Question

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

‘You make me feel uncivilized, Daisy,’ I confessed on my second glass of corky but rather impressive claret. ‘Can’t you talk about crops or something?’

I meant nothing in particular by this remark but it was taken up in an unexpected way.

‘Civilization’s going to pieces,’ broke out Tom violently. ‘I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things.

Have you read ‘The Rise of the Coloured Empires’ by this man Goddard?’ ‘Why, no,’ I answered, rather surprised by his tone.

‘Well, it’s a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved.’

In this passage, Tom’s ideas about race relations come off as uncivilized. What literary device is Fitzgerald using here?

Irony


Personification


Metaphor


Simile

Answer 1

The literary device Fitzgerald uses in the passage is irony.

Explanation: In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is ironic that the protagonist, Nick, confesses that he feels uncivilized, but Tom Buchanan rudely enters the conversation to express his racist views. While Tom believes that people of color are uncivilized, he is the one that acts uncivilized and doesn't realize it.