Every child on the face of the planet has been scolded by their parents. Their mother or father says, "No means no!" and the child sulks away. The kid can recognize that Mom or Dad is not happy with them because the forceful word choice and brief, abrupt sentence structure convey their displeasure. Authors do the same so that readers can understand the character's feelings. The Great Gatsby is unique because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote many passages in his book that convey a tone and feelings without directly stating it. The dialogues of the passage reveal more than just the events of the scene; they are insight into the characters themselves.
             In chapter 2, Tom's affair with Myrtle Wilson is introduced. The characters use short sentences, with very simple diction. A dictionary is not necessary to understand what they are saying to each other. The whole interaction takes about 10 seconds. The three exchanged lines come out in a rush. Tom does not even greet Myrtle after Mr. Wilson left the room; he simply says, "I want to see you." It is blunt and to the point. It becomes apparent to the reader that Myrtle and Tom have met each other secretly before. Tom's vague instructions of, "I'll meet you by the newsstand on the lower level," show this. To an outsider, this could mean anywhere in a big city, but Myrtle knows precisely the location Tom is referring to. The whole passage has an urgent, lust-charged feeling because of how Fitzgerald presents the pair and the brevity of the conversation. By using the characters' speech (or lack thereof) as a device to convey a tone and mood of the scene, Fitzgerald helps to reader get involved in the story.
             This scene plays into the overall themes of the story with ease. In The Great Gatsby, lying and being secretive is prevailent. Tom and Myrtle's whole relationship is a big secret lie to Mr. Wilson. This ties in se...