Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

A detailed Summary of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

Dove and peace, rose and love, they are simple yet symbolic. Every two years televisions around the world are graced with the images of five multicolored joined rings meant to represent the unity of the world in a celebration of the Olympic games. Although a circle is nothing more than a geometric shape to some, others take it to be a representation of endless love and friendship. People hold different things to be symbolic, but the inevitable truth is that everyone holds something to be representative of something else. Symbolic representation is common amongst people and cultures around the world, however it is also used by authors in literature to change meanings or instill a different meaning in the mind of the reader. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, symbolic representation is present in many forms. It is seen in the guests that attended Gatsby's parties, his gigantic library, the general color scheme used in descriptions, the billboard, dust, and the setting of the entire story.

Jay Gatsby's guests at his party were symbolic in the novel by representing the entire "new money" social class. The guest's big and sophisticated names were representative of their high social ranking, yet they

The scheme of colors used in The Great Gatsby are also symbolic. Green is the dominant color described, except in regards to Gatsby. Green is the color of old money, not new money, which Gatsby is. Gatsby's lawns and gardens are "blue", indicating nobility but not money like the Buchanans. When Daisy runs over Myrtle Wilson, Gatsby's car is mistaken for light green by the onlookers, indicating that her presence being of old money taints it.

The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg on the billboard that is passed while traveling to the city are symbolic of the all-knowing. It represents the idea that someone or something is always watching you, it is a God-like reference. The sign always looks down on Tom when he visits Wilson's garage. It knows what Tom is doing, he can not hide from it.

Gatsby was so obsessed in his attempts to win the respect of others that he furnished an elaborate library. It was common for people in the 1920's to appear sophisticated by owning huge libraries. In most cases these libraries contained cardboard cutouts of classic novels and not the real thing, it was only their appearance that satisfied others, but Gatsby was so intent on being respected that he purchased the real novels with little or no intention of reading them or ever using them to his academic ben

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Approximate Word count = 879
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

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