The Symbolism in the Great Gatsby free essay sample

Eckleburg wears yellow spectacles to block America from seeing what the nation has actually become. Imprisoned by the cold clutches of money and materialism, Gatsby works diligently to be accepted within higher society. Yellow images are seen in numerous of Gatsbys possessions: The image of scampering like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains, the corruption and superficiality of material goods is represented in the vehicle. Not only does Gatsbys hunger for money consume him, but also the same general greed lures many other of the guests that are present at his parties. The vivid, carefree brightness of the color yellow naturally attracts the attention of many. Objects associated with Gatsbys parties are for this reason illustrated in yellow. D. White: White usually symbolizes purity. Gatsby lives in a great white mansion and wears white or pink suits, representing his innocence and pure heart. The color white is also used by Fitzgerald to describe Daisys superficiality. White is a symbol of purity and innocence, and Daisy first appears to be pure. Daisy itself has pure white petals but a center, or heart of yellow. Daisy herself seems pure and innocent, but her heart is not as pure as her appearance. Her actions soon explain, however, that her innocence is only a facade. To make herself appear white, she drives a white car and even dresses in white. A similarity is seen in an ordinary egg. The outside shell is white, but the inside of the egg is yellow; these characteristics represent Daisys sin. As Nick Learns more about Daisy and Jordan, their dresses become creamy, then yellow or gold. As seen in the attire of both Daisy and Jordan, white is used to improve their pure appearances. These portrayals are not completely stainless, for colors of destructive characteristics are frequently evident. Irony plays off of the fact that neither of the women proves to be immune to this circulation of corruption. Daisy, of course, is guilty of superficiality and desires nothing less than self-satisfaction. Jordan, on the other hand, possesses dishonest traits and is known for cheating. E. Blue: Blue symbolizes romance and illusions. Gatsbys dream-like parties are filled with blue music. Blue possesses a showy attraction that appears promising and glamorous while distorting the actual image. Myrtle is introduced in a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, but it is confirmed that she displays no exceptional qualities of beauty. Her dress, however, adds a more promising illusion to the scene. The blue illustrated in Myrtles dress represents a romantic fulfillment desired by her lover, Tom Buchanan. 2. The symbolic meaning of the Green Light: Green is the symbol of the orgiastic future the limitless promise of the dream. From a distance, Gatsby sees a green light on Daisys dock. This light represents the pursuit of the American Dream as well as a symbol of new wealth and life. In the end, this dream becomes a bitter illusion. As Nick recalls Gatsby gazing intently at the flickering green glow in the distance, it is obvious that Gatsby himself views more than the mere light. His intense look of concentration and his trembling reveal a strong longing and desire to reach what seems unreachable from his point of standing. Literally, the light on the end of the dock stands on Daisys property. Gatsby is physically fettered by land and distance, thus to actually be able to grasp Daisys undivided attention and love is nothing more than a goal or dream. The color green is attractive and appears to somewhat mock the impossibility of his expectations for a rekindled flame of love. 3. The symbolic meaning of the Valley of Ashes and the Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg: The Valley of Ashes symbolizes all the immorality of the age. The billboard is practically ignored and the eyes of God are faded, symbolizing the departure of the civilization from religion to materialistic gain. Religion in the 1920s did not play as important a role as it did in the years before. People who moved into the cities were looking for easy living and amenitieslike cars, lights, and inexpensive factory produced productswhich were available only in the cities. The middle class social groups in the 1920s did not care about the past or future; they were aware only of living life to the fullest in the present. The people ignored God as they enjoyed the new wonders of city life. [pic] Doctor T. J. Eckleburg watches over the train riders as they travel to and from New York. At the end of the novel, we finally realize that God is dead, and He has been for quite some time. Everything that happens during the summer adds to this realization. The lack of inhibitions that the people display encourages this theory. [pic] The lack of inhibitions in society of the 1920s is displayed by one of the visitors to one of Gatsbys many parties. This man becomes intoxicated and decides to drive his car home. He runs the car right into the ditch at the end of the driveway. The passenger climbs out and proceeds to tell the crowd that he was not driving. When the crowd finally believes him, they find out that the intoxicated driver has been killed in the accident. No one really seems to care all that much. This instance further adds to the lack of inhibitions and compassion in the society in the 1920s. [pic] Another aspect that adds to the concept that God is dead would be the death of the American Dream. We can look at it by way of Gatsbys fortune, his dealings with organized crime, and the immoral people who have all the money. Gatsby acquired his fortune supposedly by bootlegging. He became attached to organized crime through his bootlegging of whiskey during Prohibition. The wealthy immoral would be Tom and Daisy Buchanan, for instance. The two of them run around as though they own the world. They do anything and everything against morality. Daisy kills Toms mistress and thinks nothing of it. She just continues on with her life after slamming right into the woman. The American Dream is dead by this time in their lives. 