blog




  • Essay / Fitzgerald's Use of Symbols in The Great Gatsby

    Introduction: Symbols determine emotions and how readers choose to perceive the ideals hidden in a story. It is common knowledge that very often authors share the message of their story with the reader using certain symbols. Thesis Statement: In The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald, the author, uses an abundance of symbols to make his book more intriguing to the reader, such as the green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayTopic Sentence: In The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald, the author, uses an abundance of symbols to make his book more intriguing, such as the Feu Vert, located at the end of Daisy and Tom's quay. Comment: This represents Gatsby's unconditional love for Daisy. Evidence and Quote: At the end of Chapter 1, before Nick has even met Gatsby, we see Gatsby with his arms outstretched reaching towards the light that is on the water as if he were reaching out to Daisy . As readers, we instantly understand that this is an important and powerful object that has great symbolic meaning for Gatsby. In Chapter 5, when Gatsby gives Daisy a tour of his mansion after "accidentally" meeting her at Nick's, he tells her, "If it weren't for the fog, we could see your house from across the the bay. . . You always have a green light burning all night at the end of your platform” (Fitzgerald 92). The appearance of light in this chapter is just as important as in the first, mainly because light is now presented in a completely different way than when we first saw it. Instead of being this enchanted and mysterious object as we first saw it, light has now lost its symbolic meaning. This is because Gatsby is now standing there and holding Daisy herself, so he no longer feels the need to stretch his arms toward the light or fear that she is hidden in the mist. The last time we encounter the green light is at the very end of the novel. Nick explains: “And as I sat there brooding about the old unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first spotted the green light at the end of Daisy's platform. He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close to him that he could hardly fail to grasp it. Little did he know that it was already behind him, somewhere in that vast darkness beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled beneath the night. . . Gatsby believed in the green light, in the orgastic future that, year after year, recedes before us. It escaped us then, but it doesn't matter: tomorrow we will run faster, we will stretch our arms wider. . . . And a fine morning” (Fitzgerald 180). Comment: Light is nothing more than a symbol and nothing else; Daisy is gone for good, Gatsby is dead, Nick is no longer on Long Island, and the green light only exists in Nick's memories. Nick realizes that the green light was behind Gatsby all along, not in front like the many times we had seen Gatsby reach out. This is because Gatsby was pursuing Daisy all along. He didn't realize that in reality the light was "behind him", meaning that his dream of spending his life with Daisy was left in the past even before they reunited after five years. Topic Sentence: Between the gleaming excitement of Manhattan and the mansions Between East and West lies the Valley of Ashes, a gray, worn-out stretch of road that passes through an area covered in dust andashes from neighboring factories. Although it is not actually made of ash, it appears to be the case due to its gray, smoke-covered color. In the valley, the gray dust is so thick that it seems as if everything is made of ashy substance. Evidence and Citation: The men who work and live in the valley are described as "ash gray men." We see this description specifically applied to George Wilson, a gas station and garage owner living in the Valley of Ashes. In Chapter 2 we get some hints about what the Valley of Ashes is. “About halfway between West Egg and New York, the highway abruptly joins the railroad track and runs alongside it for a quarter of a mile, away from a certain area of ​​desolate land. It is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat in grotesque ridges, hills and gardens; where the ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with transcendent effort, of men moving vaguely and already crumbling in the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). Commentary: In this case, the Valley of Ashes symbolizes the anti-American dream and those who are trapped in their pursuit of the American dream while people like Tom and Gatsby entertain themselves in the eggs of the East and the West. Topic sentence: In F. Scott. In Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the author uses an abundance of symbols to make his book more intriguing to the reader; one being the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg. The first time we see this old billboard is in Chapter 2, when Nick describes the Valley of Ashes as a "grotesque" and "desolate" place. Nick also describes the billboard as a watchful presence. The billboard does what Nick never could do: be a completely equal observer of the events around him. As a reader, we learn that these eyes symbolize something bigger than just an old billboard. They may represent God looking down on American society and judging the moral wilderness. However, the connection between God and the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg only exists in the mind of George Wilson. In Chapter 8, we see Michaelis talking to George Wilson after Myrtle, George's wife, is struck and killed by an automobile. Mr. Wilson has many thoughts on his mind and is very upset after becoming convinced that it was Gatsby who hit his wife and walked away from the scene of the crime. He is also convinced by Tom that Gatsby was also the one who would have a secret affair with this woman. Mr. Wilson explains to Michaelis his conversation with Daisy about his secret affair days before her sudden death. “'I spoke to him,' he muttered after a long silence. “I told her she could fool me, but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window…” With an effort, he got up and walked to the back window and leaned with his face pressed against it – “and I said, “ God knows what you've done. You can fool me, but you can't fool God! “Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with shock that he was looking into the eyes of Doctor TJ Eckleburg, who had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night. “God sees all,” Wilson repeated” (Fitzgerald 159). Commentary: Wilson looks into the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg while explaining how God sees everything. He told Myrtle, when she was still alive, that she could fool him but could not fool God. Wilson doesn't go to church, so he doesn't have access to everyday trends that will help him control his inner actions. Yet Wilson seems to want a God, or at least a God-like influence, based.