Symbolic Cars In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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My project, including the design of three cars delegated to a character, is designed to show the development of the American dream as a theme and to visually show the characteristics of those who long for it. In creating a series of symbolic cars for characters in "The Great Gatsby," the aim is to visually convey the novel's complex themes, particularly the pursuit of the American Dream, through the evolution of these vehicles. Each car represents a different aspect of the characters' journeys and the overarching themes of the novel. The Rolls-Royce Spectre, assigned to Jay Gatsby, embodies the extravagant wealth and insatiable desire prevalent in the Jazz Age. As Fitzgerald describes, "It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns" (Fitzgerald, 63; ch. 4. The adage of the adage. This description captures the ostentatiousness of Gatsby's lifestyle and his relentless pursuit of material success. …show more content…

As the novel progresses, the car becomes entwined with tragedy and despair, symbolizing the destructive forces at play in Gatsby's life. Fitzgerald writes, "The death car, as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend" (Fitzgerald, 151; ch. 8). The syllable of the syllable. This quote illustrates the ominous presence of the car and its role in Gatsby's