Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The book, The Great Gatsby, is one that is taught in many schools because of its renown on a worldly level as one of the greatest American novels of all time. The book is widely known for its depiction of symbolism and its use of universal themes, which make the novel just as relevant today as it would’ve been when it was first published. This fact creates much disagreement about the novel and whether or not it should be considered a timeless classic or even whether or not it should be taught. Personally I believe the book has many useful English topics and ideas to understand, but also doesn’t convey them as perfectly as it could. Let’s look deep into what the book has to offer before we start to make conclusions about it. Firstly, let’s

Gatsby in a physical standpoint represents an American's lust for wealth and great possessions. Gatsby owns a really big house, he has big parties he hosts for the whole city, and he even goes as far as saying “I've got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall.” which goes to symbolize his wealth in physical money and belongings. Gatsby also pushes for wealth in a strong relationship with people, specifically Daisy. Gatsby pushes himself to achieve this goal which is another portion of the American Dream, to have a loving wife. Gatsby found himself saying “And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time.” which shows his love is spread from what happened in their past, and gives reason to his decisions. Among all of this though, F. Scott Fitzgerald puts forth his opinion on the American Dream. With the

In the quote by Nick, “About half-way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is the valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” which explains the dreariness of the Valley of Ashes and the people who live and work there being in rough conditions. This shows how the American Dream was not achieved by many of the people in the city because they were stuck working low paying dirty jobs and living like common folk. Another way we could show the conditions of the American Dream is looking at the American Dream as depicted by Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. They portray this as an extraordinary amount of wealth and living at the utmost top of the elites in the city in massive houses with a ton of belongings. This shows the American Dream as being mostly materialistic but also something many would never achieve in their lifetime. This quote by Nick "His bedroom was the simplest room of all-except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold. Daisy took the brush with delight