The Great Gatsby Symbolism Analysis

Gatsby is a symbolic figure created by James Gatz; an idea of who he wanted to become to please himself and fill his incompleteness. Freud said the symbolic was an “idea of the self that depends on an idea of the loss of the self because we cannot recognize selfhood unless we compare it to its absence” (Parker. 140). James Gatz’ absences come primarily from his low self-esteem, insecurities, and regression.

The author uses the Valley of Ashes, a small town between the West Egg and New York City, to symbolize the moral and social decay that stems from the desire to become wealthy. The Valley of Ashes, "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air symbolizes a morally stripped place where materialistic and false people can live in harmony. The unfortunate events that occur in the Valley of Ashes, including Gatsby's death, the affair between Tom and Myrtle and Myrtle's accidental death, represent the severe consequences stemming from the failed attempts at achieving the American Dream. As the characters travel through the Valley of Ashes to reach elsewhere, they are forced to belittle themselves to a lower social status, as seen when Tom engages in an affair with Myrtle, a poor-stricken woman, who solely provides another form of comfort. Serving as a symbol of social and moral destruction, the Valley of Ashes also symbolizes the condition in which the poorer American society lived during the 1920s. The description of the Valley of Ashes used through color symbolism, creates a melancholy atmosphere which allows the reader to connect the importance of the "desolate strip of land" to the negative personality changes, reflective of the 1920s, within the characters.

Daisy’s green flashing dock light symbolized Gatsby’s future and goals. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic 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 father…. And one fine morning” (Fitzgerald 193). Gatsby was one to strive and persevere for greater things, which would lead him towards his own goals. Because of how driven Gatsby is he is always striving for more even if he has already met his “dream”. In the book the valley of ashes symbolizes that middle class people don’t have that drive and determination anymore to strive for better things in life. They valley of ashes represents the people who cannot quite live up to Gatsby’s expectations and the people among the

The most important symbol to show deeper meaning in The Great Gatsby is the green light on Daisy’s dock. The green light is presented as mysterious.

The green light is the most significant use of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The green light represents various aspects of life which include: Hope, unattainable dreams, freedom and the American Dream. In chapter one Nick states “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 152). The explanation of this quote is Nick seeing Gatsby reaching his arms out towards the green light at the end of the deck which represents that Gatsby is trying to grasp and gets a hold of his hopes and dreams, which is Daisy, but at that moment Gatsby is unsuccessful in doing so. The green light’s meaning is also that a person cannot live their lives in the past, but instead should look ahead towards the future. In chapter 9 Nick also states "I thought of Gatsby‘s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy‘s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could barely fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night" (Fitzgerald 149). For Gatsby, the green light represents his American dream and Daisy. He wanted to continue his life with Daisy by his side, but sadly his dreams were short-lived.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Gatsby with a great deal of symbolism and for good reason. Symbolism in writing adds more meaning and depth to a story and helps the reader think about underlying themes. It can show what is really going on under the surface of the plot. Several issues exemplified through The Great Gatsby were that wealth and power corrupt, people aren’t what they seem, you can’t go back to the past, actions have consequences, and that the idealistic American dream has been replaced by materialism and greed.

Gatsby is a symbolic figure created by Jay Gatz. An idea of who he wanted to become to please himself and fill his incompleteness. Freud said the symbolic was an “idea of the self that depends on an idea of the loss of the self because we cannot recognize selfhood unless we compare it to its absence” (Parker. 140). Jay Gatz absences come primarily from his low self-steam, insecurities, and regression.

A symbol can be anything that represents something else in a story or something that has a deep effect on the story. Symbols can be an object, a character, an animal, a color, etc. Being a great writer, Fitzgerald has used symbols in a very effective manner. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby has been in love with Daisy for a quite long time. While he was at the war, she marries a rude yet a rich guy named Tom Buchanan. Desiring to win her back, Gatsby transmutes himself into a wealthy person. He conducts parties every weekend hoping to see her there. Finally, when she meets him, everything turns out badly. Fitzgerald, in this novel uses various symbols to make it more fascinating and these symbols mainly represents the life in America in the 1920’s and the American dream.

Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby - Symbolism and the Truth That Lies Between

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story is told from the first person point of view through Nick Carraway, retelling the accounts of the protagonist, Jay Gatsby. Throughout this novel, Jay Gatsby strives to be with his so called "true love", Daisy, but soon finds out that she married another man, which creates conflict between many of the characters. The Great Gatsby has an abundance of symbols throughout the text, including the Valley of Ashes representing the moral and social decay of society in the 1920s, the green light which symbolizes Gatsby 's desire to have Daisy as well as the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg representing God piercing down upon and judging the American society of this era.

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.

First, the valley of ashes represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth. This is because the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure, the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and are abused by it. Then this Valley is left to the outside world because of its status and no one cares about what goes on there unless it direct affects the rich or if that person lives there. This place is watched by Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes which is a later symbol but both are intertwined due to how close the two are and due to meaning given to the eyes by some of the novels characters. Then in other critical essays the valley has been said as, ““This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat … and ash-gray men swarm. …” Here, instead of God observing the actions of the humans involved in the impending tragedy, an occultist’s giant advertisement looks down and ‘broods on

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.

Another major symbol in this novel is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. These are a pair of spectacles painted on an old billboard in the Valley of Ashes. The significant aspect is that this symbol only has meaning when other characters instill it with meaning. The eyes represent a higher power looking over the

The Great Gatsby is filled with symbols and symbolism, which try to convey Fitzgerald's ideas to the reader. The symbols are uniquely involved in the plot of the story, which makes their implications more real. There are three major symbols that serve very important significance in the symbolism of the novel. They are "the valley of the ashes," the reality that represents the corruption in the world, the green light of Daisy's lap that Gatsby sees across the bay and lastly, the symbolism of the East Egg and West Egg or more important the east and the west of the country.