Symbolism In The Great Gatsby
Symbolism in ?The Great Gatsby?
Fitzgerald?s novel ?The Great Gatsby? is a story of the burdened love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel; however, surrounds a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a confined geographical area in Long Island, New York, ?The Great Gatsby? is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole. Although the main theme of the novel is the American dream, many symbols are found within ?The Great Gatsby? as well. Some symbols which represent abstract ideas or concepts in the novel include the green light, the valley of ashes, and Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?s eyes.
Located at the end of Daisy?s East Egg dock and barely noticeable from Gatsby?s West Egg front lawn, the green light symbolizes Gatsby?s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates the light with Daisy, and in Chapter I he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal and fantasy. Gatsby?s want for Daisy is associated with the American dream; the green light also represents this. In Chapter IX,
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