The Great Gatsby Symbolism Essay

The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is set in New York during the 1920’s. The underlying cause for everything that happens in the novel is an idea, an idea towards which everyone strives and dreams of. This idea is none other than the omnipresent notion of the American Dream. Throughout the novel this dream has suffered a decline through the immoral actions of Fitzgerald’s characters. Demonstrated through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characters in The Great Gatsby, the morals and values

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.

Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, there is almost an opposite thinking coming from the main character, the wealthy Jay Gatsby believes that he should find comfort in the past and hope for it to positively affect the present. Through the text Gatsby is taught using symbolism, that it is foolish to attempt to recover the past because it is impossible for it to lead to present happiness. Symbolism is a strong leading force in a piece of literature and in a majority of this text symbolism is used. For example

Dream seems to be the ideal goal for many Americans it has become more of a literal dream. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to show that the American Dream is corrupt and unreachable. In the novel, F, Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby as a representation of the American

main character at Toy Story. In particular, symbolism in a film does not just put a secret to its plot but also gives an opportunity to a reader to fully grasp the story and furthermore understand it. Baz Lurhman’s 2013 version of F. Scott Firtzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides plenty of symbolism throughout the film. A midwesterner, Nick Carraway arrives in New York in search of the American dream. Nick becomes a neighbor of a millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who lives across the bay from Daisy and Tom

Symbolism is the art of delivering ideas or qualities through the use of symbols and often gives literature much more value, as it allows the reader to denote additional critical thought regarding the writing. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is an exemplary novel, which uses many examples of symbolism. Color is used as a symbol countless times throughout the novel to reveal particular things about characters without actively expressing it. A dilapidated billboard highlights the idea of them

is an idea that one can achieve success through their hard work. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman the authors show the American Dream as something that is sought by most but only leads to suffering and ultimately death through their use of motifs and symbolism. The difference in stature between Gatsby and his neighbors is exemplified when Fitzgerald, in The Great Gatsby, portrays the Valley of Ashes. “Where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and

their imaginary farm. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, introduces Jay Gatsby, a character who reaches for a green light across the water representing his hopes and dreams of one day being with his true love again. These symbols, representing the unattainable dreams the characters have, can be seen damaging their future while the characters are unaware. The symbolism presented in both Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby reflect the characters’ dreams which lead to affect their lives

In The Great Gatsby, symbolism plays a huge part in how the locations and objects are perceived by both the characters and readers. Ominously watching over the people in the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are symbolised as the watchful eyes of God; this can be supported by the way Fitzgerald writes about the eyes and in the parts of the story where the eyes are mentioned. Nick Carraway makes note of the eyes in multiple instances, and George Wilson speaks directly about what he

was the 1920's were dynamic. America was great and people wanted to live in its biggest cities such as Chicago, Boston, and of course New York. From the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald most characters are white-collared and only a select few are portrayed to be blue-collared. All of these characteristics are portrayed in the novel and hold a deep meaning as well. Now, lets dive in a little deeper into a couple of specific pieces of symbolism To start there is a sign in the heart of