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Religious Symbols In The Great Gatsby

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Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism through colours and religious motifs brings out a critique of the pursuit of the American dream, in how such a pursuit of material wealth is ultimately worthless. Through the use of religious and color motifs, Fitzgerald Parallels can be drawn between Gatsby’s final journey to the swimming pool and Christ’s path to crucifixion. “Gatsby shouldered the mattress and started for the pool. Once he stopped and shifted it a little, and the chauffeur asked him if he needed help, but he shook his head and in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees” (Chapter 8, Page 128) The choice of diction in “shouldered”, an unusual way to carry a mattress, evokes an image of Jesus shouldering the cross on his back. The parallel is further reinforced as Gatsby stopped and struggled with shouldering the mattress. The chauffeur extended help but was declined by Gatsby. In contrast, Simon of …show more content…

The cross that Christ was crucified on symbolises a heavy responsibility, a burden that he accepts and willingly sacrifices himself for. It demonstrates the strength of unconditional love as Jesus does not expect anything in return, irrespective of how he has been treated by the people he loved. He still loved them freely, and was ready to die for them. Conditional love from Gatsby on the other hand, has concluded in Gatsby’s death, an outcome he might not have been ready for. While Gatsby was willing to take on Daisy’s crime upon himself, “but of course I’ll say I was” (Page 114), it is not conclusive if Gatsby was willing to go to the extent of sacrificing his life to keep Daisy’s crime a secret. While unconditional love empowered Christ to embrace death for the greater good, conditional love was Gatsby’s noose that led him to a violent death that he might not have been ready for. Unconditional love is freedom to accept any outcome but conditional love is

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What is a symbol? In literature a symbol is an object, person, place or an idea that has a real meaning in itself and also a deeper and profound meaning . Many examples of symbols can be found in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story of the book takes place in the roaring 1920’s and within the story Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbols as objects and physical location. The physical locations such as valley of ashes, Gatsby’s mansion , Nick’s house , the green light located in the Buchanan residents’ dock are not only places or locations that the author mentions, they symbolize emotions, feelings and other significant information.

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For a brief moment, miles away from the eyes of god, time itself stood still. And the singing birds went silent in their canopies, and the gentle licks of a passing breeze abated, as if the entire world, save Gatsby, knew. Knew that, like an old timepiece, the gears within the depths of George Wilson’s being had long since begun to fragment, and with the urgency of newfound knowledge, he had only one thought on his mind. Certainly, as he glided towards Gatsby’s mansion—and ultimately, into the foliage that surrounded it— Wilson’s breathing was neither slow nor rapid, nor shallow nor heavy, but rather, it fluctuated with an unrelenting attitude, and trapped between immense grief and rage, he carried himself dangerously with each step.

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In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

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Attempting to Attain Love while Neglecting Reality An individual’s quest for luxuries is a natural phenomenon, in which they have to develop certain intangibles, in order to achieve a safe and a satisfying result. There has to be a balance however, in which they have to be able to differentiate between a healthy and an unhealthy goal. Failure to comprehend the miscellaneous nuances of their respective goals can have a devastating effect on all parties involved. In the novel, “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively establishes the amount of self-sacrifice that each character has to make, in order to fulfill their respective objectives in life. The extent of the sacrifice needs to be controlled and subdued, such that the individuals

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Seen by others “As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host, but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way, and denied so vehemently any knowledge of his movements, that I slunk off in the direction of the cocktail table – the only place in the garden where a single man could linger without looking purposeless and alone.” (Fitzgerald, 42) This quote describes Nick and how he gets invited to Gatsby’s party when he doesn’t know who Gatsby is. He asks people at the party and they have never seen him before. Gatsby is seen as mysterious to many people.

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Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Color in The Great Gatsby plays a big part in showing us how Gatsby and Daisy’s lives are. It shows different things such as hope, wealth, purity, and death. Here we see the different symbols it shows throughout the story such as Daisy’s dress and her car. Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy all show us different personalities and lifestyles simply through colors. Colors are a great way to express things, for we underestimate the colors themselves and look over them everyday.

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He believes his new persona will win him her heart, but it only leads to the woe that later befalls him, with startling parallels to Jesus’s crucifixion. Jesus was undone by his servants, just as Daisy crushes Gatsby’s dream, unbeknownst to him. When taken with the fact that after meeting Daisy, Gatsby “committed himself

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The last few pages of the novel focus on Nick’s view of Gatsby’s life and the way that his dream with Daisy has ultimately failed. It’s a powerful and emotional moment that uses symbolism and imagery. It reminds us of the fragility of life and the importance of pursuing dreams when they seem impossible. Nick’s attitude in this passage shows pity and admiration toward Gatsby. “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left– the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine”(179).

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Through the early to mid 1900s, the concept of striving to attain more than one is originally born with became predominant in most American societies. During this era, many authors, through literature, began expressing their concern with the rise in materialistic ideals and its effect on society and the individuals living within it, one being F. Scott Fitzgerald. Two of Fitzgerald’s widely-known works of literature, The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams”, both heavily elaborate on the effects of the increase in materialism and the ultimate effects of attempting to achieve the American Dream; this is conveyed through the unhappiness of the Dexter and Gatsby despite their perseverance to acquire women of higher social statuses. These texts both reach the conclusion that the American Dream is not within reach of anyone. Fitzgerald’s representation of the unattainable American Dream is demonstrated in The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams” through his portrayal of the materialistic nature of society as well as the characters’ failure to possess the women they love.

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Color is everywhere. Although color may not seem important, they might have a greater, deeper meaning. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is set back in the Roaring 20’s, when the economy was booming. A newly rich man named Jay Gatsby is one of the richer people in this time that enjoys his money. He throws overgenerous parties, hoping that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, attends.

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Through expert use of symbolism and metaphors Fitzgerald displays these characters immorality and the hollow, selfishness of their ambitions and their blatant lack of spirituality. However, the descriptions of Gatsby’s “extraordinary gift for hope” and Mr Gatz’ love for his son redeems the world from the

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