4. The symbolic meaning of The Flowers: Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald consistently uses floral references as a way to describe characters and/or events, or as a method of imagery. A. Daisy surprised me by opening up in a flower-like way. Interestingly, Fitzgerald chose the name Daisy for the love nterest of Gatsby. He reinforces the notion of Daisys being similar to her namesake by comparing her to flowers. Like the flower, Daisy is also often noted as wearing white, which symbolizes purity. B. of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered. â€Å"Flowers scarcely withered† compares the vitality of flowers to indicate enthusiasm. (Flowers represent the lush energy of nature. ) C. thei r last names were the melodious names of flowers In this line, Fitzgerald uses flowers as an analogy for beauty. D. We went through bedrooms ivid with new flowers Gatsbys tour of his house to Daisy gives him a new hope for his romantic dreams. Again, this is an example of the use of nature to represent a new hope, a new beginning, and possibly, a new life. E. Gatsby indicated a gorgeous, scarcely human orchid of a woman who sat in state under a white-plum tree Another instance of flowers as beautiful. Again, the white symbolizes purity, which is a recurring theme in The Great Gatsby. F. her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery – use of orchids as a wonderful, calming nectar of sorts. The sentence evokes a vivid picture in the readers mind, one of many the many times Fitzgeralds flowing, descriptive writing style does. G. an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the floor beside her bed (151) The dying orchids reinforced the concept of a dream lost. H. her hair was the color of an autumn leaf This is one of the few allusions that are not directed at Daisy. (The quotation describes Jordon Baker. ) 5. The symbolism of main character’s name meanings: Nick Caraway-(Nicholas), victory of the people Jay Gatsby A bird in the crow family (James Gatz); one who supplants Daisy Buchanan- days eye, flower name Tom Buchanan (Thomas) a twin Jordan Baker- descending, descendant Myrtle Wilson the tree, victory George Wilson tiller of soil farmer From the meanings of the names of the main characters, there seem to be two themes; victory and workers. For example, George Wilson works hard for his money but has little. Meyer Wolfshiem who is well off is a different kind of worker. He is Gatsbys connection to organized crime. So he sells alcohol and recruits others to sell. The names that Fitzgerald uses for the members attending Gatsbys parties are symbolic of the class of people as a whole. The general mood of the names tells us how Fitzgerald feels about each class and gives a look at the type of personalities that are portrayed in that class. The names also provide a window into the characters personalities. Fitzgerald uses juxtaposition, which is placing two scenes, or in this case names, together for comparison. For example, on pages Nick Carraway, the narrator, lists all of the names from both parties that he can remember. The East Eggers are generally rich while the West Eggers are generally new wealth although there are some middle class mixed in with the West Eggers, like Nick, in bungalows. Gatsby changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby when he moved away from home at the ripe age of seventeen to fulfill his disillusioned, romantic dreams of becoming rich. To do this, however, he felt that he needed to cut ties with his poor family roots. 6. The symbolic meaning of The Geographical Areas: East Egg consists of people such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan who have inherited their great wealth. Representing the upper class of society, most of the inhabitants of this island seem to lead immoral lives. Living in West Egg are people such as Gatsby who have procured their great wealth status over their lifetime. Known as the nouveaux riches, the residents of West Egg are often looked down upon by the people of East Egg since the West Eggers do not hold the traditional values of high-class people. These two islands signify the separation of Gatsby and Daisy. Although Gatsby has attained great wealth, he will never be able to capture Daisys heart because of the invisible barrier of social class that severs them, similar to the body of water that separates the East Egg from the less fashionable West Egg. Nick Carraway relocates from the West, a place where moral values are upheld, to the East, a place of meretricious values of wealth and social affairs. Moving to New York City, Nick lands a small job in the stocks and bonds business. After living in New York, people sacrifice their moral standards and turn to corruption. For example, Nick becomes more dishonest than he was when he first left for the big city. Furthermore, Nick, Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan all migrated from the west to the east, and in doing so, they desert most of the moral values that they had acquired while living in the west. Making a permanent move to the East symbolizes the complete loss of moral esteem in Tom, Daisy, and Jordan; however, Nick, who will regain the moral standard that he had once lost while living in the East, moves back to the Midwest after Gatsbys death. As the sultry days of summer produce discomfort and irritation to many, the concern of a love affair between Gatsby and Daisy arises in Tom. Hoping to find refuge from the blistering heat, Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan flee to the Plaza Hotel. The hotel suite that they occupy provides an neutral war ground for the battle over Daisys love between Tom and Gatsby. Towards the end of Toms confrontation, Gatsby discovers that Daisy was at some point in love with Tom. Finally, Gatsby realizes that he has lost the war. 7. The symbolic meaning of The Changing Seasons: The Great Gastby covers a course of approximately half a year from spring to autumn. Nick first arrives at West Egg in the spring. Later, as the dog-days of summer become unbearably hot, so does the tension between Tom and Gatsby. In fact, the climax occurs the day when Tom confronts Gatsby in the Plaza Hotel and when Daisy hits Myrtle with Gatsbys car which is during the most scorching, most irritable day of the year. In the end, the descending leaves and the changing of seasons from summer to autumn signify the termination of Gatsbys dream of marrying Daisy and inevitably the fall of Gatsbys life. 8. The symbolism of Gatsbys Car: Gatsbys car represents his egotism; in essence the car is a representation of himself. It was rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns. The cream color symbolizes great wealth; together with the bright nickel, the car has a sense of purity and richness. The swollen boxes which are blatantly displayed represent his extreme pride, like the saying a swollen head or one who has an inflated sense of importance. The labyrinth of windshields reflects Gatsbys dream, metaphorically displayed as the sun, with the pure light that Gatsby has committed himself to follow. At first, Gatsbys car is a cream color, but it soon evolves into a yellow instrument of death. Yellow symbolizes money and materialism that eventually leads to the destruction of the American Dream. 9. The symbolism of Gatsbys Library: