Symbolism
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is bursting with symbols and motifs. Looking deeper into these symbols will uncover the abstract and intangible themes and messages portrayed throughout the novel. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock as well as T.J Eckleburg’s eyes overlooking the Valley of Ashes and the discrepancy between not only the characters of East and West Egg but the social class and standard of living they abide by. By uncovering all of these symbols and exposing them in their true light, a better understanding of the messages F. Scott Fitzgerald is revealing can be obtained. The confusion within the Great Gatsby can deciphered and straightened out.
The green light represents everything to Gatsby when he moves to West Egg. The green light that Gatsby is so fond of gazing at from his own house across the Long Island Sound represents his unattainable dream, and obscure future, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 189). This excerpt from Nick Carraway about the green light focuses on the past since the future is too sinister to imagine. All hope is lost, but one day the dream might be obtained, everyone has something they long for that is just off in the distance. Gatsby moves to the East in search for Daisy; while doing so, he acquires the willingness for money, success and acceptance. It is evident in the fact that he is in need of all these traits before he can successfully reach Daisy and that is all he wants them for...
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...shed up things and creatures and then retreated to their money or vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they made…” (Fitzgerald 187-88). Class and social structure symbolize the physical make up of the Eggs. The Long Island Sound is the barrier between people and their wants, dreams and desires.
Many early novels portray ideas and thoughts that are confusing at times and are even unjustified. Symbolism throughout the novel can be used to uncover the main premise the author is writing about. Comparing their true value to each and every character can help reveal the unseen and obscure characteristics of the more complex and compound characters. Turning to symbolism is the most proficient way to attempt to discover the author’s moral portrayed through the book and his characters.
Throughout his life, F. Scott Fitzgerald, a prestigious writer of the Jazz age, experienced many battles during his unsatisfactory life. Many of his disturbed endeavors lead to his creation of many marvelous novels including his exquisite novel The Great Gatsby. From beginning to end, Fitzgerald’s notable use of paradox and metaphorical language creates phenomenal and modernistic symbols. Whether distinguishing relationships between characters and morality, Fitzgerald continuously uses symbols to express the adequate meaning of what is behind the true theme of The Great Gatsby-the power of hope cannot determine a dream.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald 171). Whenever Gatsby looks at Daisy’s green light, he thinks of a bright future with his love of his life. The color green symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for a future with Daisy. Green also symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for great wealth. Nick describes Gatsby’s car as a “green leather conservatory” because the interior is green (Fitzgerald 64).
Fitzgerald has an in-depth writing style. He uses symbols through out the text, which highlight key ideas, some are more obvious than others although all are effective. He has added detail to the smallest of things and every component of this text has a meaning. Fitzgerald has used many symbols thought this text some which include a green light, representing what Gatsby dreams of having and what he can’t reach, the Valley of Ashes, where people like George and Myrtle Wilson live - people who are not very wealthy - . the eyes of T.J Eckleburg, who is represented very alike to God who is known to see everything that happens, the clock, which is knocked over by Gatsby symbolising that Gatsby and Daisy have caught up in time and the weather which symbolises the atmosphere between
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.
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel based on Gatsby’s dream and hope. In order to enrich the story, symbols are used to emphasize what the author is saying and they create a curiosity in the reader as they are frequently used throughout the story. These three symbols – green light, valley of ashes and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are not connected to each other but each of them represents important things in the story.
The green light symbolize the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. It’s Gatsby dream, hope, and desire to reunite with Daisy. He tries everything in his power to see Daisy. What he mainly does is throw parties to see if Daisy would show up and when she doesn’t, he goes in his backyard to see the green light which is where Daisy and her husband Tom lives at every time. When Gatsby started talking to Daisy it was like he was a brand person. He tried everything in his power to make Daisy to go back with him. That was in the beginning of the story, with that to describe the green light in this situation with Gatsby it was like a rebirth for him and the start of a new life.
