Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinHowell
In #1, "Those abnormal minds" simply means "the abnormal minds I've just mentioned".
Sentence #2 makes a sweeping generalization. It states that there is a single class containing all people who the speaker thinks are abnormal, and it goes on to describe that class. That's why "the abnormal mind" is singular and uses "the". It creates an abstract idea and says that every abnormal mind has these qualities.
If this sounds to you like an arrogant way of speaking about people, you're not alone. I don't think English speakers use this sort of expression much nowadays, but it used to be more common in the early 20th century, when The Great Gatsby was written. But it also says something about the narrator's personality; he claims to "reserve judgment", but he then judges an entire class of people with a single statement.
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I see.
“The abnormal mind” can means “every abnormal mind”.
This explains why the word is singular.
Then, Fitzgerald’s words are pregnant.
I wish I could understand what novelists suggest in English.
Thanks as always!