Symbolism Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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

When considering Nick’s reliability as a narrator, several contradictions also exist concerning the consistency and dependability of his thoughts about Gatsby. Although Nick states that “Gatsby represented everything for which I had an unaffected scorn” (2) he also describes how Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together” (154) and that “there was something gorgeous about him [Gatsby]” (2). The above quotes contrast both Nick’s unfavorable and positive opinions of Gatsby and further add to his volatility and unpredictability. The greatest inconsistency occurs when Nick conveys how “Gatsby turned out all right in the end (2)”, despite later saying that he “disapproved of him from beginning to end” (154). It seems that by frequently changing his opinions on Gatsby, Nick is unsure and hesitant on portraying Gatsby’s character.

Symbolism is commonly used in literature to change or deepen meanings or instill a different meaning to the mind of the readers. The reader is forced to think, make connections, and succeed in adding a new meaning to the novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald is a master of hiding deeper meanings behind a text as clearly showcased in the novel The Great Gatsby. The “iceberg theory” describes that only around 20% of the story is directly revealed through text. In comparison to an actual iceberg, that is usually the portion of the floating ice mountain that is visible above water. The other 80% of the story lies behind the scenes and is integrated in the structure of the story. This is similar to the lower part of iceberg that is located underwater: the

In life everyone strives to get rich, but is having an abundance of money always good? Sometimes people use money for personal benefits, sometimes it's for the benefit of others, but at times people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the idea of wealth is seen throughout. Jay Gatsby, who lives next door to Nick Carraway; the Narrator of the story, wants to be with his dream girl Daisy. Gatsby is wealthy and throws parties to impress Daisy. Daisy however, is married to another man Tom Buchanan. Throughout the story the people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby F.Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to convey, wealth causes people to assert

One of the first symbols Fitzgerald use is The Valley of Ashes “This is a valley of ashe’s a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take farms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally with transcendent effort of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The Valley of Ashes is described in such great detail because it shows how beauty can be destroyed by greed. “Fitzgerald’s valley of ashes has been frequently compared to Eliot’s “Waste Land,” but the difference are more instructive than the similarities. Eliot’s waste and land is not, in terms of its imagery and mythology specifically Christian”(Elmore 433). The Valley of Ashes is a dead land that has a board over it that looks as if it is the eyes of God that sees all things.

The book The Great Gatsby is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it’s a narrative told from the perspective of Nick Carraway. He tells the story of the tragic life of Jay Gatsby and talks about the society of the wealthy people with high social status. He talks about the conflict between the two huge power Tom and Gatsby, due to their similarity in their money and social status, while they compete for dominance and masculinity by fighting over Daisy. Through Nick’s narration and his close relationship with Gatsby, the readers realize that the motive behind everything that Gatsby does is to win back Daisy’s heart to repeat the past, the first time when he fell in love with Daisy.

Everyone has heard about the green light at the end of Daisy's dock—a symbol of the crude future, the immeasurable promise of the dream that Gatsby desires despite its tragic end. Another familiar symbol is that of yellow and gold—representing money, the tactless greediness that taints the dream and eventually leads to its destruction. Such symbols and their purposes, at every stage in the novel, help provide substance to the main conflict.

Everything has consequences. Either positive or negative every microscopic event has an effect on the one yet to come. Jay Gatsby is a man of wealth and power, he is the man that men crave to be. A man that makes women lavish over him. How he got the this status is a different story, the gritty kind of story. His story was unnatural for the time of the roaring twenties.  He was beautiful, his house luxurious, his garden luscious, none of it was natural. More unreal then anything but never real. The palace has too many secrets, too mysterious, never real with anybody. Gatsby is living a dream. The American Dream, the unrealistic standard where everybody has the things they want, but not the thing they desire the most. So people live a constant lie that they are fine, and consequently its not real.  To be real is to be raw and to be raw is to be vulnerable to the outside world. Nature is the most vulnerable piece of life there is, when it’s not forced to be something it’s not.   The The Great Gatsby exemplifies the symbolism organic material to display the natural beauty of characters or inanimate objects which tear down the superficial walls of forced actions that Fitzgerald ultimately parades through the course of the book.

