The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, exposes the corruption and greed of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald is able to captivate readers' attentions through his employment of color symbolism. Fitzgerald portrays important messages in the novel by his symbolic use of colors. Colors play an important role in Fitzgerald’s descriptions of the lives of Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway and many of the other characters in the novel. Fitzgerald uses the colors white, yellow, and green to express certain sentiments to the reader, commenting what is going on in the story. Fitzgerald uses the color white to symbolize purity and innocence, while yellow is used to symbolize moral decay, and death. Green is used to represent hope and

“... it is a story about failure and death, an idealistic quest for unworthy goals, and the almost total collapse of the aspirations of nearly all of the principal characters” (Nagel 113). The Great Gatsby is a story that represents people’s unachieved aspirations that lead to a sad existence and ultimately death. They are all trying to attain one thing, the American Dream. The American Dream is almost impossible to attain and that is why a lot of people failed when it came to living out the American Dream. In Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby tries to attain the American Dream through Daisy throughout the whole novel but fails and is left heartbroken.

Throughout literature, colors are used to represent feelings, emotions and actions of characters. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color green is used to represent the love story between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. As he grew up and worked for his immense fortune, Gatsby transformed his life into one he felt would impress her the most. Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent Gatsby’s perfect image of Daisy, and the greed that engulfs the couple throughout the entire novel.

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

The green colour represents Gatsby’s obsession over Daisy, who embodies his TAD as well as his devotion to love. He makes it his life goal to become prosperous and wealthy so he can impress Daisy’s expensive needs and in turn win or buy back her affection. All throughout the story, he gets involved with bootlegging, crime and extravagant parties hoping Daisy will take notice. Gatsby dream eventually comes to a halt when Daisy runs over and kills Myrtle with his car and Gatsby is left to take responsibility. The green colour of the light is replaced with corruption, as Fitzgerald compares it to “a fresh, green breast of the new world” ( pg

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

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby’s hold of the past and his pursuance of his own American Dream ends in certain death. Throughout the story, Gatsby believes that his passion can sway Daisy to leave Tom. These events lead him to relentlessly chase wealth in order to gain social status that is worthy of Daisy. However, the story does not end according to Gatsby’s ideals. Fitzgerald utilizes symbolism to demonstrate Gatsby’s tragic flaw, his chasing of a dream that is already dead.

What does the color green make you think of? Do you think of beautiful forests home to unique animals and intricate ecosystems? Do you think of fresh ripe kiwi in the summer? Do you think of broccoli ,which takes the cake as the most hated vegetable by children under 8? A lot of times people see colors very basically and don’t think about the connotation or symbolism behind them Fitzgerald is the contrary. He uses colors throughout the novel as a way to express his ideas in a more interpretive way that cause the reader to really analyze the novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald converges Gatsby's primary motivations with the use of the color green, a symbol that represents both wealth, money, the chase of the American dream and ,on the flip-side, a renewal and revival of his and Daisy’s relationship. Fitzgerald shows green in its many lights, from the physical representation of wealthy, to wealths grasp on an individual who idolizes it, to its freshness in relation to a new frontier to the American dream.

We begin our introduction to Gatsby in a fantasy of mansions and money. However, the film 's progression unravels Gatsby’s superficial layer of wealth to reveal a delusional man who has built himself on a futile dream. Together we will explore the religious and sociological views upon Gatsby’s failure as dictated by McLennan (2014) and Islam (2014).

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his life experience in his works. He explains, ‘that was always my experience-- a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy 's school; a poor boy in a rich man 's club… However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has coloured my entire life and works.’ The short story of Winter Dreams was written around the same time that Fitzgerald was developing ideas for The Great Gatsby. Whilst this wasn’t published until 1925, Winter Dreams débuted in 1922 and the similarities between the novel and short story were intentional. Winter Dreams became a short draft, which Fitzgerald based The Great Gatsby on. Both resemble Fitzgerald’s real life; although both were written before most of the comparable events occurred. Preceding this, The Jelly Bean, a short story from Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age (published in 1922) invited the reader to follow Jim Powell through his dreams of social advancement and love, which parallel Fitzgerald’s later stories and life experiences. In addition, Fitzgerald’s The Rich Boy, a short story published in 1926 in All the Sad Young Men suggests that the author’s life experiences shaped his work up to and even after The Great Gatsby, which is considered to be Fitzgerald’s greatest work.

