Essay on Symbols of The Great Gatsby

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 Great Gatsby: The green light can be seen as representing Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, most importantly Daisy, which emphasizes the ideas of the American Dream. He reaches toward it as a guiding light to his hopes and dreams.

The color green is used by the author to represent that the reaching of something unattainable can lead to failure. Throughout the novel, Gatsby struggles to reach his American dream. In the past, Gatsby strongly feels as though Daisy doesn't want to be with him because he wasn't rich, so Gatsby began to seek wealth. The green light first appear at the end of the first

Good Morning Mr Peinke and 11A today I will be discussing how F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, uses the techniques of symbolism and characterisation to position readers to view the George and Myrtle Wilson, a married couple living in the Valley of Ashes during the 1920’s. While the 20’s were a great time of optimism, Fitzgerald portrays the much bleaker side of the revelry by focusing on its indulgence, two-facedness, shallow recklessness. While we don’t know a lot about Myrtle and George Wilsons background, through the descriptions given by Nick and other characters the readers have been positioned to view them given their status.

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

The valley of ashes, this is a symbol that represents the decline of the American dream or quest. The valley of ashes, in this book is an area between West Egg and New York covered in ashes. This valley represents the people who live between the East and West Egg, the working-class men who are struggling to live there. “This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 23). In this quote, the narrator is referring the farm to be fantastic, a fantastic farm that grows ashes instead of wheat. The valley of ashes represents the aftermath of the cunning obsession to earn money.

     F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, uses symbolism throughout the novel to create the characters and events of the post World War I period. Colors are one way symbolism was used to develop the characters’ personalities and set up events. This is shown by colors like the green at the end of Daisy Buchannan’s dock, the color of Jay Gatsby’s car and how Myrtle and Jordan surrounded themselves by white. Other symbolisms used to set up events are the difference in the people of the West Egg and East Egg and the sign in the “valley of ashes”.

The green light first emerges before we even meet Gatsby, but is important to him because Nick can see him as “he stretched out his arms toward… a single green light, minute and far away, that may have been at the end of a dock” (21). The light represents Daisy and his wanting for her, as well as Gatsby attempting to reach his dream, which Daisy later becomes a part of. The green light appears again at the end of the book when Nick has “thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock” The light also represented Gatsby’s dream of being successful and “his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180). The light has always illustrated Daisy and Gatsby would look for it to feel close to her. He also uses it as a guide for his dream, but now that Gatsby is dead, it is just a green light Nick sees as a reminder of the friend he loses

“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.

A prominent part of the theme throughout the book is the symbol of the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. It is used to depict Gatsby’s hopes and dreams to obtain Daisy and an elite life status. The green light is first mentioned in chapter one when Nick witnessed that Gatsby, “...stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… [I] distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 25-26). After everything had unraveled, the true meaning of the green light is explained on the very last page of the book. Nick explained that, “[Gatsby] had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him…” (Fitzgerald 189). Gatsby was reaching for his hopes and dreams of being wealthy and getting Daisy, which were both in the past. He spent five years of his life trying to obtain things that were long gone. The reader learns that everything he did was in an attempt to get Daisy back: the money, popularity, parties, and even the location of house he bought: right across the bay from hers. The green light is key to realizing that he was reaching for things that were in the past, and he didn’t receive them. He was so close to obtaining all of it, but still so far away.

Hope can bring us joy and happiness or be our ultimate destruction. Since the beginning of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby has been forever looking and reaching for that which he thinks will make him happy. The green light is hope for Gatsby, hope that his past can be recaptured, his friendship with Nick will aid in his goal, and the faith he continually believes in that Daisy loves him. The green light is hope, it's Gatsby’s hope for the future.

The green light means something to Gatsby. It represents his hope and desires. Since it was “minute and far away” and Gatsby was “[stretching] out his arms” toward it while “trembling” it shows how close he is to achieving his goal, which is Daisy, but he just misses it (20-21). Speaking of the light again in chapter five, Nick enforces this idea of the green light representing Gatsby’s

The Valley of Ashes in it of itself is a separate world from the two Eggs. Described as bleak, grotesque and desolate, it serves as a reality check, that there are people out there less fortunate than the characters form East and West Egg. This is where George and Myrtle Wilson reside and it is also the resting place of the eyes of T.J Eckleburg. In chapter seven, T.J Eckleburg, a pair of eyes on a billboard ad, is described as “watchful vigil” which clearly attaches him with a religious meaning. The religious meaning being the eyes of God, especially pertaining to George Wilson. Each character in The Great Gatsby is guided by their personal ethic and, yet Nick has the final word and his judgment is superior. Since the events are through his eyes there is no objectivity. Although George Wilson invokes God by saying, “God sees everything” and “you can’t fool God” and indicts each character in the novel through the eyes of T.J Eckleburg. Nick is the only other character that besides George to recognize him this. His eyes are also a reminder of guilt, overseeing Tom’s affairs and Myrtle’s death which in turn leads to Gatsby’s death.

Green is another significant color in this novel; however unlike white, it represents a variety of ideas. One of the most significant one is “hope”. Throughout the novel, the color green is used to represent Gatsby’s undying hope. The green light that is at the end of Daisy and Tom’s dock is what Gatsby reaches out for. For example in the beginning of the novel, it is already shown that Gatsby stares at that light. Nick observes and describes Gatsby by stating, “…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. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.” This shows what that green light means to Gatsby. It is the symbol of Gatsby's hopes and dreams. It represents everything that haunts and beckons him: the physical and emotional distance between him and Daisy, the gap between the past and the present, the promises of the future, and could also mean money since it is also green. One of the instances

The time period between the first World War and the Great Depression, otherwise known as the “Roaring Twenties” was the age of a consumer society due to the increase in economic growth across the nation. The increase in economic growth led to many Americans living a careless lifestyle where social status and wealth were the main concern. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the lavish “Roaring Twenties” lifestyle in his famous novel, The Great Gatsby through a select group of characters and examines their idea of the American Dream where it was believed that if an individual worked hard and were determined then they would become successful. The Great Gatsby is a perfect example of the American Dream and the issues that were raised from the lifestyle choices Americans were making during the 1920s. The main issue raised from The Great Gatsby is based on poor morals and values that come from living a materialistic, wealthy lifestyle.