was one of Wolfsheim’s proteges—heard the shots. [...] With scarcely a word said, four of us, the chauffeur, butler, gardener, and I, hurried down to the pool.

[...]

A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with its accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of a compass, a thin red circle in the water.

Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Gatsby's Death:

Gatsby’s death in Chapter 8 is an instance of situational irony:

The chauffeur—he was one of Wolfsheim’s proteges—heard the shots. [...] With scarcely a word said, four of us, the chauffeur, butler, gardener, and I, hurried down to the pool.

[...]

A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with its accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of a compass, a thin red circle in the water.

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