Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
The 1920s of United States history is riddled with scandal, post-war morale, and daring excursions in efforts break away from a melancholy time of war. Pearls, cars, and dinner parties are intertwined in a society of flappers and bootleggers and F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this picturesque period to develop a plot convey his themes . In his The Great Gatsby, functioning as an immersive piece into the roaring twenties, Fitzgerald places his characters in a realistic New York setting. Events among them showcase themes concerning love, deceit, class, and the past. Fitzgerald uses the setting of the East and West Eggs, a green dock light, and a valley of ashes to convey his themes and influence the plot.
Fitzgerald develops
Nick, the narrator, as well as Gatsby, live on the West Egg, and the Buchanans live across the bay on the East Egg. The East Egg is known to be wealthier and more elite than the West. Nick, the narrator of The Great Gatsby explains: “I lived at West Egg, the — well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. … Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water, and the history of the summer really begins on the evening I drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans.” (Fitzgerald 9). The setting relates to the plot because readers learn to sympathize with Jay Gatsby because his love for Daisy is barred through not only social barriers, but also geography. The
In actuality, the valley of ashes is a sullen post war wasteland compiled of ashes extramural to the East and West Eggs. It takes on the identity of a functioning city, with imitation landscapes and souls of men ready, willing, and able to make things happen. In order to get to the city from the Eggs, one must travel through this barren reminder of recent history. Nick informs with this description: “About half way between West Egg and New York … a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” (34). This observation illustrates the reality of the world, especially during the war. Closer to the story, this can directly compare to the overbearing, poor class of society and that of Gatsby and the Buchanan’s caliber. In many cases, the rich and elite know nothing outside the realm of their own lavish lives, and rarely care for anything besides it. Gatsby may have turned his life around as to not be stuck clawing the walls within the likes of the valley of ashes, but he seems to have forgotten reality and focuses sharply upon huge parties, scandal, and especially winning Daisy back. The valley of ashes conveys a theme
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American classic, The Great Gatsby, tells a story of how love and greed lead to death. The narrator of the novel, Nick Carraway, tells of his unusual summer after meeting the main character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s intense love makes him attempt anything to win the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan. All the love in the world, however, cannot spare Gatsby from his unfortunate yet inevitable death. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes the contrasting locations of East Egg and West Egg to represent opposing forces vital to the novel.
...ent efforts, or men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). Here, The Valley of Ashes is regarded as complete destitution and hopelessness. The people known as the lower class do not wish to live in the valley of ashes. This is why people, like Myrtle try to do anything to get away from it but instead it becomes unachievable for them. When Myrtle tried to escape from the ashes by trying to be with a rich man like Tom, she dies. This embellishes how The American dream is unattainable. When Tom goes and sees George, you can see how the higher classes look down on the lower classes because of their different social positions. The higher-class people such as, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan represent the unstructured bodies of ashes within the valley. They are inconsiderate and conceited people arising from the dead ashes, changing the American Dream.
In this quote, the Valley of Ashes is portrayed as a “desolate area of land” where the glory of West Egg and New York are separated by a valley characterized as “grotesque,” dim, and “crumbling.” Fitzgerald includes this setting to describe important characters, such as Myrtle Wilson, who have an extreme influence on others because they are considered impoverished and trashy with no class. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes despair and poor lifestyles, which is why Myrtle is able to be used by Tom, who, in disdain, no longer shows feelings for his wife. The road is also personified to represent those who reside in the West Egg, who are snobby and want nothing to do with the poor.
Wilson and Mrs. Wilson, reside in the Valley of Ashes, home of the literal “foul dust [that] floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams.” (2) The Valley of Ashes, besides hosting the dust that sullies Gatsby’s ability to chase Daisy, also contains the waste products of the high paced society on either side of the valley. Mr. Wilson’s livelihood depends on his business, which supports itself on the remains of the rich. Tom dangles a car in front of Wilson, promising to sell it, someday. Wilson needs the money from the car “to get away… to go West” alongside his wife. In spite of all that Mr. Wilson does to please his wife out of love, Mrs. Wilson has other ideas, calling him “[unfit] to lick my shoe.” (34) Like Daisy, Mrs. Wilson chooses to subjugate herself to the richest man possible, to acquire wealth. Apparently, the lower classes pines for wealth, believing that it will bring happiness. One example of such comes from Gatsby’s father, who comes to take excessive pride in Gatsby, using the wealth that Gatsby acquired as the core of his self-esteem. In fact, Mr. Gatz doesn’t appear to feel the least bit depressed by his child’s death, and instead flaunts Gatsby’s wealth, especially the mansion, in order to impress Nick. Like Mr. Gatsby as a boy, who maintained a rigorous schedule of study and work always having “some resolves like this or something” (173), Wilson also cannot get ahead despite ten years of hard labor for his business. Mrs.
Fitzgerald uses setting to criticise society’s loss of morality and the growth of consumerism after the Great War. The rise of the stock market in the 1920s enabled business to prosper in America. However, although the owners of industry found themselves better off wages didn’t rise equally, causing the gap between the rich and poor to grow markedly. Parkinson argues that the settings “represent [these] alternative worlds of success and failure in a modern capitalist society”. The valley of ashes symbolises this failure and moral decay, acting as a foil to the affluent “world of success”, East Egg, and highlighting that the lower classes must suffer to support its existence. This setting is introduced in Chapter 2 and is described as where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”. The personification of the environment creates the sense that these failures are rooted in the land, suggesting that poverty is an inescapable part of American society. This is emphasised through the use of tripling which creates a sense of endlessness. By describing the men who live there as “crumbling through the pow...
