the great gatsby

A detailed Summary of the great gatsby


The Use of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is about a man named Gatsby and his struggle to attain the American Dream in 1920's Long Island. He fights to get his dream woman and to do so, he must first become rich. Unfortunately, he doesn't really go about it the right way; he takes part in some illegal activities with some quite sinister characters, such as Meyer Wolfshiem. The corruption of Gatsby's dream and his struggle to attain his dream are shown by F. Scott Fitzgerald through the use of symbolism, such as Gatsby's car, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, and Gatsby stretching his arms out towards the green light across the bay.

Gatsby has a car that is an important symbol in this novel.


That billboard represents the eyes of God looking out over the vast wasteland of moral corruption and dying hope. Some may even say that since the doctor had long abandoned the area, God might have left, also.

Then, there are a few symbols all combined into one. This is the image of Gatsby with his arms stretched out towards the green light across the bay, which is repeated at the end of the novel, "fifty feet away a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbors mansion.... it was Mr. Gatsby himself.... he stretched out his arms toward.... a single green light, minute and far away" (Fitzgerald 25-26). The green light represents hope, land, and money. Gatsby reaching out across the bay represents his desire for those things as well as D

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 502
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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