Myrtle Wilson's Use Of Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel that includes objects and ideas with deeper meanings than they appear. Throughout the book, there are multiple things that show great importance in fully understanding the concept and idea of what it was like to live during the 1920s. There are simpler symbols in The Great Gatsby, such as the valley of ashes and the colors used, but then there are others more elaborate, like the green light that Gatsby always reaches for and the disguise that money seems to bring. Symbolism also appears in the setting, too. West Egg and East Egg both hold a certain significance to understanding what type of people live in the area. The idea that The Great Gatsby demonstrates is much more complex than one would expect. In nearly …show more content…

New York City is an area where you can fulfill your wildest desires and just let go. It is known for the carelessness of society, a city where people go and forget the consequences of their actions. New York City means something different for each of the characters. For some people, you could say that it is an escape from their regular lives; a place where you can get away from the oppressive atmosphere of Long Island. Both Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan go there to escape from their partners and misbehave with each other. Nick believes that it is a place for opportunity, somewhere to be successful and prosper in your business. Either way you see it, New York City is a place to be divergent, to be who you want to be, and to live your life the way you envision …show more content…

Well, money is different colors and the different colors represent different values. This is also like how the different colors in the story illustrate different meanings. The Great Gatsby used many variations of the color yellow to indicate falsity, and corruption. The female roles in this story all seem to try too hard to be something that they're not. In the beginning of the novel, both Daisy and Jordan started off wearing white dresses, giving off the illusion of purity. Their dresses slowly started to change colors, not literally of course, during the book as their imperfections were revealed. When Nick first met Myrtle, she was wearing a cream colored dress. As she started to wear yellow dresses, everything about her turned into something fake. She started pretending to be something that she is not and it made a clear representation of how yellow means false. Gatsby's car is yellow, too. It was always described as “a yellow car” and the reason the color was always repeated is to emphasize the corruption of Daisy after the accident. The flower daisy is surprisingly fitting to Daisy herself; the flower has white petals with a yellow center. While Daisy on the outside looks pure and innocent, like the white petals, on the inside she is corrupt and