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Motifs In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The Great Gatsby is the most successful novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Since 1925, when the book was originally published, it has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. Fitzgerald portrayed and critiqued the American Dream through the motifs, symbols, and characters in this novel. Fitzgerald uses a variety of literary devices in his novel. Of them all, motifs seemed to be the most creative. One motif in The Great Gatsby that Fitzgerald uses is geography. West Egg, where the two main characters live, is comprised of the 'new wealth'. These people are on the "less fashionable" side of Long Island. East Egg is where the 'old money' is. 'Old money' is more respectable that the 'new money' in West Egg. East Egg is also where people, …show more content…

For instance, the green light that Gatsby's lawn looks out to. It represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams for his future. He associates his dreams with Daisy. In Chapter one, Nick mentions the green light, how it was "....minute and far away." Then, again, in Chapter nine, Nick talks about the light. He says, "He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it." This means that Gatsby's dream, to win Daisy over, was so close. Unfortunately, Gatsby failed to realize that this dreams were hollow and empty. "....With an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it.... Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with shock that the was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg....'God sees everything,' repeated Wilson (Chapter 8)." Here, it is clear that the billboard with the eyes on it is a symbol of God, representing that he is looking down upon the city, watching it turn into a moral wasteland. Each of these symbols represents a deeper meaning than what the reader reads. Because of this, The Great Gatsby is a labyrinth of literary

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