A few symbolisms in novels are as memorable as the green light in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Shining at the end of Daisy’s dock, it is close enough to be seen, but too far away to be reached. Still, Gatsby, an eternal optimist, stares at it at night, as if it showed him that all his far-away dreams were about to come true. The green light in The Great Gatsby is symbolic of hope, a source of inspiration, and a representation of the American Dream to Gatsby and to the novel’s readers.

ideas or concepts. For example, a dove is usually used to represent peace. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbolism to connect the characters with each other or to other objects. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism helps advance his thematic interest in his novel of The Great Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various colors, objects, and gestures as symbols to portray the lack of moral and spiritual values of people and the different aspects of society in the 1920's.

Symbolism provides an imagery that helps facilitate a deeper understanding. Taking place in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby, is set during a time when society both put up facades while also striving to achieve wealth and high social status. The classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald cleverly uses multiple symbols throughout the novel to expose the issues with society at that time. The ultimate goal of this novel is to elaborate the class struggles and illustrate the goal to achieve of American dream. The Great Gatsby, The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the infamous green light, the metaphor of an egg, and pearls to show and support the overall theme of the American Dream.

When imagining life in the early twentieth century, one may think of the prosperity and livelihood of the roaring twenties: the elaborate parties, the glittering city, and the twinkling flappers. One may also think of the American dream, defined as the ideal that any US citizen can achieve success through initiative and hard work. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the life of Jay Gatsby, a rich, rising, and ambitious man in this time period, who exemplifies someone achieving the American Dream. However, his life story also reveals the unpleasant sides of this ideal. Fitzgerald uses literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, and musical underscoring to portray the desolation and corruption of the American Dream.

In the Novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald captures all the aspects of American Society in the 1920s into various concrete symbols, connecting them into several different themes. The symbols create a map linking each and every concept together in order for the reader to understand the disappointing downfalls of American people during this era. Starting from the desolate lands of the Valley of Ashes & the godly eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. They shall lie in between the crossroads of West & East Egg, the separation between the old money of a polo player and the new money of a bootlegger. All of these symbols lead back to Gatsby’s Mansion and the green light that stands at the end of Daisy’s dock, which brings us to two major themes in the novel, Gatsby’s desire

The passage is structured into three sections, each differing in the use of narration, description, and dialogue. The first paragraph is Nick’s narration that prepares the reader to discover the “strange story” of Gatsby’s youth. The following five paragraphs are an intriguing mixture of narration and description. Gatsby’s descriptive revelation of his past is retold through by Nick’s narration. The filter of Nick’s own opinions inevitably affects the nuance of Gatsby’s experiences. Nick’s biased disapproval of the rich is conveyed through subtle words such as “bought luxury,” which implies his scorn for the rich who enjoy excessive luxury at the expense of others’ efforts.The last paragraph consists of Gatsby’s monologue only, in which the expression of his thoughts are independent of Nick’s opinion. Through this Fitzgerald provides the reader with Gatsby’s honest thoughts, in which his illusions are further made obvious. For example, his misguided belief that Daisy thought he “knew a lot because [he] knew different things from her” is overconfident and idealistic, giving the reader an insight into his character.

Happiness can only truly be acquired through the fantastical idea of dreams, and it is well known that money cannot. But in the 1920s, this idea changed as it became into a desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness in one’s life. This conception leads to the end of true morality and turned a person into someone very selfish. F.Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates this notion through the use of a variety of symbols and themes.One of the dominant ideas within this novel is wealth which is supported through the symbol: eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.The eyes symbolize the loss of spiritual values and growing commercialism in America. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the theme wealth creates a pathway to the corruption of morals is evident through the decisions and thoughts of the Buchanans and Gatsby who are indirectly influenced by the symbol Eye of T.J Eckleburg.