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How Does Fitzgerald Present Religion In The Great Gatsby

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The first way Fitzgerald depicts religion being replaced by wealth in The Great Gatsby, is through the worship of the billboard of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. In the Bible, God is a grand and perfect being that watches over and protects mankind from harm. He is seen as kind and loving by those who follow Him. Even though the billboard is depicted gloriously as a God would be, it is not gracious towards those to who look to it, unlike the God in the Bible. This consumeristic billboard of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg watches over the dirtiest, poorest place in the book, the valley of ashes. Constantly seeing the corrupted, hypocritical characters as they pass through without a care or thought for the people living in the valley, this is a sign of their …show more content…

The color green can represent many different things. In The Great Gatsby, similar to the Bible green is a symbol of money and new life. It is a representative of the Christian life that finds comfort in Christ, much like Gatsby’s worship of comfort in wealth. It is now the summer of 1922, and Nick has just bought a home next to the great mysterious Jay Gatsby. After Nick gets home from a dinner with Tom and Daisy, he gets to see Gatsby for the first time and he is reaching out his arms out over the water towards a green light. Nick sees Gatsby as “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 away, that might have been the end of a dock” (26). The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is one of the most important symbols in the novel. The light is symbolic of Gatsby’s American Dream; his pursuit of wealth in order to change the past for Daisy. The green light gave Gatsby something to reach for and worship instead of religion. Unfortunately, by choosing to place money and his own interests above everything else including religion, it led to heartbreak and even death. After seeing Daisy for the first time in many years, Gatsby has now invited her over to his

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How Did Gatz's Dream Affect The Great Gatsby

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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 unquiet darkness. ”(P.21) Gatsby for some reason symbolized the green light at the end of Daisy's dock as a symbol for his hope and dreams and the quote gives the reader an idea on how gatsby feels about her as an example when he (trembles). So whenever Gatsby sees this light at the end of Daisy's dock it just reminds him of his hope and dreams that includes Daisy and is why he has worked so hard to get his

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Is Fitzgerald writing a love story that embraces American ideals, or a satire that comments on American ideals? “The Great Gatsby” was written in 1925, during a time period that brought tremendous changes in the way the society worked in America. After World War 1, the stock market started to rise consistently, which resulted in an increased national wealth. The sudden boost in the economy created many new wealthy citizens and popularized materialism, a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values, as people wanted to show off their wealth (Oxford). Fitzgerald uses satire to criticize the American dream, that hard work will bring success and wealth no matter your social status and to

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