Analyzing Word Choice in Literature

Analyzing Word Choice in Literature

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to the author's word choice and how it contributes to the overall meaning and tone.

Passage from 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.' He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. It was a matter of reserving judgments, a habit that has encountered me with not a few queer fellows in my time. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and label as abnormal that which is only unfamiliar.

1. What is the connotation of the word "vulnerable" in the first sentence?

2. The phrase "unusually communicative in a reserved way" suggests a relationship that is both   and  .

3. Analyze the impact of the word "queer" in the phrase "not a few queer fellows." What does it reveal about the narrator's perspective at the time?

4. The narrator's father's advice suggests a tone of judgment and criticism.

5. How does the final sentence, "The abnormal mind is quick to detect and label as abnormal that which is only unfamiliar," contribute to the theme of judgment and perception in the passage?