The Harlem Renaissance was a vital part of the 1920s. Considering that Fitzgerald coined the term "Jazz Age," it is a little ridiculous that Harlem was never mentioned in Gatsby. And yes, some of the characters are racist. However, all agreement with Tyson's essay stops there.
First, Tyson spends 5 pages discussing Fitzergerlad's "strong evocation of a sense of place" (396). However, apparently his evocation was not strong enough. Without Harlem, Fitzgerald forgot an essential part of 1920s New York City, therefore making the "sense of place" incomplete. But how incomplete? Just because Harlem was crucial during the same era in which the novel occurs does not mean that Harlem would have added to the storyline. Frankly, the omission does not seem as serious as Tyson describes it.
Second, Tyson's essay includes a 3 page description of Harlem itself. It is well known that "Harlem's nightclubs... offered such jazz greats as Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway [who all] attracted white people from all over the city and beyond" (402). The term "Harlem Renaissance" exists because it was a cultural movement that affected music and written works everywhere. This entire section could have been either edited or cut all together. The essay would not have suffered without it. We are learning about literary criticism, not the history of Harlem. We read these essays to learn how to use criticisms.
And third, Tyson yet again fails to follow through with her concept of "The Death of the Author." Let's face it: Fitzgerald was a racist. He believed the United States should "raise the bars of immigration... and permit only Scandinavians, Teutons, Anglo-Saxons and Celts to enter" (408). However, it is not possible to prove author intent from text alone, therefore this argument is unrelated to the essay.
We were told this essay was complex, and that Tyson knew what she was doing. Be that as it may, I cannot agree. In this essay, Tyson used textual evidence from Gatsby in conjunction to African American criticism on only 3 pages of this essay. Considering the essay is 13 pages long, that number is too few. Yes, she used textual examples to show the "sense of place," but that did not relate to using the criticism itself. This essay disappointed me. It did not give any new insights on the novel, or change my reading of Gatsby.
I believe Tyson can make good points in her essays, but in this essay she stretched them a little too far, as you said. Specifically in this essay her conclusions seemed far fetched. Her biggest problem was trying to use the Great Gatsby for African American Theory. Yes, there is the absence of the Harlem Renaissance, and that was a large oversight on Fitzgerald’s part, but there are so many great literary works she could have chosen to write her essay on. Instead she makes herself seem far less credible because she makes wild statements with little support. Overall, Tyson’s essay could have been a lot stronger had she picked a different text.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Tyson, for using the Great Gatsby as a bassis, does a pretty good job analyzing it with an African American theory. After all, she does take the details of a novel and rearrange them to create a bigger picture. For example, Tyson shows "the popular songs, dances, and consumer crazes [referenced] in the novel,"(pg 399 CCT) which helps to show the atmosphere in Gatsby. Then proceeds to point out that "Nick Carraway and his friends have missed Harlem"(Pg 402 CCT). However, I agree with Justine when she says that Harlem would not have added to the storyline. I think that it would have created unnecessary details to the story itself, and would have sidetracked the reader from the main story plot.
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