Symbolisms in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

To Jay Gatsby, his corrupt American dream is symbolized by Daisy Buchanan, a woman he is so in love with he will do anything to get her back. Gatsby sees wealth as a solution to his problems. Raised from a poor childhood to being a millionaire with servants, a huge house, and dozens of friends, Gatsby exemplifies the idea of self-made success. All of these pieces of the American dream that Gatsby acquired were actually elements that eventually led to his downfall. In chapter one, the reader is first introduced to Gatsby in a very unusual way, “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as i was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far way, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unique darkness” (Fitzgerald 21). In this first glimpse of Gatsby, he is reaching towards something off in the distance, out of reach. This image of the green light ties in with the American dream that people are always reaching for

Gatsby is not misleading, and cares and hopes for the best to every one of the characters he meets. Gatsby progressed in a multitude of ways, such as how he talked and thought of certain people such as Daisy. The way F. Scott Fitzgerald described Gatsby as a character and how he progressed Gatsby couldn't be more fitting as a caring and more respectful kind of guy. How Gatsby relates to society is that he threw parties and how a lot of rich people went to his parties. He may even be able to challenge societal norms because of how he brought himself up to be a kind of character who looks like a rich guy who is just like everyone else, normal, but really he had so much inside of him that Nick Carraway(friend and Narrator) can for some reason only see. Through this journey, some may feel that Fitzgerald wanted to that there is always some sort of light around, maybe you will have to look hard for it but there will always be light, in Gatsby’s case, there was a green light, and how he looked at the light made it seem as it was his hope, but not for loss. As Gatsby says "single green light" and how it was "unattainable dream," the "dream [that] must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it”. This is one of Gatsby’s quotes that he used with a reference to the green light.

The green light is very significant, as it is by Daisy's house and plays a part in Gatsby, achieving his dream. When Nick arrives back from dinner, he notices Gatsby in the dark and sees that he has “stretched out his arms, toward the dark water in a curious way.” This tells readers that the green light serves as Gatsby’s motivation as it influences the way he acts. This is because it is by Daisy’s house, which is Gatsby’s dream. This pushes Gatsby to achieve his goal, as he wants to be by the green light. Nick later then says that he “distinguished nothing except a single green light.” Fitzgerald then puts this quote in afterwards to show how the green light is unreachable by Gatsby’s hand. This is like his dream, unattainable. This is because Gatsby’s dream relies on repeating the past, which cannot happen as things have changed. This means that Gatsby cannot achieve his goal. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the green light to help develop the idea of the American Dream, to show us that some dreams are unattainable. He shows and tells us that some dreams cannot be accomplished, no matter how hard you

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- to morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning---” In the Great Gatsby, the green light signifies Jay Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future and ultimately the American Dream. The green light represents the lost dreams of Americans, unrealistic hope and the determination to achieve the American Dream. The writing from F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby” allows the reader to learn the significance behind the green light, if hopes and dreams are always centered around future belief and if the belief is more satisfying than one’s desires.

“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.

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.

1.Fitzgerald’s use of names further the motif of geography by using them as symbolism to represent some of the aspects in the American society at the time of the 1920s. East Egg symbolizes those from the old days, the West Egg represent those who have or are seeking financial opportunity and are known as “new money”. the valley of ashes represents the moral, social decay, and financial chaos of the American society at this time.

To Jay Gatsby, the green light represents Daisy and his hopeful future with her. The first time the green light is mentioned in the novel is also the first time Nick sees Gatsby. Fitzgerald writes, “…he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.(26). The green light is a goal that Gatsby want to attain. It is a goal that he wants to reach, yet it is too far away. He wants Daisy in his life and by looking at the green like he can wish for that to happen. The green light represents the future, but Gatsby is living in the past and wants things between he and Daisy to be like they were in the past. Fitzgerald ends the novel by stating, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (189). Gatsby was so consumed with the past that he could n do anything but try to recreate the

