The Great Gatsby-
A detailed Summary of The Great Gatsby-
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
symbolism adds depth to the story, without introducing confusion.
Fitzgerald's symbols are large, concrete and obvious. Examples of this
symbolism are the valley of ashes, T. J. Eckleburg's huge blue eyes,
and the green light on the Buchanan dock which Jay Gatsby idolizes.
The valley of ashes is "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..."(23) The valley represents the moral
disintegration of the roaring twenties by showing the barren wasteland
which contains the byproducts of the pursuit of wealth and the
American dream. "Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an
invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and
immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up
an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from

from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-
been the end of a dock." If Gatsby had lived in the nineties, he
ashes, the eyes of the doctor are also like the eyes of God, though it
the eyes of God at one point. His eyes make Wilson, the husband
the valley. Like God, he is watching over the waste created by the
own business, doing their day-to-day activities, and suddenly get
caught up in an impenetrable mess. This happened to Nick. He was just
for him without his approval or advice, and who basically used him to
eyes. "The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic- their
his advantage. Nick had no way out of this mess, but he did not
reader as symbolism tends to do, but it merely adds depth to the
who was wasted by society; a resident of the spiritless wasteland of
your sight." (23) This shows how one can get caught up all of a sudden
Gatsby. It represents his love for Daisy and his need for a companion,
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jay Gatsby, Doctor Eckleburg, Daisy Daisy, Scott Fitzgerald, green light, , valley ashes, eckleburg's huge blue, minding own business, green light buchanan, light buchanan dock, adds depth story, eyes doctor, huge blue, blue eyes, eyes god, light buchanan, own business, buchanan dock, minding own,
Approximate Word count = 741
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
Category: English
Saved Paper
Newest Essays
- My Personal Value System
- Iraq and High Energy...
- The Development of English...
- Critique of a Research...
- Visiting the Elderly in...
- Ad Critique: Peters, Jeremy...
- Catell's Structure-Based...
- Current Diabetes Epidemic:...
- Job Search: Push Pull...
- Proposal: Social...
Testimonials
-
"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M. -
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P. -
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J. -
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W. -
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.
