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Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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In the book the author uses character dialogue to display the views and overall optimistic view of Gatsby, which is important to the understanding of the book to describe what makes Gatsby himself and what others view of him is as a person. In the book when Nick first meets Gatsby he states “He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you, as you would like to believe in yourself.” This description of Gatsby is what makes him so alluring and interesting …show more content…

In the beginning of the story Nick states when he first saw Gatsby from afar “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…. I glanced seaward and could distinguish nothing except a single green light. “ The green light that Gatsby is reaching his arms out towards is the light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s mansion on the other side of the water, and the light for Gatsby symbolizes Daisy who is his one true love and the reason he bought the home right across so he could be close to her. The light is what keeps Jay Gatsby going it acts as the one person who he longs for and hopes to run into some day, it’s the reminder that Daisy is near and he will one day have her again. The house that Gatsby bought across the water is also used as symbol of the life Gatsby hopes to show that he can now provide to Daisy. Nick describes it as “A colossal affair by any standard… it was a factual imitation of some Hotel De Ville in Normandy.” This shows that the home Gatsby bought is magnificent and a marvel, this is used a sign for Daisy that he hopes will prove he can give her all she needs. This is because when he had originally meet Daisy he didn’t have any money and came from a poor family, but now that he has money he wants to show Daisy that he can provide for he just as good if not better than Tom Buchanan

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