Write A Literary Analysis Essay On The Great Gatsby

1121 Words5 Pages

Gatsby Literary Analysis It’s no surprise that Fitzgerald is one of the best authors to exist. In his many novels that he publishes, it’s filled with imagery, figurative language, characterization, and many more. In one of his novels, The Great Gatsby, color is used tremendously to illustrate hints of the darkness and mystery of the themes. As a reader, it makes you impressed that even color could mean so many things, admiring how brilliant Fitzgerald is. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald claims that the past can not be repeated by color, symbolism, and the Marxism Theory. One of Fitzgerald's most important color quotes is about the green light that shines through Daisy's house. Not only does it represent the symbolism of the theme, it uses …show more content…

Although it is a little creepy that he’s basically stalking her at night, it shows that the green light signifies the gap between Gatsby and Daisys house and the green also correlates to money. Gatsby is always staring at the green light because it’s right next to Daisy’s house. The green symbolizes money and wealth which symbolizes the financial gap they once had, one of the reasons why they didn’t get married and the motive Gatsby has on throwing extravagant parties hoping the gap between them could close. The light also symbolizes that his “American Dream” is so close that he can almost reach for it but also so far away, because of the different social backgrounds that they’re in. The quote enhances the characterization of the theme that the past can not be repeated. Although there was once a financial gap between them, there’s a social gap now. They can’t go back to the past because they’re so different. Gatbsy fails to grasp the idea that they have been different from the start so he decides to throw a bunch of parties to flex on his money. “On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk …show more content…

On page 76, Wilson, who is considered part of the poor class, describes the color of Gatsby’s car as yellow. “About three o’clock the quality of Wilson’s incoherent muttering changed– he grew quieter and began to talk about the yellow car.” (Fitzgerald 76). By reading this quote, you can easily identify the rich and the poor based on their words. In a wealthy area, Gatsby’s car is described as a creamy beige color, but in a poor area, it’s described as yellow. The two colors described by different social classes help develop the setting in New York during the roaring twenties. The poor did not receive higher up education resulting in a lack of elegance and vocabulary. On the other hand, the rich received higher education thus why their vocabulary was more wide. This quote is related to the Marxism Theory because Fitzgerald shows the difference of two social groups by incorporating each group's choice of diction. Another example that’s used to describe the setting of the novel is on page 57, where Nick describes the view of the sea. Green is also used once again when Nick describes the view of the sea on page 57, “I went with them out to the veranda. On the green Sound, stagnant in the heat, one small sail crawled slowly toward the fresher sea.” (Fitzgerald 57) Fitzgerald uses the color green to describe the setting they are in. Green sound is