...Gold In most cases nowadays, the color of gold or yellow is highly regarded as a “wealthy” or “proper” color. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the author uses symbolism to show how gold is symbolic of richness and wealth, and in turn, corruption and death, with clothing/setting choice, Myrtle’s house, and Mr. Gatsby’s car. According to John Green, when Gatsby talks about his first meeting with Daisy, it is apparent that Gatsby is more in love with her mansion than Daisy herself. Green also points out the not-so-obvious fact that when Daisy and Gatsby finally meet again, everything is yellow. Gatsby’s suit, Daisy’s buttons, Gatsby’s Windows, and even the flowers outside Gatsby’s mansion. In this situation, the color gold is shown with a positive connotation. Gatsby is happy to have Daisy again, and he finally has plenty of money. However, there are negative connotations involved with this color as well. At the beginning of the novel, the readers are quickly informed that Tom Buchannon is having an affair. And who would want to cheat on Daisy, the “Golden Girl?” (Fitzgerald 120). Later on in the novel we meet Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. This woman is an obvious sign of corruption. We learn that she and Tom have an apartment together in New York, and that they have been seeing each other for a long time. Fitzgerald reveals a simple and easy-to-miss fact, that the Wilson home was a “small block of yellow brick” (Fitzgerald 28). This associates the color with...
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...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...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, demonstrates that Jay Gatsby lives a life of the American Dream gone wrong by lowering his morals with the corrupt nature of greed, Jay only focuses on the past to move forward in his own grand dream for himself, and how Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism during the Roaring Twenties exemplifies theme areas in the novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the cars represent a form of status. Nick takes taxis while Gatsby drives his custom made, cream-yellow car. According to Dan Seiters, “It is a rich cream color, a combination of the white of the dream and the yellow of money, of reality in a narrow sense,” (1). After Daisy kills Myrtle a bystander talks about the car and says, “It was a yellow car....
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...your manner, Lifestyle and character 1. Introduction: Fitzgerald believed the American dream was false and distorted. 2. Stories showed the decadence of the Jazz Age but with a jaded view 3. 1920s a. About the time period b. “The Jazz Age” c. Wealth d. Social values e. Fashion 4. Works by Fitzgerald a. This Side of Paradise b. The Great Gatsby c. The love of the last tycoon 5. Symbolism a. Great Gatsby i. Green light ii. Valley of ashes (poor’s lack of values, unfaithful’s lack of morals) iii. Beat up car b. This Side of Paradise i. Speed and cars ii. Alcohol as means to forget c. The Love of the Last Tycoon i. Car ii. Sheep /people iii. Light/darkness as reality/fantasy 6. Theme a. American dream b. Class system c. Relationships 7. Conclusion The death of the “American Dream” was a notable part of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. His use of symbolism and extensive writings on the large gap between the social classes demonstrated why he felt this way. According to his writings, Fitzgerald was of the opinion that where a person fell in the class system would play a huge role in how the American dream played out for them. Social class in America would determine the lifestyle, manners, wealth and opportunity which could be achieved. For those unlucky enough not to be the winner in the roll of...
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...Color Symbolism in “The Great Gatsby” A literary masterpiece such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, creates a vision of the typical American prosperous lifestyle through color and images. Fitzgerald cleverly uses colors to paint a picture of the privileged and twisted life of Jay Gatsby. In the novel the narrator Nick tells the story of Jay Gatsby, who throws elaborate parties to try to catch the attention of his true love Daisy. Nick also tells of the affairs and the misfortunes between the characters that would eventually led to Gatsby’s death. The prominent colors used in the novel (gold/ yellow, blue, white/ silver) help to create the image of wealth and old money, intricateness, and the multilayered personalities of the...
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...Adultery, bootlegging, lies, deceit, and murder make The Great Gatsby a very suspenseful and intriguing story. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel full of themes and literary devices such as irony, symbolism and the theme of the American Dream. Fitzgerald leaves his symbols and themes open for interpretation by the reader to show how one theme might show a different view of how a situation is, kind of like how the reader would interpret the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleberg. Fitzgerald uses literary devices to show true character behind the masks the characters have on at first. Every one of the characters is revealed to have bad intentions or being not as good or delicate as YOU once thought them to be. The usage of literary devices...
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...The Great Gatsby, a story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is one based on the American Dream or should I say the “demise” of the American Dream. This so called dream in the 20’s was portrayed by wickedness and greed. Week three of our lecture we were asked to discuss what the American Dream meant to us and my response was one based off freedom, discovery, and hard work. Immigrants, salves, lower class citizens, etc. were accustomed to earning their money through manual labor, not through family inheritance as seen by most of the characters from The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses this story and the characteristics and actions of these characters to say that the “American Dream” was based on a lie in the 1920’s. The carefree satisfaction of the Jazz Age, also seen as the Materialistic Era, led to the extortion of the American Dream. The Declaration of Independence states that “all man are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” F. Scott Fitzgerald created this story to reveal that people in the 20’s were in a pursuit of selfish delight, and the equality of people was based on their financial assets. The line that states all mean are created equal is broken in the scene where Tom is bashing Gatsby for how he became wealthy. He calls Gatsby a crook, and in this in turn leads to retaliation from Gatsby and a fight almost breaking out. Two mean that hold such high class and dignity, yelling and...