F. Scott Fitzgerald tried to accent the point that money does not breed happiness. Money causes people to become envious, greedy, and jealous. It compels people to show a persona of arrogance and creates a haze of fog in the air of the world around them. They begin to become oblivious of the outside world and think of themselves as a higher being. This causes lack of acceptance for their responsibilities. I thing the author was also trying to show us that sometimes one can hold on to a dream for so long, and try so hard to achieve it that it can leave you in misery instead of happiness. Creating the reverse of it's intent.
Metaphors and Symbolisms in The Great Gatsby & nbsp; In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different metaphors and symbolisms to express his point. In this essay the point that I wish to make is how Fitzgerald uses colors to develop image, feelings, and scenery depiction to let the reader feel the emotions and other aspects being portrayed in that particular part of the book. Like every other essay one must address the major points that will be addressed. This essay suggests the hopefulness of Nick's venture in the East and of Gatsby's dream to win. Daisy. Fitzgerald uses the colors of white and green as suggestions. future promise. As the novel unfolds and the uselessness of the dream is developed, the colors become garish shades such as gold, silver, and pink. & nbsp; White and green are shown throughout the beginning of the novel, first. through green and white luminous light. Daisy is constantly shown in white.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby tells of a man's attempt to regain his long lost love and the happiness he once had in life by way of wealth and material possessions. Jay Gatsby is representative of the American man because he believes that with great wealth comes great happiness. This is evidenced throughout the novel by way of Gatsby himself, through the portrayal of the Buchanans, and through the use of the word green which symbolizes hope, renewal, and promise.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of symbolism, which is portrayed by the houses and cars in an array of ways. One of the more important qualities of symbolism within The Great Gatsby is the way in which it is so completely incorporated into the plot and structure. Symbols, such as Gatsby's house and car, symbolize material wealth.
The settings and backdrops in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, are essential elements to the formation of the characters, symbolic imagery and the overall plot development. Fitzgerald uses East and West Egg communities to portray two separate worlds and two classes of people that are technically the same their status, but fundamentally different in their ideals. The physical geography of the settings is representative of the distance between classes of the East and West Eggers. Every setting connotes a different tone and enhances the imagery of story line. From the wealthy class of the "eggs", the desolate "valley of ashes", to the chaos of Manhattan. The imagery provided by Fitzgerald becomes an important tool in establishing the characters and their story.
In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald presents a novel with intricate symbolism. Fitzgerald integrates symbolism into the heart of the novel so strongly that it is necessary to read the book several times to gain any level of understanding. The overtones and connotations that Fitzgerald gives to the dialogues, settings, and actions is a major reason why The Great Gatsby is one of the classics of the 20th century.
By exploring the physical site of the valley, followed by the inhabitants of the valley – George and Myrtle, George representing the working class and Myrtle the exception, extending this to the references of the valley to Gatsby’s humble origins, the Valley of the Ashes represents the low social mobility and the failure of the American Dream.
he has always wanted. And Daisy, the woman that Gatsby has always wanted. never gets, lives on East Egg. There is also a barrier of water between the two cities that keep people like Daisy and Gatsby apart from one another. and keeps them from reaching their goals and what they want in life.
The author clearly wishes to continually demonstrate broken and corrupt relationships in order to display how the failing of the American dream can poison the family. In addition, at one point in the book, Gatsby works with Nick to bring her over so that he can see her again and show her his house. The moment when they appear truly happy together occurs when they are together in Gatsby’s gardens. Fitzgerald plays upon the classic garden image to show that the two are only happy in their natural state, but they are not; they live in the world tainted by the actions and more specifically the failings of mankind. Furthermore, Roger Lewis implies the importance of the valley of ashes in the portrayal of the theme of Gatsby.
Within the film, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, whilst East Egg and its denizens, particularly Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy. Luhrman presents these people of the newly rich as being rather vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. This notion is particularly apparent in the depiction of Jay Gatsby and the spoils of his luxurious and decadent lifestyle, this has been achieved through the profound set development in the production of a monstrously ornate mansion, of epic proportions; resembling his life of inordinate decadence and excess, yet is unable to secure ultimate happiness. Contrastingly, epitomized by the Buchanans’ is the old aristocracy with demonstration of grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance, demonstrated through the tasteful home and the flowing white dresses of Daisy and Jordan Baker. The East Eggers however prove themselves to be rather careless, and inconsiderate bullies with their profound resources, which are demonstrated to relinquish them of all accountability and human morality. Luhrman through the Buchanans towards the conclusion of this film, where after Daisy had killed Myrtle, they simply move to a new residence, far away rather than condescend to attend Gatsby’s funeral; allowing them to remove themselves of the tragedy not only physically but psychologically. This also demonstrates the character of Jay Gatsby, though his recent wealth derives from criminal activity, he is of sincere and loyal heart, ironically it is these characteristics that are the cause of his death, taking blame for the killing of Myrtle rather than allowing Daisy Buchannan to be