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Symbols In The Great Gatsby Essay

935 Words4 Pages

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald contains multiple symbols that are significant throughout the story. The green light, the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg, the Valley of Ashes, and East and West Egg are all symbols that teach us about the society and the characters in the novel. One significance that surrounds the overall basis of the story is the biblical references of the symbols. The eyes being the eyes of god, the valley of ashes referring to “the valley of death” in the bible, and East and West Egg representing the difference in old money versus new money.
The green light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams of being with Daisy in the future. Gatsby can see this light on Daisy’s East Egg dock from his West Egg lawn. “Involuntarily …show more content…

“About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes..” (23) This land is a place where industrial ashes are dumbed. The valley of ashes is a symbol of the decaying moral and social society. It represents how the upper class of rich people are totally consumed by their own wealth and personal prosperity. The poorest class is also symbolized by the valley of ashes because it expresses who live within the dirty ashes lose their spirit. Biblically, the valley of ashes is a prime example of sin and secrets. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matt. 10:28) This biblical reference relates Gehnna (hell) to the valley of ashes. In the end each character will be held accountable for all of their actions no matter where you’re from or how much money one has. There also is the allusion of the valley of death “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod thy staff they comfort me”

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