How Does Fitzgerald Use Similes In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring 20s, The Jazz age, the 1920s were a time of great prosperity in the United States. The 1920s were an era of change, both politically and socially. Americans began to move into cities, rather than living on farms, and the nation's wealth more than doubled. Buying the same goods, listening to the same music, dancing the same dances, and overall having the same values, people felt united. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, these values are reflected in the characters’ lifestyles. A recurring theme in the novel is that money cannot buy a person’s true happiness, and this theme is exhibited in the various characters actions, choices, and what they value most in their lives.

The first type of figurative language used in this story is polysyndeton. The conjunction “and” is used to emphasize the size of Gatsby’s “get-togethers”. Gatsby’s parties were so luxurious, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars”.(Fitzgerald 39) By using polysyndeton, it is emphasized on how much is going on only in the garden, only in the garden, which makes the reader realize how much is actually going on in Gatsby’s home. In order to satisfy all of the guest, “the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors, and with cordials”. (Fitzgerald 40)This quote specifically

“The Roaring Twenties” is known in history as a time of economic and social prosperity for all who lived extravagant, rich lifestyles. The era of war had just ended, families were reunited, and the economy was thriving again, though this beautifully painted picture was not an accurate representation of the emotional state of anyone during this time. Affairs were an expectation instead of a consequence, relationships were based on social status and material wealth rather than emotional connection, modernism changed the way life was looked at between old money and new money, and separation was the new norm between social classes, gender, race, ethnicity, and so on. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals through symbolism, paradox,

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby focuses on the corruption of the American dream during the 1920‘s. For the duration of this time period, the American dream was no longer about hard work and reaching a set goal, it had become materialistic and immoral. Many people that had honest and incorruptible dreams, such as Jay Gatsby, used corrupted pathways to realize their fantasy. People’s carelessness was shown through their actions and speech towards others. Fitzgerald uses characterization and symbolism from different characters and items to convey the corruption of the American dream.

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses imagery and symbolism to represent bigger ideas in his stories. For his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald was able to do something most authors aren’t. He was able to approve of the cover of his book. The cover selected was a painting of a nightly city, being watched over by celestial eyes. The eyes stand out in juxtaposition of the rest of the dark blue sky due to their sickly yellow color as a teal tear travels down from the left. However, a closer look at the eyes in the cover show that they irises are blue, and inside the eyes are two women. The surreal art piece has as much symbolism in it as the pages it protects, especially the eyes in which the painting is named for. The women within the eyes on the cover

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses tone, diction, syntax and imagery to voice Nick's perception of the world around him. In this passage his use of language is used repetitively to convey Jordan Baker, Daisy and Tom Buchanan's lives. On the outside it may look like they all are living a perfect and ideal life, however Fitzgerald's illuminating use of language highlights how far from perfect their lives truly are.

Authors use symbolism to allow the reader to interpret the story. Scott F. Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby used symbolism to convey the theme throughout the novel. Without this symbolism, the theme would have been less prominent. The symbols such as the green light, Gatsby's shirts, and the Valley of Ashes all support that the novel reflects the American dream in the 1920s.

Symbolism: The representation of things by use of symbols, especially in art or literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism throughout the Great Gatsby in a multitude of ways to indicate themes and influence the plot. Fitzgerald uses a valley of ashes, the East and West Egg, a green dock light, and a billboard to represent certain themes and plot points during the Great Gatsby.

In Fitzgerald's passages Nick’s growth is being portrayed through his use of concrete diction. Words such as “infinite hope,” “unsought,” “marred,” and “feigned” are used to express the beginning reserved judgement Nick’s character feels. Fitzgerald is implying to the audience that although Nick was born with more advantages being an elite he has certain morals and fundamental decencies than the poor have. Later on his character realizes that not all elites are the same and were not brought up as he was. Fitzgerald depicts this by using words such as “smashed,” “carelessness,” and retreated to judge the actions of Tom and Daisy. In addition he adds how vast their carelessness is how they let others clean up their messes. Nick’s character is

The 1920’s brought about extreme change in the way the average American lived their lives, both socially and politically. Immigration, industrialism, and economy boomed, creating abundant wealth among Americans through the creation of new job opportunities. Eventually, a more defined social class structure was established, bringing fluctuations in the distribution of wealth among different ranks in society. This period of time, known as the “Roaring Twenties”, is exhibited in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who uses the characters in the novel to depict the conflict in American society. Gatsby, the central figure of the novel, represents the lower class and is followed as he attempts to achieve the benefits of the American Dream,

“It’s a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism!” (45-46). Owl-Eye’s jubilant admiring of Gatsby’s book collection draws the attention of Nick Carraway, the narrator and main protagonist. Just as the beautiful covers and elegantly bound volumes convince Nick and members of high-society of Gatsby’s social status, the artistic book jackets of the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald serve more than one purpose. The imagery and symbolism of elements pictured on these artistic masterpieces complement the novel, subtly hinting at various nuances and themes intricately woven into the fabric of the plot.

The Roaring Twenties was a time of great changes. The economy in that time was through the roof and Americans felt cheerful and carefree after WWI ending which caused people to party everywhere. During this time, there was a legal ban on making and selling alcohol which was the prohibition. All of these events tie into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby’s historical background.

The roaring twenties was a time of economic growth and cultural prosperity. The roaring twenties left an impact on authors similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald to write novels based on this era. The novel The Great Gatsby was based on the era of 1920s presenting several themes influenced by the change in culture and economy. The revolving theme presented in the Great Gatsby is the idea of old money vs new money. The effect of new money coming into power made an impact on society and this was showcased in the novel.

When I think of the lavish “Roaring Twenties”, I simply think of flapper girls and the classic Gatsby. In the very first chapter, Fitzgerald describes the uptown East Egg folk to the less fashionable West Egg people. This provides a description of how grand and elegant places were that these fancy business men had aspired to in this time. Fitzgerald goes on even more, depicting the foreign windows and statues brought over to fill these marvelous palaces. Just these few lines already have shown you how rich and elegant people lived in the days where all they cared about was their social status.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing style features long drawn out sentences broken up by commas and semi colons, making for more interesting sentences. Fitzgerald’s style is also symbolic through the use of images, for instance, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg allude to God allowing the world to crumble and fall. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is also symbolic as it represents Gatsby’s goal of obtaining Daisy, but that goal is out of his reach. The light itself is so bright and clear, but he just simply cannot get to it. It’s no surprise that Fitzgerald has a very extensive vocabulary, as he uses sophisticated adjectives and adverbs.