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Symbolism topics for the great gatsby
A thesis of the symbolism of the great gatsby
A thesis of the symbolism of the great gatsby
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Authors commonly use symbolism to make their work appear more relatable to all. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism in his work, The Great Gatsby, to convey a deeper meaning in his work. Fitzgerald deftly uses Daisy, the billboard, and the valley of ashes as symbols to enhance the meaning of his novel.
A common theme in this novel is the American dream. Fitzgerald represents the American dream by using Daisy as a symbolic figure. Daisy symbolizes this dream because she possesses everything that is associated with the dream. Daisy lives with the nice house, the husband, the money, and the child. Following World War II, when this story takes place, these were the ideals that every person wanted to have. Gatsby sees Daisy and her life as something he should have instead of Tom. Therefore, Daisy begins to symbolize the unattainable American dream that so many people strive towards. Fitzgerald integrates this into his story by having Nick say that, “He talked a
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lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was”(Fitzgerald 118). Nick saying this about Gatsby shows that Gatsby was desperately trying to attain Daisy, or the American Dream, in any way that he can. By Gatsby talking about going back and trying to reattempt to gain Daisy, he portrays himself the same as all of the Americans, after the war, who tried to reinvent themselves to gain the American dream. This idea of an unattainable dream is further continued with Fitzgerald’s statement about Daisy where, “with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, despairingly, toward that lost voice across the room”(144). In this quote Daisy truly symbolizes the American dream leaving Gatsby, and symbolically leaving everyone else. Fitzgerald also uses symbolism to evoke the thought of the eyes of God. The eyes of God are represented through the T.J. Eckleburg billboard. Fitzgerald makes this connection when he writes, “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”(26). This gray land that is being described is where all the poor and destitute live also known as the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald uses the eyes above the valley of ashes to symbolize the eyes of God and their watchful gaze over the poor. By using the watchful eyes over the poor and destitute land Fitzgerald sends the sense that these eyes see all, just as the eyes of God theoretically do. Fitzgerald continues to use symbolism in his portrayal of the valley of ashes.
In Nick’s description of the valley of ashes, it is described as an in-between place. This valley represents purgatory as it is in between all of the supposedly good places, or in this case rich places. Fitzgerald says that, “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”(26). This idea of men being unable to escape the ash valley symbolizes purgatory because it is a desolate area that people are not meant to leave from. It also follows the idea of those in heaven looking down on purgatory because the people from West-Egg and East-Egg can take the train and look at those below their standings. Therefore, the valley of ashes represents purgatory along with all of the people inhabiting the
valley.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.
There are many writers like James Joyce, Patrick Kananach and Thomas Moore who use symbolism to convey and support indirect meaning in their writings. J.D. Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald both use symbolism in similar ways. In both “The Catcher In The Rye” and “The Great Gatsby”, the authors used symbolism to convey emotions and reality.
Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to symbolize the American dream, and uses his rags to riches journey to convey to his readers that the American dream is an extremely dangerous thing to pursue and ultimately impossible to achieve. After having dinner with his second cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, Nick returns home to find his neighbor Mr. Gatsby in his yard. Nick says “ [about Gatsby] he stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could’ve sworn he was trembling” (21). Nick see’s Gatsby reaching out towards the water, actually at what is right across the sound; the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.
Fitzgerald, like Jay Gatsby, while enlisted in the army, fell in love with a girl who was enthralled by his newfound wealth. After he was discharged, he devoted himself to a lifestyle of parties and lies in an attempt to win the girl of his dreams back. Daisy, portrayed as Fitzgerald’s dream girl, did not wait for Jay Gatsby; she was consumed by the wealth the Roaring Twenties Era brought at the end of the war. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents the themes of wealth, love, memory/past, and lies/deceit through the characters Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom.
Symbolism & Color Imagery In The Great Gatsby. Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses colors to represent symbols and themes throughout The Great Gatsby. The characters in the novel are often associated with a key color and this can help depict emotions and feelings in certain events.
Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can
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.
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.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, symbolism is prominent in both. Authors use symbolism to connect emotion with different things throughout literature.
The valley is described as a “desolate” place where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens”. (21) Ashes that dominate the area take the shape of natural greenery. The term “grotesque gardens” uses alliteration, with juxtaposition; to highlight the odd pairing of ashes and greenery. Ashes are associated with death while ridges and “gardens” represent the potential to flourish and grow in the promise and ideal of equality as in “the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams.” (143) The trees that once stood here were able to speak to man’s dreams, which allude to America, the land able to speak to man’s dreams and capacity for wonder. All this is replaced by grey ash that suffocates the inhabitants, restricting them to their social class. This presents a bleak image of hopelessness that surrounds the valley.
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.
Symbolism can mean and represent a wide variety of ideas, moments and memories in everyone's lives. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, colors, names and objects symbolize different personalities, and ideas of the characters. Some of the symbols are more obvious and easier to pick up on than others.
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.
The American Dream, a long standing ideal embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring 20s, people in America put up facades to mask who they truly were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream is simply an illusion, that is idealist and unreal. In the novel, Gatsby, a wealthy socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In the process of pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, destroys one’s own character and morals. Through Fitzgerald use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives.
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.