Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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). The house is described as empty, lonely, and abandoned despite its extravagance and the large parties it once held. Wealthy people at Gatsby’s parties would always show up, wreck the place, not taking responsibility for the damages they did, leaving it all alone with its

“I spend my Saturday nights in New York, because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter, faint and incessant, from his garden, and the cars going up and down his drive” (179). The imagery used paints an image of what the extravagant parties were like and the impact they had on Nick that made him remember them so vividly. Nick heard a car pulling up to Gatsby’s mansion one time but decided not to investigate. “Probably it was some final guest who had been away at the ends of the earth and didn’t know that the party was over” (179). It seems like no one cares enough to check up on how Gatsby is doing, people only cared about the fake image he put up. The parties were something to do and engage in with other rich people and “do rich things.” Nobody cared about or truly knew Gatsby the way Nick claims to have known

“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. 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” (180). This quote is about Gatsby’s dream to be with the woman he loves, Daisy. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock symbolizes that dream. The dream he’s been grasping after for so many years. Gatsby was under the illusion that he was so close to the dream he could “hardly fail to grasp it.” It shows that Gatsby had hope and longing that motivated him to pursue his unattainable dream. It also represents the past, something he wishes to reach out to, but can never go back to as he stands in the present. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (180). The “orgastic future” is his hope that he will be able to achieve his dream. However, the fact that the future “recedes before us” suggests that Nick knew Gatsby’s dream was unattainable. There’s no way for one to go back in time and relive the past, yet Nick’s attitude towards Gatsby shows admiration for his hope and determination to achieve the