Green with Envy
Fitzgerald is known for using a lot of symbolism in his novels, and The Great Gatsby has some particularly strong symbols. One of them is the green light that flashes at the end of Tom and Daisy's dock. Gatsby is obsessed with desire for Daisy, and spends his life trying to reach her social level in order to win her. In then end this quest destroys him.
Write a five paragraph essay answering the following question. Your essay is due on Friday the 14th by midnight.
The Great Gatsby, among other things, is the story of the American dream. Gatsby spends his life in quest of the dream of being with Daisy. How does his complete obsession lead to his death and what symbols and character flaws do we encounter along the way?
Have fun pondering this, and let me know how I can help!
2 comments:
In a quote by James Truslow Adams, he tries, ands defines the American dream by saying, "The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." There are three reasons that led to Gatsby’s death. One, his fear of what Daisy would rejection. Two even if she had gone with Gatsby, it might’ve ended the same way (in Gatsby dying).Three pursuing someone who is already married. So what Gatsby did by pursuing Daisy more through wealth and possessions, he was demonstrating the American Dream.
One of the ways Gatsby’s wealth and obsession led to his death is that since he had spent a ton of his savings on his mansion, just to be across the way from Daisy. He didn’t confront Daisy because he was still afraid she would reject him and he would be alone once again but knowing that he could never win her back.
The other way Gatsby showed the American dream, is that he hadn’t gone one day without thinking about Daisy, and had spent almost his entire life on an obsession that was really an all-or-nothing risk or ‘gamble.’ If it had worked out, and Tom had left Daisy, most likely to go to Myrtle, the same thing would have happened to Myrtle’s husband. He probably would blame Tom, Tom would tell him (if he had the guts to stay in speaking distance) that Gatsby had stolen his wife and that he was to blame.
It wasn’t Daisy that Gatsby feared, it wasn’t Tom either, it was his fear of Daisy’s rejection. By fearing this, he was continually putting off possible chances to see her again although he was hoping to accidently run into her at one of his parties, but she never showed up and when he finally did meet her and get her to come to one of the party’s she didn’t enjoy it nearly at all. When Gatsby saw this, he realized that he might have made a mistake. Although she did like his home, she didn’t enjoy his parties which was a problem because the parties at his house were the only thing that he did to socialize.
It’s not that Gatsby was vain, or even a bad person, in fact he probably had more good qualities than bad, but his bad qualities were the ones that had him killed. Since he had met Daisy he had a complete obsession for her and that had carried all through the war, tough times, never thinking about another girl aside from Daisy. Even though he knew that she was married, that alone should be the sign to say ‘forget it.’ But since she was the girl of his dreams, he wasn’t about to give up until he was able to have her, and obviously that was one of the only reasons that he was killed. Though the one other reason was that Tom had some pent up bitterness, though again I don’t think he was justified in it, told the husband of the late Myrtle (seeing gun in hand and thinking, ‘yes, yes he can be killed and I won’t hear from him any more). So again it wasn’t that Gatsby was a bad person, it was just that he was a little bit tweaked.
Daniel Malouf
Mrs. Severson
English
3/14/08
Vain Conceit
Many different factors brought about the demise of Gatsby. He was so enveloped in Daisy that he failed to set reasonable borders. His interest in Daisy blocked out the reality of life. The last years of his life were spent in a bubble. The reality of the present situation with Daisy did not permeate his bubble. The characters ride a roller coaster of pain and hurt until the story ends. As the story progresses, the majority of the characters focus remains centered on wealth, lust, and greed until the tragic end. The emotional pain these people experienced was simply because of their lack of morals and character flaws. The symbolism in the book helps us to better understand the characters and their roles in society. The green light paints a picture in our minds of the hopes, and desires Gatsby had as he stared across the bay. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are like the eyes of God looking stoically from the sky judging the sinful acts of the people below. The sins of society seem to be embodied in the industrial waste in the Valley of Ashes as it represents the moral decay of society. The Great Gatsby properly depicts the consequences of lives that are lived by selfish motives. In the end, nobody gained anything of worth. What remained were destroyed relationships, hurt feelings, and death.
