Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to develop his messages. The Great Gatsby is about the death of the American Dream. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the characters who have money and those who do not. We see that those who do not have money are the dreamers and are, in some way, trying to improve their lives. Those same people with the dreams are the ones that we see die later on in the novel; with, this symbolizes the death of the American Dream. At the beginning of the novel the readers are introduced to the characters of the book. Nick, Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, George, and Myrtle. Nick, Tom, and Daisy are said to have “old” money. They were raised by a rich family and have always …show more content…
One of the noticeable things about the characters with old money is that they all seem to not do too much with their lives. They often seem to be just hanging out and doing a lot of leisurely activities. They don't really have any further goals or dreams. As Gatsby, George, and Myrtle are introduced, the idea that they are the ones that have dreams and are trying to change their lives is also introduced. Myrtle is described to live in the Valley of Ashes, which is the area where a lot of the more poor people live. Her and her husband both live in a tiny apartment above their automobile shop. It is obvious that Myrtle wants to be rich, and wants to be able to be like Nick, Daisy, and Tom. Myrtle tries to achieve this dream through her affair with Tom. He has money, so if she is with him she feels as though she is rich. It can be seen that George Wilson is trying to improve his life, and make both himself and his wife happy, by trying to make his business more successful and make more money. When Tom goes to George Wilson's shop, Wilson says "I can't complain," answered Wilson unconvincingly. "When are you going to sell me that