In novels, the use of symbols makes the story interesting and essential to the readers. Symbols are messages that the author uses to communicate with the reader for a deeper understanding, although sometimes it can only be discovered if analyzed. Fitzgerald connects the different symbols throughout the novel to pinpoint an elaborate meaning towards the story yet it does indicate a pleasant meaning. A symbol such as “color” or “money” can be less complex than it seems. Whereas a symbol as complicated as the “eye” can mean more than it’s suggested for. Throughout The Great Gatsby symbolism represent color, the existence of eyes and money.
Jay Gatsby is one of the few characters that has come significantly close to being successful in achieving his version of the American Dream, while others were scrounging to have a stable state of living in the “Jazz Age”. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how the richer occupants in the East Egg have little to none tolerance for the lesser few in West Egg. The symbolism of the green light, billboard and Valley of Ashes assists the plot and emphasizes the themes in the novel.
In The Great Gatsby, the green light is visible to many and always distant. To some, like Tom, it is just a light, but to others, like Gatsby, it is their hopeful future. As Tom said in chapter one, "I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of the dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness"(Gatsby 26). He saw a green light. That is all, just a light that may have been at the end of the dock. When Gatsby vanished, this represented him approaching and trying to attain the green light, which was his future he sought after and believed in. As Marius Bewley agrees, the green light represents his faith, "An image of that green light, symbol of Gatsby's faith, burns across the bay,"(Bewley 24).
The green light represents Gatsby’s own dream throughout the novel; to be with Daisy, but at this moment when he’s reaching for his dream he is depicting the drive and struggle within anyone who has attempted to achieve the American dream. The metaphorical and in this instant literal reaching for the dream that is so close you could nearly touch it if you reached far enough. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s reaching for the green light to symbolize the need to obtain each person’s own dream, the dream that is said to be easily obtained with hard work and determination. Later Nick finds himself at a party at Gatsby’s, one that only he has been invited to despite the hundreds of guests, he is taken aback by the fact that Gatsby is nowhere to be found. One day Nick and Gatsby are invited to lunch with Daisy and Tom and the group end up going to the city to escape the bore of the incredible August heat.
The green light signifies Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. Nick thinks back to when Gatsby observes the green light across the bay from West Egg and says, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (180). The “orgastic future” represents the American dream in which everyone has the equal opportunity to live in prosperity and happiness through hard work and success. Gatsby’s dream is full of potential, but the memories in his past end up against him and his potential diminishes as his life
Symbolism is a very important device in Fitzgerald's 1926 masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. Different objects, words or actions symbolize different character traits for each person depicted in his novel. Through symbolism, Fitzgerald manages to describe three completely different aspects of the human life. He conveys the glittery, magnificent life of the rich, the gray, ugly and desperate life of the poor, and the mundane struggles of those in between.
Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing. characters wear. There are three main symbols used in The Great Gatsby, they are The East and West Egg, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, and the eyes of Dr.T.J. Eckleburg.
There are many themes that are implemented in the Great Gatsby that Fitzgerald uses as a technique to juxtapose two contrasting topics. During this time of the Roaring Twenties, business and economy was booming, however there’s still was a underlying hint of urban corruption and the gap between the rich and poor became greater. Through the technique of juxtaposition, Fitzgerald paints a detailed picture of society in the 1920’s and its cultural clashes. By comparing the characters living in the East and West Egg, Fitzgerald highlights the contrast between morality and corruption in society during the 1920’s. Additionally, his contrasting descriptions of Tom and Daisy’s house to the Valley of Ashes offers a juxtaposition of the rich and poor.
People hold different things to be symbolic. Dove and peace, a rose and love; they are simple things yet widely symbolic. Symbolism is commonly used in literature to change or deepen meanings or instill a different meaning to the mind of the readers. The reader is forced to think, make connections, and succeed in adding a new meaning to the novel. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses symbolism in the form of his characters and to develop the theme, the corruption of the American Dream.