Mansion Symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many symbols that not only shows the greed and simple mindedness of the time, but also provide great clairvoyance into not only the story, but the character themselves. Jay Gatsby’s mansion is a superb example of this and is relatable to almost every part of the novel; it symbolizes the essence of the American Dream, being that from such a small start, Gatsby is able to have such a magnificent mansion, but it also has a negative connotation to what it symbolizes, which is the blindness to reality, and the true form and essence of Jay Gatsby himself.

Jay Gatsby’s mansion is the quintessence of the idealized American Dream; it shows all that true about the fact that from nothing, something great may come, but sometimes, this greatness can come at a price. “‘I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people – his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all’” (104). James Gatz, Gatsby’s real name, was born into humble roots, he was not wealthy, and sometimes did not even have food on the table; but the one thing he did have was his imagination and determination. Those are the characteristic which took him so far, and eventually even led to his downfall. His humble origins are the place from which his story starts, and will eventually catch up to him, as he had nothing when he was young, he dies truly with nothing. “Then he drifted back to Lake Superior, and he was still searching for something to do on the day that Dan Cody's yacht dropped anchor in the shallows along shore… And it was from Cody that he inherited money-a legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars” (107). This is where James Gatz ...

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...s, but does truly use the things he has, the pages were not cut, therefore not even opened and read. The mansion allows for a clairvoyant insight into the true nature of Gatsby, this allows the correct characterization of Gatsby to happen, which allows for the story to continue on with a different perspective for the reader.

The mansion is a superb example and symbol of clairvoyance; it allows for great insight and perspective, furthermore, it is the one constant in the book. This allows it to greatly alter the story, even though it is an inanimate object that has no feelings, no thoughts, and cannot talk, but still says the most about everyone’s personality. It is an object that conveys true human nature, it does not care who everyone is, as they are all the same to it, and all it provides is a place to see and step back from reality to reflect on people’s actions.