...the most debated topics in The Great Gatsby is “What is the most essential symbol in the novel?” The most essential symbol in The Great Gatsby is the Valley of Ashes. Three examples of this are the Valley of Ashes represents the social decay of life during the Roaring Twenties, The Valley of Ashes represents the poor, and the Valley of Ashes represents drastic contrast from the rich and glamorous lifestyle in the Eggs. One example of the Valley of Ashes being the most essential symbol in The Great Gatsby is that the Valley of Ashes represents the social decay of life during the Roaring Twenties. Proof of this is that this is where Tom and Myrtle meet up for their affair. This is proven on page 28 when Nick and Tom are traveling to...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to indicate themes and influence the plot. The valley of ashes, the green light, and the billboard are the three major examples of Fitzgerald’s symbolism. The valley of ashes is a significant symbol used in The Great Gatsby. “About half way between West Egg and New York the motor-road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air…” (Fitzgerald 28). It symbolizes the forgotten poor underclass who enable the lifestyle of the wealthy few. The people who work and live in this valley are the factory employees. Their factory production is what’s driving the construction expansion that supplies the residents of West Egg with their wealth. “The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour. There is always a halt there of at least a minute…” (29)....
Words: 656 - Pages: 3
...that the American dream is withering and that the real dream is being lost in the 1920s during the time of the booming America. In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses symbols as a way to show something to the reader. He uses the Green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg as symbols. Gatsby himself starts from the bottom and then hits the top through his writings. The American dream in Fitzgerald’s eyes is that anyone regardless of who they are can achieve their ultimate goal in America. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes a symbol of the American dream. It symbolizes America's possessive personality with wealth and how everyone during the 1920s were so blinded by greed that they did not focus on the true goal which is the American dream. Gatsby throws parties every Saturday night at his place. In that it ultimately corrupted the American dream as desire for pleasure and money tainted the more worthy goals. The valley of ashes...
Words: 519 - Pages: 3
...including parties and events. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of how a group of wealthy individuals gets wrapped up in conflicts while trying to convey their wealth to one another. Jay Gatsby, the main character, became wealthy by getting involved in the stock market after the WWI, where he originally fell in love with Daisy. Daisy Buchanan is married to a wealthy man named Tom Buchanan, who later resents Gatsby, leading to his contribution to Gatsby’s death. A whirlwind of events occurs after the reunion of Gatsby and Daisy that is furthered with the symbolic messages created by Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald uses a variety of symbolic messages, including the green light of Daisy’s porch, the valley of ashes, and the East and West Egg, to help with the development of the plot and to give the novel...
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
...The use of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, who at one time lived next to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a rich entrepreneur who lives alone in a mansion on West egg. Gatsby is in love with the beautiful Daisy Buchanan who lives across the bay in East Egg with her husband Tom Buchanan. Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy five years prior to the start of the novel. In his efforts to win over the love of his life Gatsby uses his lavish home to throw elaborate parties in hopes that one day Daisy will attend. One of the key elements in The Great Gatsby is the use of symbolism throughout the novel. The use of symbols can add a level of depth to a novel, as well as help the reader...
Words: 1317 - Pages: 6
...Iranian writer Azar Nafisi once said, “The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.” In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby we see the decay of the American Dream through the selfless but selfish acts of the characters. In the Great Gatsby the symbols of the Valley of Ashes, the green light, and materialism show that the American Dream is unachievable. Through the symbol of the Valley of Ashes we see the hollowness and decay of the American Dream. Myrtle had the same dream as everyone who lives in the Valley of Ashes has, they all want to escape the Valley of Ashes to be a part of a higher social class“…Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished,...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...Conley Howard The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis Notebook Mrs. Marlar/English III Period 6 Howard 1 Literary Element- Symbolism Chapter 1, page 21 Original Quote: “But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone—he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far way, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unique darkness.”(Fitzgerald 21) Paraphrase with Analysis: Gatsby is being spotted by Nick, the narrator, while he is reaching out across his dock to the green light. (Fitzgerald 21) The green light symbolizes Daisy. Green is also an archetype and the negative associations are death and decay. Green can also foreshadow Gatsby death in the end since he never achieved the “green light” being Daisy who she chose Tom Buchanan in the end. Embedded Quotes in Paraphrase with Analysis: David F. Trask in his book, A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, states that “Gatsby believed in the green light, the future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further ... And one fine morning Alas, all of us! The novel ends on a desperately somber note: So we beat on, boats...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...author can give something more significance in a story, and add an extra layer of meaning that wasn’t there before. In “The Great Gatsby” symbolism is used to give a deeper meaning to the story, and by analyzing it the reader can better understand the message it is portraying. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism throughout “The Great Gatsby” in a variety of unique ways to express his feelings about 1920’s America. Between West Egg and the city lies The Valley of Ashes, a place symbolised in “The Great Gatsby”, as grey, and dreary. By using...
Words: 1324 - Pages: 6
...The Great Gatsby The novel “The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s in New York and is divided into two main classes, Old money in East egg and new money in West egg. Between West egg and the city is the valley of ashes which is filled with poverty. The novel shows many uses of symbolism by the author to create a better understanding of the characters and overall message of the novel. One main thing symbolized in the novel is the american dream. Fitzgerald symbolizes the american dream with a green light at the other side of the Gatsby’s dock. The green light represents Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy to fulfil his purpose in life, “Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light...
