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How Does Fitzgerald Use Symbols In The Great Gatsby

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Ancient folklore and storytelling have existed for centuries. People throughout history love to hear and tell thrilling and dramatic tales that they can relate to. Literature has come a long way but elements of storytelling still exist today. Symbolism is a technique explored by modern-day authors and is used as a tool to establish dimension. Any great book uses symbols to portray larger concepts that are important to understanding deeper meanings. The masterfully crafted novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (published in 1925), prompts the reader to question their own morality. Great authors, such as Fitzgerald, use complex symbology to convey powerful messages that promote groundbreaking ideals. Inanimate and natural symbols …show more content…

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” (Fitzgerald 33).
The light is green as the color symbolizes envy. Jay is reaching for something he will never have. He is in love with the idea of Daisy and has been consumed with the notion that she would complete him. He isn't reaching for the light, but rather, he is reaching for the unobtainable, and in this case that happens to be Daisy. Daisy is characterized as being a delicate flower, someone who is shallow and superficial. Therefore, Gatsby views her as a source of “light” in a dark and emotionally heavy world. The famous painting, Creation of Adam (Article A), by Michelangelo, located in the Sistine Chapel, depicts two men with extended arms reaching for each other. The powerful, yet simplistic image of the two hands portrays the relationships that Fitzgerald sculpted in The Great Gatsby. God, in the image, is stretching to try and grasp ahold of Adam. Adam is also reaching toward God, however his body language leads us to believe that he is hesitant and establishes an almost one sited relationship. God is willing to love and accept Adam, nevertheless, Adam questions if that is what he truly

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