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...Jacob Ferguson Mrs. Bennett English 10A/3rd hour 2nd November, 2016 Symbolism Symbolism is a creative way authors choose to describe people, places, or objects in a piece of writing. By using symbolism, an 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...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald was an extraordinary author. He uses color symbolism throughout his famous novel The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, is related to Daisy Buchanan. Jay Gatsby, the man who throws the best parties in all of New York, is in love with Daisy. Tom, Daisy’s husband, has an affair with a woman named Myrtle from the Valley of Ashes. Fitzgerald use of color throughout the novel relates to the main character's thoughts, feelings, wants, and actions. Fitzgerald often uses the colors white, gold, and green to show further depth into the lives of the characters. White in the novel is used in reference with Daisy Buchanan. A daisy is white flower that represents innocence. When Nick first arrives at the Buchanan’s house in chapter one he says, “They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if hey had just been blown back in after short flight around the house.” (p.9) One of the girls he is referring to is Daisy. He is alluding to the fact the girls are happy, and full of life and innocence. White often represents innocence and purity....
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...The Great Gatsby “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents his audience with a novel with intricate symbolism. Nick Carroway, the protagonist, has recently moved from the Midwest to get his career started in New York. He lives on the island of West Egg the poorer side of town, across from East Egg the wealthier side of town. In East Egg are where his pompous and snobbish friends Tom and Daisy live. They gossip and party a lot, all while Tom is cheating on Daisy with a lady named Myrtle Wilson. Everyone knows except for Daisy and Mr. Wilson. Meanwhile, Nick lives next door to a mysterious man named Gatsby, who throws extravagant parties, but yet no one knows anything about him. Throughout the book Nick learns about the mysterious Gatsby and what it is like to live around people who believe in a conceited world of indecency. Fitzgerald involves symbolism into the heart of the novel so strongly that it is necessary to read passages of the book more than once to full understand. The creative yet simplistic styling of this book is a major reason why The Great Gatsby is one of the classics of the 20th century. Throughout the book, three themes dominate the text of The Great Gatsby. These themes include the loss of time, appearance and characterization, and perspective. The word time appears many times in the novel either by itself or in a...
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...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...
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...Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby is a rendition of F.Scott Fitzgerald novel with the same name. The great Gatsby is a melodramatic love story based out of New York in the 1920’s.dream like quality produced by digital animation takes you into a trance during the entire film. Hope and fantasy are prevalent in Gatsby while trying to win over his love. Star power is displayed with Gatsby the main character portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and caraway played by Toby Maguire. Elaborate grand sets and glamorous costumes captivate the audience. Gatsby yellow car is used as symbolism to show his demise. Elaborate sets were extremely visually stimulating and stunning. Sydney, Australia is the location where the film was created with various still shots taken in New York along with in helicopter shots in Manhattan, umpteen live action shots were on partial sets and filmed with use of a green screen and filled in later with digital effects.Flashy and captivating wardrobe was used all throughout the film, winning Gatsby the best production and costume award at the academy awards. In the beginning Gatsby represents hope Gatsby represents hope and the belief that dreams and fantasies can occur if you put hope into it. He fell in love with a beautiful woman then got deployed for war, in which time she remarried and he hadn’t seen her for five years. He bought an elaborate mansion across the pond from hers and throws the most lavish glamorous popular parties in the city where he spent an immense...
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...Everything about The Great Gatsby seems to follow the love triangle of Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby. Gatsby and Daisy knew each other when they were younger. Sadly Daisy ended up with Tom before she ever thought about being with Gatsby. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were multiple uses of color as symbolism in references to going forward, being rich and carefree, and foreseeing death. When someone sees a green light, they tend to move forward. Gatsby was so in love with Daisy that he could never move forward with his life unless he had her. Often Gatsby pointed to a green light across the bay because it reminded him of Daisy (92). Everything about Daisy screams the color green. Gatsby even said that “her voice is money” (120). While in attendance of one of Gatsby’s parties she mentions to Jordan and Nick that she would be passing out green cards all night (104). In other words, she is fine with sneaking off to be with Gatsby when she is supposed to be with her husband. Gold and silver are some of the most expensive elements out there today. In The Great Gatsby, more of the wealthier people that would come to Gatsby’s parties were wearing gold and silver dresses. To show that they were the in the upper class society. However, when Gatsby was younger, he was not all that...
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...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...
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...Can you obtain your American Dream without causing pain to yourself or others, some may argue yes and some may argue no, but in the book The Great Gatsby the answer is not. The book The Great Gatsby is a book of tragedy, love, sins, and overall secrets. Daisy had murder in her hands, but the blame went on James Gatsby, Tom Buchanan was committing adultery yet never got caught and in the middle of it all only nick was there to see the truth of everything, yet none of what he saw mattered. The American Dream is portrayed differently depending on what these characters have been through and what they were seeking. This book has many unknown events but throughout the book there are many symbols that give clues to what will happen next. First one the biggest symbols in this book is the color white which means Impurity. Another big symbol is the eyes of Doctor T.G which are always watching the characters when they are committing sin and is acting towards them in a sardonic way. Lastly another big symbol was the green light that was the symbol of the American Dream.. Firstly, one of the main symbols in this book is the color white, although many might argue that the symbols in this book have different meanings, the color white is seen through the book and there is clues that suggest that...
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