Examples Of Figurative Language In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book and almost universally considered his most impactful work. The novel follows the dialog of Nick Carraway throughout his time in New York, especially focusing on his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, who is trying to enter a relationship with Nick’s married cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Although the work is written from Nick’s point of view, occasionally obscured through influences such as alcohol, his descriptions of Gatsby seem to be mostly genuine and as unaltered from the truth as Nick can make them. Although Gatsby believes his ultimate goal is to create a new future for himself & Daisy, Gatsby is actually constantly trying to relive & change his past, especially in regards to Daisy. It is this unknown internal motivation that dictates much of Gatsby’s decisions & …show more content…

Both of these quotations rely heavily on figurative language to understand their meaning, with the green light representing Gatsby’s ultimate dream/goal and the boats fighting against the current while being pushed into the past representing the people attempting to achieve their goals. The first quotation specifically alludes to how Gatsby had actually achieved his goal the best of his ability in the past, but his thinking that he was looking towards the future while actually focusing on the past caused him to continue attempting to achieve an impossible goal. The final quotation is explaining how Nick believes that anybody attempting to achieve a goal or dream will actually always be working towards amending something in their past, no matter how much they believe their goal is focusing on the