The 1920’s was a time of economic boom and prosperity. The riches and glamour of the time period were idolized by those living then, but many people were not aware of the shadowy side of The Jazz Age. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel represent the people of the 1920’s who were surrounded by material items and a surface of artificial happiness. In The Great Gatsby the East and West Eggs, Myrtle’s apartment, and the use of opposing colors, like black and white used throughout the book are all symbols that represent the duality of the time period.
The book The Great Gatsby is a book run off of symbols. At different points in the book a symbols are thrown into show and explain more than what is given. The Great Gatsby is a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The book was mainly about a very wealthy man named Jay Gatsby, he has a nice house and would throw big parties for everyone to attend especially Daisy. Gatsby is in love with a girl named Daisy.
Throughout The Great Gatsby, there are huge themes of The American Dream. For example, there is an ongoing motif of the green light, and one interpretation of this could be that the light symbolizes The American Dream itself. Due to the fact that Gatsby so desperately wants to achieve whatever the green light exemplifies, it could represent the longing Gatsby feels to gain happiness and wealth. This especially coincides with Fitzgerald’s idea of The American Dream because Gatsby’s materialistic dreams are part of the culture that dominated the 1920’s society. As evidenced by Fitzgerald in Echoes of the Jazz Age, wealth was very important during the Twenties.
In what ways does the green light, T.J. Ecklberg’s advertisements and automobiles represent social class conflict in The Great Gatsby? Placed in the ‘Roaring 20s’, the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald describes a period of mass prosperity and wealth due to the augmentation of the economy through the results of significant corruption by contrasting the lifestyles of different wealth classes. The Great Gatsby encapsulates the stiffness of movement between social classes and the struggles Jay Gatsby goes through as he undergoes both perspectives of social class judgment by getting judged for having ‘new money’ and by looking down on those in the Valley of the Ashes. The narrator, Nick Carraway, provides a neutral perspective of the numerous conflicts
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in the New York and Long island area in 1922. It is written in the view of Nick Carraway as he witnesses the world of the wealthy, an impossible love story, broken hearts, shattered dreams, tragedy, and deceit. Recurring motifs of ash, fire, and dust can be found throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby. These symbols all represent a different aspect of the book. The dust represents the unfulfilled dreams of Gatsby, the fire and ash represent the social class difference between characters such as the Buchanans and the Wilsons, and the ash and dust also represent the deaths that transpire in The Great Gatsby.
F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the literary element of symbolism in The Great Gatsby to prove wealth does not ensure happiness. Creating both the billboard and the man found in Gatsby's library, Fitzgerald indicates the wealthy are not always as society makes them out to be. Society claims money buys happiness, yet the symbols look into the lives of wealthy characters from the novel and show their sorrow and loneliness. The Great Gatsby demonstrates how people
God Is Always Watching In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the symbolism of the billboard overlooking the “Valley of Ashes” holds extreme significance. The billboard pictures big blue eyes with yellow glasses and it was an advertisement for Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, an old oculist out of Queens, New York. It is located in the “Valley of Ashes”, which is a grimy area between New York City and the “Eggs.” All of the coal and ashes used to run New York City are dumped here. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg serve as a representation of God’s watchful eyes and also the contrast between the illusion of the American Dream and the cruel reality of the 1920s.
Throughout chapter 5, the weather is shown to symbolize Gatsby’s emotions. In the beginning of the chapter, Gatsby is shown to be nervous and sad: “He sat down miserably, as if I had pushed him... “ (Fitzgerald 85). At this same time “[t]he rain cooled about half-past three to a damp mist, through which occasional thin drops swam like dew” (Fitzgerald 85). Thus, there is a connection to the weather to Gatsby’s emotions. Likewise, when Gatsby begins to cheer us, so does the weather.
I drew a picture a picture of Gatsby in his own library acting like he is reading a book put he really isn’t reading a book. This symbol represents that he was trying to be be something in not. Gatsby was doing this all throughout the movie he threw big parties where he didn't know the people just for they can like him. He just want to be accepted he will do things he really doesn't want to do just to get accepted by Daisey and society. For an example he went to Chicago just to follow Daisey he didn’t want to do that he just really wanted Daisey
Colors could have several different meanings. They could relate to emotions or the way someone is feeling. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby he uses several different colors to symbolize beauty, money, social class, tranquility, and fantasy. Throughout the entire novel Gatsby fights to show how rich he is and in several different occurrences he does this through color. Fitzgerald wrote this novel using many descriptive words, but color was one of his main ways of expressing what was going on through extreme symbolism.
Nick uses the phrase “foul dust” which shows up many times throughout the book. Dust is a symbol of unachievable dreams and as much as Gatsby dreamed to get daisy back, his dream was unachievable. Later in the book Nick goes with Tom to visit his mistress (Myrtle) and he describes the town and the people as full of dust. At the end of the book when myrtle dies; nick states, “Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust” (55). Myrtle tried to get away from her past of being poor but even when she died the dust representing her unachieved goals still followed her.
Do you ever wonder why certain objects have more value than just their literal meaning? This is due to symbolism which gives certain ideas an underlying and more significant interpretation. Symbolism can be conveyed in many forms such as a red rose being associated with love or water being related with sadness. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows the narrative of Nick Carraway who is intrigued by the lifestyle of Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby, symbolism is portrayed flawlessly and is critical to understanding the hidden messages in the novel.
The Great Gatsby, written by author Scott Fitzgerald portrays many themes. The theme shown in my book cover, is the over glamorization of the perception of love. In the front cover I drew, what appears to be a black figure Daisy and Gatsby in an overflowing champagne glass with a green to yellow green background. The color black used to colorize the couple represents the mystery behind their love for one another in the novel. Gatsby tends to have this over generalization of Daisy's love is for him based on his own inner mind which causes mystery in their love.
Post World War I, those considered part of the Lost Generation plunged themselves into a period of extravagance consisting of lavish wild parties; bootlegging; and the irrational squandering of wealth. The decade after World War I now dubbed “the roaring twenties” or “the jazz age”, exemplified this exorbitant indulgence. Particularly in the United States, money was rolling in and many Americans boasted great wealth. In order to fully grasp the opulence of this time, one must look to the book The Great Gatsby in which “F. Scott Fitzgerald immortalized the excess of the Jazz Age”. The majority of the central characters in the Great Gatsby possess considerable wealth.
The decline of the American Dream, the green light represented Gatsby 's hopes and dreams, Doctor E.J. Eckleburg’s billboard was the eyes of God, the Valley of Ashes represented the moral, social, and economic decay due to the pursuit of wealth.
