Motifs In The Great Gatsby

People repeating things signifies that whatever they said acts as something very important to them. F. Scott Fitzgerald does this with the use of motifs throughout his novel The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters of the story, repeats himself many times, which shows what he truly values in life. He lives next to Nick Carraway, the cousin of Daisy-Gatsby’s love, whom he tells his life story to. Gatsby tells Nick everything he wanted to gain in the world, including all of his dreams, which he repeats to show that he really want them. All of Gatsby’s action shows his personality and without him constantly repeating himself, people would not know his values. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses motifs to characterize

Gatsby’s name itself acts as a motif because it always comes with a different meaning for everyone, each person has a different story of his life. Daisy has already proved herself as one of Gatsby’s most important values, which creates the reason why Daisy’s story and reaction to Gatsby’s name becomes a very important part of the novel. Fitzgerald makes Daisy’s reaction important to prove Gatsby’s values “You must know Gatsby. Gatsby? Demanded Daisy. What Gatsby” (11). Daisy’s big reaction to his name shows that Gatsby most likely values her because at one point in time she valued him also. This also explains why Gatsby thinks repeating the past exists as a possibility. His hope for Daisy and him provides a reason for him being so widely known. Gatsby wanted to make a name for himself because he values Daisy and wanted her to know of his success. Every time his name comes up, someone has a story “I live at West Egg. Really? I was down there at a party about a month ago. At a man named Gatsby’s. Do you know him? I live next door to him. Well, they say he’s a nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s. That’s where all his money comes from” (32). The stories of Gatsby may not have come from Gatsby himself, but people continued to tell the stories or and Gatsby did not prove them wrong because he wanted himself known to the world. His value of Daisy made him become the man

Each motif that Fitzgerald used throughout the novel played a huge role in how others viewed Gatsby. His belief that the past can repeat itself proves his that his life could improve. Same with his catch phrase ‘old sport’. By him having to say that to everyone he meets, it shows that he does not think his high position remains secure or that he has really changed from his past self. Every motif used proves that Gatsby’s main value in life remains Daisy, no matter how close or far she seems. Fitzgerald’s use of motifs characterizes Gatsby and shows his