...The Colourful World of The Great Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes colour symbolism to enhance each character’s personality flaws and convey a symbolic meaning behind everything the characters do. Throughout the novel, the colours that highlight these flaws are Green, Yellow, White, and Silver. Each colour conveys important symbolic meanings, which ultimately highlight each character’s tainted personalities. Fitzgerald magnifies these clearly identifiable flaws in Gatsby, Daisy, and Myrtle through the use of colour symbolism throughout his novel. The first colour, which F. Scott Fitzgerald introduces to the reader, is the colour green. Green embodies the hope in which Gatsby clings on to and the limitless dream...
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...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that takes a different spin on the stereotypical American dream. To say “through the novel, Fitzgerald puts across the idea that the American dream has been corrupted by the desire for materialism” would be accurate. Because “we see that Gatsby had a pure dream, but became corrupt in his quest towards that dream,” this is how the American dream was viewed as corrupt. Throughout the novel Gatsby displays many examples of how his quest towards the dream that was once pure, slowly becomes more and more corrupt. The first showing of corruptness in Gatsby’s dream, which is to marry Daisy, is his unethical means of obtaining a fortune. The stereotypical American dream is working hard for honest money. However, this is not the case for Gatsby. Gatsby attains his fortune through the illegal means of bootlegging. In the novel, the narrator Nick describes Gatsby, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a Son of God—a phrase that, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (The Great Gatsby Chapter 6 pg). This quotation shows how Nick saw Gatsby as trying to transform himself into the ideal person. He even goes as far as to...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel The Great Gatsby in 1922. This novel tells the story of Jay Gatsby in Nick Carraway point of view. Fitzgerald used the green light as a symbolism of dreams and hopes to show its significance in the novel. The green light is important in the novel, for it is used as the American Dream for Jay Gatsby. For example, the text states, “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 away, that might have been the end of a dock. k. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.” In these quotes,...
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...Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Dishonest work is a major role in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Throughout Gatsby’s life he was always working for his American Dream. That doesn't mean everything he did was honest. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the American Dream through the illegal work of Gatsby, showing that, when one achieves wealth through illegal affairs and by doing dishonest work, one must prepare themselves for the consequences that pertain to that lifestyle. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby appears to be the embodiment of the American Dream until pieces of his past begin to come out. Early in the novel...
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...In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents his view that the American Dream is nothing more than an unachievable illusion, forever just barely out of our grasp. This is represented in the book by a variety of elements and plot points, most notoriously the green light. However, the symbol of the American Dream most central to the plot of The Great Gatsby is actually Daisy, with many of the other symbols flowing from their association with her. The vast riches and lands that Gatsby accrues, which in many other stories would represent that he, the son of dirt poor farmers who has managed to claw his way up to the top through whatever it took, has achieved the American Dream as it is commonly depicted, going from a pauper to a prince, are not his end goal but instead a means to the end, that of a happy life with Daisy as his wife, a life which he has thus far only been able to imagine whilst gazing at the light at the end of her dock which is as green as his envy that Tom is living the life Gatsby...
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...Hope is defined as, “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” In The Great Gatsby, that is something everyone has in some way. Hope is one of the underlying themes in novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. There are many objects and symbols that represent hope. For example, the green light, Rolls Royce, and dog leash are just a few. Throughout the whole story, it is hope that lets these characters hold on to what they dream and want for their lives. Hope can motivate people in ways nothing else can. Although, in some circumstances, what some people hope for doesn’t always turn out the way they plan. First, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is the biggest symbol of hope in this novel. The light represents Jay...
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...capture particular periods in history. The unreachable green light beckoning from across the bay in The Great Gatsby Has become a symbol of the yearning of America in the 1920’s” (David Ignatius). During the time this book was written, a new age broke out called the roaring 20s. This was a time in American history where we defied almost all laws, expressed ourselves in rebellious ways through dancing, music, and partying, as well as demoted many traditional moral standards. The 1920s were filled with wild parties, new ideas about life, and unnecessary drinking with a lot of reckless behavior. In the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many characters who are self centered, manipulative, and carless....
