Mia Salas AP Language 5/25/23 The Great Gatsby In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes his own take on the American Dream. He expresses this through Jay Gatsby, the fertility figure in the dream. The American dream is the hope for a greater future, achieved by hard work and determination. There is three representations of the American dream the first on being America is the new Eden, if you work hard you succeed, and the triumph of the individual, but no matter how hard you work it doesn’t mean you’ll succeed. Fitzgerald believes that the American dream is disillusioned. He illustrates the hard-working people working towards their dreams and hopes, but they are overlooked because of the corrupt people cheating to achieve what they want. Fitzgerald wants the reader to interpret this message through the usage of the vegetation myth, and the various colors representing seasons in the cycle. The vegetation myth consists of a yearly cycle with two equinoxes and two solstices. Everyone must maintain their part in the cycle for life to continue. Spring is the beginning of the cycle, while Fall is the end. Winter is the rebirth/renewal period that starts …show more content…
“Under the dripping bare lilac trees a large open car was coming up the drive. It stopped. Daisy’s face, tipped sideways beneath a three-cornered lavender hat, looked out at me with a bright ecstatic smile” (91). Daisy’s lavender hat is a representation of the optimism that comes in springtime. This gives Gatsby hope that he will be able to renew his relationship with Daisy. Gatsby wants to have status, and to achieve this he must be with Daisy. However, this will not work because the vegetation myth is not functional in the modern day and Fitzgerald wants us to see that. Lavender changes from optimism to a symbol of corruption. Fitzgerald uses Lavender to show the reader that the cycle cannot be