Preview

Symbolism And Themes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
503 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Symbolism And Themes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby: Symbolism and Themes
The Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates many themes and symbols that affect the plot. The setting is in the 1920s on Long Island, New York. The story is told in Nick’s point of view as he goes through life and is faced with themes like The American Dream, Society vs. Class, and corruption with wealth. A symbol is an object, color, or figure that is used to represent a key idea or theme that is trying to be presented. The author uses The Valley of Ashes, T. J Eckleburg, and the "two eggs" to show the symbolic idea of corruption in wealth.
An important symbol in the book was the Valley of Ashes. This was first seen near beginning of the story, when Tom and Nick goes to the Wilson’s.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Colors are a powerful form of communication used to convey what words cannot. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism in the form of color is on display in nearly every chapter of The Great Gatsby. To understand his use of color as a symbol, a reader must recognize the situations in which they are used. Fitzgerald applies colors to his characters to hint at their personalities. The colors are intentionally repeated multiple times to establish a significance between them and the characters personality they are used to symbolize. Therefore, to understand each character entirely, colors must be considered. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses color symbolism to show how people mask their personalities to hide from the truth which results in negative…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book, Nick Carraway is the narrator and lives next to Gatsby, he also plays a big role as a character in the book. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald uses different colors to symbolize different things in the book. The color symbolism in The Great Gatsby is represented by the colors silver, gold, and green. The color silver is represented as beauty.”…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel based on symbolism. Symbols throughout the novel aid in the development of all the characters, in particular Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Three major symbols assist in those characters' development: the car symbolizes wealth, power of the upper class, and chasing dreams; the consumption of alcohol symbolizes revealing the truth; and New York City represents freedom to do what one pleases, not bound by the views of East or West Egg. The development of the characters Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan is shaped by these symbols throughout the novel.…

    • 927 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sometimes a symbol is all you need to say a thousand words. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby the lavish lifestyle of many of the characters ultimately leads to major consequences as their actions play a part in the crumbling American Dream. The tragic story of love, greed, and secrets exploits the toxic lifestyle of Gatsby, Daisy, and others in both West and East Egg. The significance of the many symbolic elements in The Great Gatsby reveals the themes that led to the downfall of many of the characters.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Great Gatsby Themes

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page

    place. One of the motifs that are represented is parties that the characters go to. This connects to…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    McKenzie Kyler Mrs. Tollett Honors American Literature 26 April 2024 Symbolism in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism in his writings to create connections between the character and the readers. One way that Fitzgerald uses symbolism is through colors. Colors have very different meanings depending on the context in which they are used. Another way that Fitzgerald uses symbolism in The Great Gatsby is through locations. Each specific location symbolizes something different in the novel.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbols play a huge part in The Great Gatsby. They add to the understanding we have of the novel and reveal the underlying themes of the American Dream. As each symbol is revealed, the American Dream slowly starts to crumble before their eyes. The author of the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses these symbols throughout the book to highlight key ideas and show the ongoing clash between love, wealth and moral destruction.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the book “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald finds different ways to incorporate symbolism that ties into the different characters and their different relationships with one another. The symbolism that he creates really shows how the american dream is never really possible.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he uses symbolism in such detailed way. Fitzgerald integrates symbolism into the book so well that it is necessary to read it several times to fully understand it. Maureen Corrigan quotes “Many of us first read it when we were too young to fully comprehend its power.” Even a critic on the book itself had to read the story many times to fully understand all that the book has to offer. Fitzgerald focuses on three main themes in “The Great Gatsby” they are time, loss of appearance, and perspective. Most of the book’s structure is in one of these categories. In order to fully understand the book, we must better understand these three themes.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many themes were shown by F. Scott Fitzgerald from the novel, The Great Gatsby. One…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In all aspects of life, one must face consequences for wrongful actions. L.M Montgomery states, "... We pay a price for everything we get or take in this world..." This statement suggest that one's choices and actions always have results that can come back and affect the outcome of one's life. This idea is supported in the literary works of Great Gatsby and Lord of the Flies, where the choices and actions of the characters caused them great pain.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Symbolism is a figure of speech that is used when an author wants to create a certain emotion in his literal work. It usually is an object, person, and situation to refer a bigger picture and idea other than just an object.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is the widespread smear of blue, the vibrant sprouts of green and the sight of all things on earth.Colors are made up of everything and although what the human eyes claims to see is not certain that every organism sees has played with our imagination through childhood. Each of the infinite colors has it’s own value and personal definition to everyone. It engages the eyes with the mind into imagination and in some ways are deceptive. For example red, was feared in America during 1920’s because it was associated with communism and uncertainty. Red is usually associated in the cinema as the evil force. However, it is also a symbol for good luck in China and India. Colors have their own symbolic definition that are associated with. In a similar…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Symbol I have chosen for the cover of The Great Gatsby is the green light that Daisy Buchanan has on her pier. The green light symbolizes the hopes of Jay Gatsby getting Daisy back after 5 years of being in the military. He hopes for their relationship to be the same as it did when they first got together, but that’s not possible since she’s married to Tom Buchanan and has a daughter. Gatsby has moved to west egg and has bought an enormous mansion right across the bay and throws huge parties in hopes of Daisy wondering into one of them. One night, Gatsby goes outside, standing in front of the bay, looking at the green light.…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mass Media and Crime

    • 4206 Words
    • 17 Pages

    The relationship between the criminal justice system and the media system has been the subject of research, speculation, and commentary throughout the twentieth century. This relationship may be understood in terms of dependency relations operative between these massive systems .Put most simply, neither the media nor the criminal justice system could operate effectively without the other. The criminal justice system is a resource for the media system in that it affords one of the common sources of news and entertainment stories. The classical surrogate scout role of the media, whereby they monitor the environment for actual and potential threats to individual and collective welfare, affords a powerful way for the media to attract their audiences. People must constantly update their understanding and ability to orient themselves to the environments in which they act.…

    • 4206 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays