What Does The Water Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Effects of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is the story of the idiosyncratic millionaire Jay Gatsby, narrated by Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who later moves East, specifically into the West Egg. Gatsby’s life is organized around one desire, Daisy, the woman he met and fell in love with while stationed at Camp Taylor in Louisville. This desire leads him from poverty to wealth, reuniting with his old love, and his eventual death. Comparable with the character Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald was not born into the upper class. However, both end up becoming exceptionally rich, fall into the wildest and reckless life, and use their fortunes to win the love and approval of the women they once

The colors green, gold, and yellow are frequently mentioned throughout. Green is arguably the most prominent color used as a symbol in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is often seen standing in his lawn, staring at the green light emanating from the end of Daisy's dock. Nick notes that at one point, Gatsby ''stretched out his arms toward the dark water'' to reach the light that he cannot obtain (Fitzgerald 21). In this context, the green symbolizes Gatsby's desire to attain Daisy’s love once more. His amassing of wealth and status has all been an attempt to convince Daisy to return to him, yet she is still out of his reach, similar to the green

J. Eckleburg’s eyes, which can be found as a pair of fading bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes, is represented as judgement from God in the context of sinful events taking place while Nick is around, while high-class characters, such as Daisy and Tom, do not seem to care or acknowledge the judgment, shame, and guilt that Nick feels from the eyes on the billboard. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolize God to some of the lower-class characters in the novel. Nick feels judged by the eyes when Tom takes him to meet Myrtle in the valley of ashes, “We walked back a hundred yards along the road under the doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare," (Fitzgerald). Nick feels judged by the eyes because he knows George does not know about Myrtle’s affair with Tom. The eyes watch Myrtle’s murder towards the end of the novel, and George stating, “She might fool me but she couldn’t fool god”, after Myrtle is killed by Daisy, is ironic because he had no idea that Daisy killed Myrtle, however, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg did. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God exists in the context of George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. To other characters, the eyes represent the meaninglessness of the world, that is shown by Tom and Daisy’s careless actions after Myrtle’s death (Campbell,