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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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...To what extent do you agree that Fight Club is an updated version of The Great Gatsby that captures the zeitgeist of modernism? The extent to which Palahniuk’s Fight Club bears resemblance to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is debatable despite the fact that there are numerous similarities between the two texts in terms of its narrative structure dominant themes and the presentation of characters thus their respective zeitgeist of modernism, both texts have clearly their own mark that make them truly unique. Clearly the extent of the similarities between the two texts cannot be overlooked when Palahniuk stated himself in the Afterword that ‘’Gatsby’s updated a little’’, as both novels have apostolic narratives it can be seen that both reveal the hollow superficial nature that existed within society in both the 1920’s and 1990’s. Fight Club and The Great Gatsby can be contrasted as, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s lavish parties, flamboyant suits and mansion to be a template for the narrator’s own existence in ‘Fight Club’. His life is dominated by his IKEA ‘’condo’’ and his own job, which he then finds that he has nothing to live for and is empty inside. He is someone who has ‘’ lost everything’’ and is ‘’ Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete.’’, which also illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream of both novels. ‘’Fight Club’’ thrusts the idea of conspicuous consumption even further as the narrator describes the destruction of material possessions no longer...
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...against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 180). The ending phrase in The Great Gatsby sums up human life; people fight against the incessant stream of obstacles flowing towards them in the path called reality as they are forever linked to their past and their mistakes. The Great Gatsby, as told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, tells the story of a young man fruitlessly striving to overcome the societal barriers to be with his true love: a married Daisy Buchanan. As two separate entities written in different time periods, the novel The Great Gatsby-written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925-and the movie The Great Gatsby-directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2013-converge and diverge on several topics...
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...whole mood very quickly whether it’s great or awful. Some dark colors could cause you to be sad, angry, or gloomy. But when a person looks at bright, beautiful colors it can make them very happy, friendly and social. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby,...
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...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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...“Dreams are renewable no matter what our age or condition, they are still untapped possibilities within us and now beauty waiting to be born.” -anonymous This quote is portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. The novel begins when the main character Nick Caraway moves to a town in long island call west egg. He lives in modest home amongst extravagant mansions. His neighbor, Jay Gatsby, throws lavish parties almost every night. His cousin Daisy, and her husband tom, also lives in the west egg community. Once nick get an invite to one of Gatsby’s parties he become thirsted into the wealthy lifestyle of the people around him. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald used the colors of white and cream, the color yellow, and the green light to illustrate the theme that desire facilitates moral decay and is therefore a destructive emotion. The colors white and cream capture the characters external innocence and purity, but since it is false beyond the skin, it is just a disguise covering the desire and moral decay. The white room shows how Daisy and Jordan can appear pure and lovely from the outside. When nick arrives at Daisy and Tom’s home he notices, “ The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house,”(8). At the start of the book we are introduced to Daisy and Jordan, the author used the white color of the room to illustrate how pure the characters appear from Nick’s first...
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...Main Thesis Gatsby and Tom represent the corrupt American Dream of the 1920’s through their selfishness, and narrow minded attitudes of getting what they want without considering the consequences. Body paragraphs Gatsby goes to great lengths to win Daisy’s love, which consumes his life. Little does he realize, that that dream has ended many years ago, and that he needs to wake up and see it for himself. After Gatsby’s death Nick sits on Gatsby’s lawn and reflects in everything that happened that summer. “ He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. Little did he know, that dream was already behind him… back where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under...
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...chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby, a reporter comes to Gatsby’s door to interview him about his personal life. Jay Gatsby’s original name was James Gatz and he was born on a North Dakota farm but went to college in St. Olaf, Minnesota. He dropped out of college and later met the wealthy Dan Cody who hired him as a personal assistant. When Dan Cody died he left Gatsby $25,000, but his mistress prevented Gatsby from claiming it. After that, Gatsby was determined to become rich and successful. Later on, Nick visits Gatsby and is shocked to find Tom Buchanan there, and the next Saturday Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. After the party Gatsby is worried that Daisy did not enjoy it and Nick tells him to give up on Daisy, however, Gatsby refuses and instead tells Nick about he and Daisy’s past. The quote that best describes Jay Gatsby is, “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). The good qualities of Jay Gatsby are he is a loyal person and he has a good heart. The bad qualities of Gatsby are he is amoral, dishonest, and throws his money away. Fitzgerald developed this character to show how people use their wealth to get love only to discover the love is not real. Additionally, he is developed throughout the novel to be an example of how living extravagantly can be an empty life. A meaningful quote in the chapter is, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long...
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