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Social Background of The Great Gatsby
Social Background of The Great Gatsby
Social Background of The Great Gatsby
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Symbolism in The Great Gatsby 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. One of the most evident symbols in this piece is the green light. The distant and faint light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future, but also the past. Gatsby sees the green light from the edge of his dock and presumes that it is …show more content…
Eckleburg looking down on the valley of ashes and the people traveling between West Egg and Manhattan. “But above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (Fitzgerald). This gives a representation of God looking down on all the wrongdoers and providing them with what they deserve for their sins. For example, Myrtle Wilson was having an affair with Tom Buchanan behind her husbands back. It was not until Buchanan’s wife, Daisy threatened to return the favor by committing the same offense with Gatsby that Tom broke it off with Myrtle. With Myrtle 's heart and dignity crushed she dashed out in the middle of the road, but little did she know Daisy was driving erratically. In result of this Myrtle ended up getting struck and run over by the car. This crucial event in the novel proves that the theme of privileged people having no patience or tolerance for the lower class is very much …show more content…
“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 valley of ashes is “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 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.
“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”(Fitzgerald 2). Tom and Nick a driving through a place between West Egg and New York, which is an industrial zone where the lower class lives. Here alone we can see how the poor class lives their daily lives in filth, but the rich live in shiny clean houses.
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.
The green light symbolizes a dream just out of his grasp. Both the light and Daisy are located across the bay and he can see both within eyeshot. Interpreting this symbol can correlate with the plot because by the first chapter, readers get a glimpse into Gatsby’s situation with Daisy without any dialogue except narration. Nick Carraway, the narrator, notices Gatsby hang behind and look out into the bay cryptically: “... he stretched his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, … Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 26). This quote can also symbolize Jay Gatsby’s devotion for Daisy, as Nick says he sees “nothing except” the light, perhaps as Gatsby sees her as well. Color is a recurring device Fitzgerald uses, so the color represents a green light “go” The distance represents a theme of unattainability in pursuing Daisy, as she is preoccupied with marriage. So, the green light symbolizes elusiveness, introduces the contention between Gatsby and Daisy, and intertwines a theme of longing for a dream just out of
out towards a green light. At the time it is not revealed to us that this
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...
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.
...ver wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (Fitzgerald 119), in stark contrast with Tom Buchanan’s cheating personality a week after his marriage with Daisy. Gatsby has a genuine care for her that is not apparent in the rich who recede back to their wealth at the end of the novel after the death of Myrtle, Wilson and Gatsby as if nothing happened.
The "valley of ashes" represent utter poverty and depression (). The valley symbolizes the moral decay of the newly rich who indulge themselves, disregarding all others and anything that interferes in their pleasure. The ashes are
... powerlessness of the poor. She is pushed around by Tom, and like George, she is a slave to him. This can be seen when “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (37). The Valley of Ashes, assists in the characterization of its inhabitants as powerless, but capable of taking that power back. It also foreshadows the Dustbowl and the Great Depression.
The Great Gatsby is filled with symbols and symbolism, which try to convey Fitzgerald's ideas to the reader. The symbols are uniquely involved in the plot of the story, which makes their implications more real. There are three major symbols that serve very important significance in the symbolism of the novel. They are "the valley of the ashes," the reality that represents the corruption in the world, the green light of Daisy's lap that Gatsby sees across the bay and lastly, the symbolism of the East Egg and West Egg or more important the east and the west of the country.
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.
Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby - Symbolism and the Truth That Lies Between
...and the upper middle class members mixed in the neighborhood, creating a disturbing mix. West Egg provided a direct confrontation to the establishment that disturbed the rich such as Daisy Buchanan (107). The residents of the city have foreign names like “Joens”, “Muldoon”, and “Eckheart” with uncouth professions such as actors and politicians (63). Epitomizing the qualities of the people and the buildings of West Egg is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby possesses a house designed to imitate royalty. However, Gatsby fills that very house with the risque parties, juxtaposing the old idea of wealth with a new one. The juxtaposition between the two ideas strongly characterizes the West Egg resident.
When describing the buildings within the Valley of Ashes Fitzgerald mainly focusses on how the buildings are ‘unprosperous and bare’; the adjectives utilised depict images of abandonment and placidity, this is a metaphor for the peoples’ hope. It should be noted that there was a gross disparity between the upper and lower classes and this certainly exemplifies this, furthermore their hope is dwindling slowly through this ‘Valley of Ashes’; at this point it does seem as if this is the gateway to hell and as it is a liminal place this exemplifies this. Nevertheless, it can be argued that Wilson, Tom Buchanan’s contact within the Valley of Ashes, had achieved the American dream; ‘sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead’. One