What Does The West Egg Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

She Cried, "Your Symbols Look So Cool. Your Symbols Always Look So Cool." A symbol is a word that is understood as a representation of an idea. Symbolism gives a universal feeling to the themes and characters in works of literature. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, symbols intertwine within the plot of the novel drawing importance to events and ideas within the overall story. Fitzgerald's use of of symbolism plunges underneath the surface to convey a deeper message about the true meaning behind locations, objects, and Daisy Buchanan, the love of Jay Gatsby, the title character's, life. Daisy, through two distinct symbols represent moral corruption in their character. When viewed lying on the couch as Nick and Gatsby enter the

Nick lives in West Egg, near the wealthier East Egg, and "identical in contour and separated only be a courtesy bay" despite related names there is "dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size" between the two eggs (5). The West and East Eggs are a division of socio-economic distinctions within the upper class. The East Egg signifies old money and people who have the their wealth established through generations. The West Egg signifies new money, and East Eggers look down on upon tits inhabitants. The Eggs are similar to Daisy because they have a yellow yolk at their center surrounded by a white shell corresponding to their corruption. An egg gives a false sense of purity because the quality of the yolk is unknown until it is cracked open. The East and West Eggs have similar characteristics to Nick until he realizes how immoral the people are. When Nick sees Gatsby on the lawn, Jay's arm is "stretched toward" a "single green light" that is on the "end of the dock" (21). The green light is the illusion that Gatsby could return to the past and be Daisy's only love. The light is much more than an object that Gatsby can reach for. Gatsby's green light epitomizes the physical and emotional distance between himself and Daisy. Even though Gatsby has pure intentions in his dream of living with Daisy, the green light is artificial.

Through the fragilely innocent yet blank nature of a flower to the all seeing eyes of a dilapidated billboard to the ethereal beam of green light reaching into a wispy past, symbolism adds remarkable depth to an otherwise physically shallow novel. The genius of Fitzgerald's use of symbolism in the Great Gatsby is most apparent within the description and manners of the character the Daisy whose careless nature rules her behavior like a child. Nearly every other word in the prose is rife with oceans of connections and visual appeal necessary when writing symbolically. The author's considerations for the subtle yet poignant nature of symbolism combined with its tendency towards subjective readings lead the Great Gatsby towards its