The Great Gatsby was a story written in 1925 by the American Writer; Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, more publicly known as F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is meant to show the lack of values in America at the time, and the tragedy that was the Sleazy, Jazz-filled, American 1920s. Following Nick Carraway, a young stockbroker, filled with naivety and indifference, and his transfer from country life to the big city way of life. His cousin, daisy, is a careless, somewhat dumb woman called Daisy, who, unbeknownst to him, is in love with a man named Gatsby, a shimmer of good in a world of corruption and evil. Daisy’s husband; Tom, is actively having an affair with a Gold-Digging woman by the name of Myrtle Wilson, and the love hexagon that is Myrtle, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy eventually leads to Gatsby’s death, a symbol of loss for hope and good in the world. Much like Fitzgerald’s opinion for the current state of his country. However, there are many more symbols in this story, and the one we focus on today happens to be the elusive green searchlight, that Gatsby is so eager to obtain.

Gatsby continues to hold out hope for Daisy to return to him. He implanted himself across the water from her to be in close proximity, trying to get the closest he can get. He stares out at “[the] green light that burns all night at the end of [Daisy’s] dock” (92). The color green negatively means the need to be materialistic, being possessive, and envious. By Gatsby examining Daisy’s life from afar, he notices the green light which signifies the hope that Daisy and him can have the life they were destined for. The color green also means ‘love to observe’, Gatsby stands out on the end of his dock to gaze out to Daisy’s life. He stares and “On [a] green Sound, stagnant in the heat...Gatsby’s eyes followed it momentarily; he raised his hand and pointed across the bay” (118). While Gatsby speaks and is around Daisy, he feels happy of his ability to hold hope and that Daisy still loves him. The green light is what allows Gatsby to continue to have hope for his own version of the American Dream. Looking at the Buchanans’ elegant house across the water shows how Gatsby subconsciously feels inferior to Tom who was born into Gatsby’s dream life. Because of his obvious differences in social order and graces, Gatsby cannot let go of the past and develops a false sense of

24–27). On the other hand, James Gatsby mission is to improve his life. However, Gatsby changed his mission when he fell in love with Daisy, his goal is now to get Daisy. Following this, James Gatsby is a very determined character, and would not rest until he had achieved Daisy Buchanan. The narrator has stated “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that.” (Fitzgerald Ch. 9). After all, Gatsby did everything in his power to keep her, even though he can never be happy with her because he is always looking forward to what he could achieve after that. To illustrate, after Gatsby achieves Daisy, he plans to work on getting the other members of the New York elite to accept and respect him. He is constantly thinking about what’s next rather than enjoying his accomplishments. This reveal that the green light represents the hope and dream Gatsby happiness of being reunited with Daisy, the woman he loves. The narrator shows there feeling toward each other when he

Fitzgerald uses literary devices and symbols to portray the misleading essence of the American Dream. He manages to define and denounce the American Dream throughout the novel. The Great Gatsby is a clear criticism of the excessive materialism, which was a result of chasing the American

Fitzgerald places much emphasis on the longing Jay Gatsby, who symbolizes one of the main characteristics of the American dream: everlasting hope. Gatsby's desire to win Daisy's love is his version of the old American dream: an incredible goal and a constant search for the opportunity to reach this goal. This is shown when Gatsby is first introduced into the novel. It is late at night and we find him "with his hands in his pockets… out to determine what share was his of our local heavens." While Nick continues to watch Gatsby's movements he says: "he [Gatsby] 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" (21-22). The green light that Gatsby reaches out for symbolizes his longing; his longing for Daisy, for money, for acceptance and no matter how much he has, he never feels complete. This green light is part of the American Dream. It symbolizes our constant searching for a way to reach that goal just of in the distance, as Nick described it, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year