Gatsby was considered fallacious and dishonest by many people due to his involvement with illegal business. Granted, the sole motivation of Gatsby’s actions was to win back Daisy, and how he had to obtain her love- through resorting to smuggling, lying, faking; was accepted. In an attempt to display his baroque fortune, Gatsby purchased real books to place in his library, much to the incredulity of Owl Eyes, “This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too—didn’t cut the pages” (Fitzgerald 45-46). The green light is a recurring symbol of Gatsby’s envy and animosity of Tom, which causes him to lead a corrupt life, continually reminiscent of his past. Daisy’s image in his mind is associated with perfection;

Gatsby lives in the past, he doesn’t realize that Daisy has moved on. She now is married and has a child He is holding back to that love they once had together and now wants to recreate it. The green light is a representation of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. In chapter one, Gatsby reaches for the green light this symbolizes that the light is guiding him to his ultimate goal which is winning Daisy back and being able to recreate the past . Daisy’s home is across from Gatsby’s home and the fact that Gatsby lives far away from her it means that he’ll never be able to be with her because of his class of being “New money” and Daisy being “Old money” and how he won’t necessarily be accepted by the old money class. Making this a sad dream that won’t come true. I believe that the American Dream is an elusive fantasy because of how Americans in today’s society are using the wrong ways of being able to attain their dream by selling drugs or robbery and much more. In order to attain the riches that he had, Gatsby involved himself into becoming a bootlegger which made him the person that he was, a wealthy, partying rocking man in the category known as “New” money. He did it because his dream was to be with Daisy and the only way he could reach that goal of his was

He had an optimistic character and this behavior sometimes could be dangerous. Nick mentioned “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” (20). He always looked forward and never gave up. The green light was a symbol for him to never give up on his big dream. Gatsby thoughts were valuable and acceptable, but the biggest mistake was he focused only on one thing. This kind of mindset didn’t let him go further and reach his American Dream. To sum it up, Gatsby didn’t completely rich American Dream. His mind set on wealth didn’t let him to move over and reach important things like

The symbolism of a book can be a great but yet so small as in the form of a color. In the Great Gatsby, minor things have great importance. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald made sure to give great importance to minor details like color and objects. While the theme of the story is that anyone can gain the American Dream the fast or illegal way but always with a consequence, Fitzgerald put great importance into colors and objects. With the most common colors of green, white and yellow showing the corruption part of gaining the American Dream. From false purity, to desires, to even death, there are many risks in gaining the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby is one of the most read pieces of literature throughout the current modern Western world. High school kids all across the globe must learn and read it as part of their curriculum. One of the aspects that makes this novel so notable is that Fitzgerald, at no point in the story, needs to convey to his audience the theme of his novel directly. The main points of his novel are brought out by the powerful symbols he infuses in the book. Not only does he use them to convey his theme, but also ties them in to the rest of the story. Every aspect of this book is affected by the presence of one of his symbols. Through the use of the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of the Ashes as symbols,

To Jay, the green light was Daisy, who was his version of the American Dream. The green light is first mentioned when Nick sees only Gatsby, who was reaching for the American Dream, and the green light, during the dawn of night: “. . . he was content to be alone—he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 20-1). Jay has his arms stretched out curiously because he wants to reach the American Dream but does not know how which means Gatsby has to try different ways to reach the American Dream; one of his attempts was throwing parties. The green light is symbolic of Daisy since it is at the end of her dock: “You [Daisy] always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock” (92). When talking about latitude and longitude, or time, a minute is not that large of a unit, which is symbolic of how numerous Americans think the American Dream is within reach, when it is actually far away. ¬The American Dream may still exist, but is typically not achieved; at one point Gatsby was unable to see the green light: “’If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’” (92). Fitzgerald uses this mist to foreshadow Gatsby not getting Daisy’s love, which is brought up in the second to last chapter

The green light is what Gatsby aspires to meet his entire life, it is his primal destination in life. The only reason Gatsby buys the house is to see the light in Daisy's window across the bay. In chapter 5 when Gatsby tells Daisy how he stares bluntly at the green light, he is aware that he will no longer need to stare it for he has Daisy back now. He wins the reward, which was behind his primal target. His reward is the real thing and he no longer needs its representative and thus the green light begins to fade. Gatsby begins to slowly recognize the reality: no object can replace his ideal that he has created for himself since the yearly age. This shows how no mater how much materialism is acquired by a person, it will never be enough and it will never quite match up to one's illusion, to one's dream.