Throughout The Great Gatsby novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed the idea of the American dream using symbolism. Fitzgerald shows throughout the novel that the American dream is not something that anyone can achieve if they put in the work as believed by many, instead it is lived mainly by those who either achieve it corruptly and cheat their way into success or are born into wealth and money and therefore were inevitably going to live in the so called American dream. The unrealistic ways of the American dream are hugely shown through the way in which water, colour and the green light are used to show the harsh reality throughout the novel.
Water is used during the novel as a way to express the time gatsby and daisy have lost in their lifetime. It also gives us an insight to how much gatsby really wants daisy as it is the most important part of his American dream and his life for that matter, the rain is also described as a sort of barrier that stands between them and is brought out whenever they are close. This is a way to show that Gatsbys American dream of being rich and having daisy by his side is unattainable. “While the rain continued it had seemed like the murmur of their voices, rising and swelling a little, now and then, with gusts of emotion.” When gatsby meets daisy again for the first time in five years the rain continues throughout their afternoon together and is a constant reminder of the time they have lost and the gap in their timeline, it shows that no matter what they do they can’t make up for the things that have happened during those five years of being apart and Gastbys idea of his perfect American dream is slowly drifting away. ‘If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock. . . .’ This quote goes further into the fact that gatsby sees daisy as something he needs and will do anything to get to complete his version of the American dream but as much as he tries he cannot re do the past. This goes against the fact that ‘anyone’ can achieve the American dream and shows the true nature of the dream, a nature that for most is a reality, including gatsby. This allows the reader to reflect on the relationships they have with people close to them. For me, I feel lucky to have my friends and family close to me and to know I will never have to fight for them.
Colour was used a-lot throughout the novel, especially the colours yellow and gold. The colour gold can be seen as a rich colour full of wealth and purity and comes up during the book in many ways such as Gatsby’s golden pen and his golden tie. on the other hand yellow could be seen as a rip off or corrupt version of gold, the colour yellow is also seen hugely in Gatsby’s possession throughout the book including his yellow car. The colours yellow and gold represent the corrupt and cheated version of the American dream that the west Eggers are living in the way the colours come up a lot during the novel and express the cheated richness gatsby has through his coloured possessions. ‘ the front was broken by a line of french windows, glowing now with reflected gold’ although Gatsby’s car is actually yellow, the colour gold is used to describe the refection. This is a perfect example of the false reality that the American dream has the power to portray and perfectly describes the cheated richness gatsby has walked into throughout his life. ‘ and if you want to take down any addresses here’s my little gold pencil…’ This quote is said by Gatsby to Tom buchanan (an east egger) and further describes the golden rich American dream he is desperately trying to live and show off but is diversely living the knock off or cheated version of the American dream that is represented by the more yellow things that are seen in Gatsby’s possession. This was really well expressed by F. Scott Fitzgerald and can be clearly taken in by the reader or watcher. The way colour is used in the novel expresses to the reader the importance of not trying to love a life you aren’t fit for, this is an important message for anyone. It also tells the ready not to become obsessed with a certain person or object as it will cause a lot of trouble in the future as seen when gatsby dies while waiting for daisy.
The last symbol talked about by Fitzgerald was the green light. The green light is used to symbolise the distance between gatsby and daisy. the green light burns on daisy’s dock every night and gatsby is able to see it from his house, he often tries to reach out the the light and its used to clearly show that he will not only never reach it but will also never be able to reach and be with daisy. Because of Daisy being the obsession and centre of Gatsby’s American dream the green light shows how he will not be able to complete his perfect dream due to the fact he cannot grasp daisy. ‘Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us…’ this quote expresses the fact that daisy (Gatsby’s future) is year by year getting further away and harder to get, it shows that no matter how hard gatsby tries he will never be able to make up the time that they have lost. Gatsby is desperately trying to go against life and the false reality of it, this is nicely described with the quote ” … so we beat on, boats against the current ‘ as it portrays gatsby as a boat desperately trying to change path. The green light nicely relates to the American dream in many ways. The way that it is used to show Gatsby’s and Daisy’s relationship is the biggest connection because of the fact that daisy is all gatsby ever really wanted and without her his version of the American dream is no where near complete, all that gatsby has worked for has been for daisy. in the real world the green light could be seen as an object that we may become obsessed over. it is important to understand the message behind it so that the reader or watcher can understand that it is better to let go of this obsession rather than to revolve your life around it.
In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism such as water, colour and the green light to highlight the false reality and the unfair circumstances of the American dream that concealed New York in the 1920’s. The way in which F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these points clearly shows the reader the ways in which no one will ever be satisfied with what they have and for that reason will never be able to live their perfect version of the ‘dream’. He uses gatsby to express this through the fact that although gatsby is one of the richest men in manhattan he is still no where near satisfied. F. Scott Fitzgerald very nicely shows the harsh reality behind the ‘perfect’ characters in the upper class. In todays world we are always trying to have the nicest things and fit in with everyone else, we need to make sure we are satisfying ourselves and not society.
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