Ecca Hu Mr. H English 5-6, P4 February 12 2017 The Symbol of American Dream Symbols are always a big part in all the novels. The symbols also perform a big role throughout the novel. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby loved Daisy and always looking to her house. Tom has an affair with a women who lived in the Valley of Ashes. In this novel, valley of ashes and the green light goes through the novel, suggesting that the decay of American dream. Valley of ashes represents not only poverty but also the decay of this decades. The Valley of Ashes is absolutely a poor place and in heavy environmental pollution. It is described as “a fantastic arm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” (23). And in the valley of Ashes, there are men “swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable clouds” (23). This text described the place was from nature turned into pollution for the seek of richness. People wants money but only money. They are careness and has not notice the …show more content…
Green lights can be about Gatsby’s dream of Daisy. When Nick comes back from the party, Gatsby is simply staring at “a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of the dock” (21). What Gatsby is staring at is not the green light but the Daisy’s house. Daisy is one of the dream of Gatsby. The color green represents his greed and desire for Daisy. But the dream is “minute and far away”, suggesting that Daisy is very far away from Gatsby and Gatsby may never achieve it. However, when Gatsby really meets Daisy, “colossal significance of that light had now vanished” (93). The significance vanished because that he has reached Daisy. He and Daisy does not have a long physical distance anymore. However, it is also because Daisy is far away from his dream. He has spent a long time on his fantasy. Therefore his fantasy has extends far away from the real Daisy. And his 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).
Many times we hear of society's affect on people; society influencing the way people think and act. Hardly mentioned is the reverse: peoples' actions and lifestyles affecting society as a whole and how it is characterized. Thus, society is a reflection of its inhabitants and in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is a wasteland described as the "valley of ashes." Since the characters of this novel make up this wasteland, aren't they the waste? Symbolically, this waste represents the lack of ethics of the 1920's society and civilization's decay. In The Great Gatsby, morals deficiencies such as a lack of God, selfishness, and idleness are reflective of a society as doomed as "the valley of ashes."
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 at the end of the dock has symbolized a hope that Gatsby had. The green light was a light at the end of Daisy’s dock. In the beginning of the book, Gatsby was shown staring at the light with a longing expression. It shows that the green light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hope that Daisy is still available. The green li...
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.
The color green, as it is used in the novel, symbolizes different choices the character, Gatsby, can make during his life. The green element in this novel is taken from the green light at the end of the dock near Daisy’s house. The color itself represents serenity, as in everything is perfect. This warns Gatsby that he should not pursue his dream for getting Daisy back, because his chance has passed and everything is as it should be. This is shown with Nick’s insight, “…His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him…(Pg.189)”
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.
In literature, symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors are used to make a plot or meaning deeper in a story or novel. They are used to hint at an emotion towards something without directly stating it. Symbols are an author’s way of enhancing the story whether the symbols are hidden or obvious they all are all carried with an important meaning behind them. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses symbolism to create a more realistic story for the reader. Many symbols are presented throughout the story but Gatsby’s house, the green light, and the East and West egg have a stronger meaning than the reader might think.
In The Great Gatsby, a classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and West Egg are the three main regions surrounding New York City, a “racy, adventurous” city that epitomizes the American Dream (65). A cultural revolution, illustrated by the motif of geography, is occurring at the time setting of the book—the Jazz Age or the “Roaring” Twenties (69). During these tumultuous times, the capitalist economy roared on, but economic inequality between classes also grew. Klipspringer sings during Daisy’s visit to Gatsby’s mansion, “The rich get richer and the poor get—children” (95). Each of these main settings represents an element of the societal hierarchy that emerged in America during the Jazz Age, and establishes the understanding of the characters that inhabit that region and fit that class.
“The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour”(Fitzgerald 28). This is representation of the social classes and how the wealthy not only perturbedly but physically ruined the townspeople. In pursuit of their own success and happiness the affluent individuals have no regard for the others that are being dragged through their path. The valley of ashes also represents not only the rich hurting others, but themselves and making their souls hollow. In result of this it overall symbolizes hopelessness and
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.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic 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 then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (180). Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Fitzgerald illustrates Daisy as a symbol of wealth, success, dreams, beauty, marriage, motherhood, and she ultimately encompasses the idealistic American Dream. However, t...
In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of the Ashes illustrate the inequality between its inhabitants and that of West Egg and East Egg, in terms of social standing and income, as well as the hopelessness of poverty resulting from the inability of its inhabitants to rise up the socio-economic ladder. Thus, the valley represents the failure of the Dream that America promises, which is the ideal of equal opportunities for all, associated with the New World.
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.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is the master of symbolism. Symbolism plays a vital part in two of his most famous novels, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night. From the valley of ashes to “Daddy’s Girl”, Fitzgerald weaves symbols throughout his novels that help the plot to thicken and progress. They also allow readers to look at the novels in a more analytical point of view, which makes the novels more interesting to read. Fitzgerald’s symbols truly make his works a pleasure to read.