Words: 603 - Pages: 3
...The Symbolism in “The Great Gatsby” In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author includes a lot of symbols throughout the story. Each symbol in this story has something that it represents. The objective of this paper is to provide three symbols that were seen while reading this novel and what they represent to the reader. These three symbols that will be mentioned are the green light at the end of Daisy dock, Daisy, and Dr. Eckleburg’s billboard in the valley of ashes. First off is the green light at the end of Daisy dock, which serves as a symbol of hope for Gatsby throughout the story. The reader can see this when Gatsby says, “’ If it wasn’t for the mist we could see’…’you always have a green light that burns all night at the...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...The Great Gatsby (Novel) Author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Purpose To show the author’s conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age Relationship with the Author and the Characters Fitzgerald and Carraway Thoughtful young man from Minnesota Educated at an Ivy League school Moves to NYC after the war Found the new extravagant lifestyle seductive and exciting Fitzgerald and Gatsby Idolizes wealth and luxury Falls in love with a beautiful young woman while at military camp Narrator Nick Carraway; he also implies that he is the book’s author Point of View Both first and third person Presents only what he himself observes Tone Ambivalent and contradictory; sometimes he seems to disapprove Gatsby, and sometimes he romanticizes and admires Gatsby, describing events in nostalgic and elegiac tone Background Year written: 1925 (the Jazz Age) American economy soared; great prosperity for majority Prohibition (18th Amendment in 1919) ‘bootleggers’ Money is everything Plot Nick Carraway moves from Minnesota to New York (West Egg) to learn about bond business West Egg: wealthy and fashionable area; where the “New Rich” live Nick has social connections with East Egg, where the “Old Rich” live Nick’s classmate at Yale, Tom Buchanan, lives with Nick’s cousin Daisy in East Egg Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, in the Valley of Ashes Valley of Ashes is a gray industrial dumping ground At one party, Nick breaks...
Words: 863 - Pages: 4
...In the novel The Great Gatsby the author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a multitude of literary devices to create the beautifully written piece. Foreshadowing and symbolism are the most important techniques used by him to make the reader have a stronger interpretation of the novel and to allow it to have a greater meaning. One of the key elements that Fitzgerald uses symbolism and foreshadowing for is death. Death is a main occurrence in the novel and Fitzgerald often alludes to it to give his novel a second dimension and allow the reader to become interactive with the reading. Many important characters of objects in the novel are symbols of death and destruction and these use of these symbols help to foreshadow when a death may occur. Thus...
Words: 1230 - Pages: 5
...writers of the 20th century and the time called the „Jazz Age”. His most famous works are „The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and „The Great Gatsby” which have been adapted into films. The Great Gatsby has been the basis for many movie adaptations of the same name in 1926, 1949, 1974, 2000, and the latest in 2013. 2. Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (1962 - ) is an Australian film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for directing Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Australia and the newest version of The Great Gatsby released in 2013. 3. „The Great Gatsby” – the plot of the novel The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young, handsome and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his unrealistic illusion and passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Major characters Nick Carraway – a Yale graduate originating from the Midwest, a World War I veteran, and, at the start of the plot, a newly arrived resident of West Egg, who is about 30 years old. He serves as the first-person narrator of the novel. He is Gatsby's next-door neighbour and a bond salesman. He is an easy-going, occasionally sarcastic, and quite optimistic person. Jay Gatsby (originally James "Jimmy" Gatz) – a young, handsome and mysterious millionaire with shady business connections, originally from North...
Words: 2708 - Pages: 11
...cruel. A once high, mighty, and pure ideal has become degraded and buried by the merciless greed for money. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, many of the characters, believed in the Dream and that wealth and social mobility was within his or her reach. Fitzgerald illustrates three specific social classes: old money, new money, and the lower class, with old money and new money taking center stage. Gatsby, himself, represents new money: he climbed the social and economic ladder and succeeded by way of shady dealings of bootlegging. On the other hand, Daisy Buchanan, the love of Gatsby’s life, represents old money. She received everything she has on a silver platter; she earned nothing but her inheritance. Gatsby, aware of this segregation, attempts to act as though he is “old” money in order to be accepted by Daisy’s class. By illustrating social-economic class differences through Gatsby and his desire for Daisy, Fitzgerald depicts the mistaken hype of the corrupted American Dream and the unreachable gap of economic class. In the novel we may see a clear connection between geographical location and social values, East Egg, West Egg and the Valley of Ashes demonstrate to that. These differences are evident in such characters as Jay Gatsby (West Egg), Tom and Daisy Buchanan (East Egg), George and Myrtle Wilson (the Valley of Ashes). Though...
Words: 1249 - Pages: 5
...The American Dream: Why the American Dream is A Dream The American dream is solely based upon the hard work to achieve prosperity, success, and the upward movement in social class. Everyone's American dream is specific to personally set goals. While reading the book The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many examples that symbolize the American dream. Two main details from The Great Gatsby will focus on Gatsby's hopes and dreams, as well as, obsession with wealth. F. Scott Fitzgerald has a very illusory message pinned on the American dream. He feels that the American dream can drive a man to do extraordinary and unethical things. “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies” (Friedrich Nietzsche). People will chase a better tomorrow that is always just a tad out of reach. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby does many ludicrous and unethical things to achieve the American Dream. Gatsby throws extravagant parties every weekend in hopes that Daisy Buchanan will show up amongst the large crowed. "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay" (Fitzgerald 147)....
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
