The Use and Effect of Imagery in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald A vivid imagination is a wonderful endowment created by sparks of ingenuity. The fire that ignites those majestic sparks is sensational writing. It is evident that F. Scott Fitzgerald certainly has a vivid imagination in his novel “The Great Gatsby” due to the vast beauty of the images applied. Every word Fitzgerald chose carefully and with full intent to stimulate the atmosphere and tone of the novel. Thus, the sensory writing of Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby” establishes the mood and tone through the application of a multitude of motifs, detailed accounts of setting, and intricate character descriptions. The clever use of motif is consistent throughout the novel. Fitzgerald included a wide variety of motifs in “The Great Gatsby,” focusing on the elements of eyes, dreams, dust, and ashes. At the beginning of the first chapter, Nick Carraway refers to Jay Gatsby and the "foul dust" (p.8) that "floated in the wake of his dreams" (p.8) to foreshadow how Gatsby's brilliant plans were haunted by tragedy. . The tone depicted by the dream and dust motifs is that of pity resulting from powerful words. Tom Buchanan's introduction parallels that of another motif, the eyes. Nick immediately dislikes Tom at first sight (a true contradiction to Gatsby's love at first sight for Daisy) and describes him as having “arrogant eyes” (p.12). Although a person cannot have arrogant eyes, Nick immediately notices a haughty look in Tom before a word is even uttered between them that establishes a contemptuous tone and an uncomfortable atmosphere. A tense mood is demonstrated by Nick's observations that Tom, Daisy, and Jordan were... the center of the paper... Scott Fitzgerald's use of sensory techniques enhanced "The Great Gatsby" by appealing to what the reader knows and visualizes complicated concepts to create a better understanding of the deeper meanings, subtle nuances, and overall intent behind the elaborate novel. Thus, Fitzgerald's abstraction of uniform motif, setting, and character description created a variety of moods and tones suited to each event in “The Great Gatsby.” Work cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.