In his obsession to get rich quick, Gatsby used organized crime to obtain his substantial wealth. At that time the selling of alcohol was illegal, and many people financially thrived through bootlegging. In his quest to become wealthy, Gatsby used dishonest methods. His main motivation for this abundance of wealth was to attract the attention of Daisy. As a young man, he had been poor. He loved Daisy and she mutually loved him. They would have married, but Gatsby was fighting in the war at that time and had no money to support her. He then went down a dark road, in which common sense and honesty went out the door and were replaced by greed, and dishonesty. The desire to be at the same social level as Daisy was more important to him than being in accordance with the law. When he actually achieved his dream of displaying his wealth to her, after nearly five years of waiting, he forced himself into a situation he had no right to be in. He was wedging himself into the sovereign marriage between Tom and Daisy, acting as the force that threatened to split them apart. In the end, he died a wealthy man, but an unloved man. Nick could barely muster a couple people for Gatsby’s funeral. Materially this man had it all, but he really had few friends who genuinely cared about him. His failure to put his heart in the right places resulted in his untimely and tragic death.
Throughout the book there are three forms of symbolism. The first form the reader encounters is the green light. To Gatsby, the green light that glowed at the end of Daisy’s dock represented his hope that he could once again be with her. His desire was to once again relive the affair they had in 1917. At that point, he had been a poor officer in the army. He and Daisy were on completely different social levels. They had been drawn together out of mutual love and attraction. He yearned with all his heart to be wealthy so he could finally be considered worthy to marry her. After obtaining all his wealth, he looked out across the bay with longing. He hoped she would love him for who he is, not merely for wealth. The second form of symbolism that often appears, are the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. Although Doctor T.J. Eckleburg is only a billboard, its role in the book is important. The eyes of the billboard embody the eyes of God scanning America and seeing all the sin and moral degeneration. The sign stands like a stoic stone, observing and judging the activities of the American people. In the book, only George Wilson makes the connection between God and the sign in his grief over his wife’s affair with another man. George talked about how people can never fool God because He sees all. This poster stood in the Valley of Ashes, located between West Egg and New York City. This valley was not only used as a dumping location for industrial filth but symbolized a country of moral turmoil and filth in the lives of many.
Although the desire for material wealth was a powerful motive for Gatsby, another was the belief he could relive his past with Daisy. He lived his life believing the lie that the past could be recreated. In reality, Daisy was now accountable to a husband, a child, and the responsibilities of an adult. Times had changed and Gatsby refused to come to terms with reality. He seemed to live inside a bubble. In this bubble, all he thought of was Daisy, and what was to come in the future. His attempts to rope Daisy in stressed the tense marriage between Tom and Daisy even further. He acted as an annoying wedge which threatened to destroy the marriage. When Gatsby and Daisy met again, Daisy experienced emotional turmoil. She was torn between her old love and her unfaithful husband. During the book, a recurring theme is the constant unfaithfulness between married couples. This created love triangles with caused nothing but death, hate, and hurt feelings. If Tom had refused to be involved with Myrtle Wilson (another man’s wife), the choice between Tom and Gatsby would have been much easier for Daisy to make. When society has its focus on the wrong values and ignores reality, the end result will not produce the anticipated outcome of life lived happily ever after.
The life of Jay Gatsby serves as an excellent example of the passions and lifestyle which many lived during the 1920’s. It shows the emptiness and desolation of worldly pursuits. F. Scott Fitzgerald used symbolism as a terrific tool to aid the reader in better understanding the book. The green light, Valley of Ashes, and the Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are thought provoking forms of symbolism. The Valley of Ashes relates to Dorian Gray and The Heart of Darkness. They convey the fact that moral depravity may not be clearly visible yet is still present. For Dorian it was the portrait, in the case of Europe, Africa bore the grotesque exploitations of the Europeans. In the case of The Great Gatsby, it was the Valley of Ashes. The industrial ashes were dumped in this valley, which made the industries look pure and clean. More importantly, it symbolized the characters total disregard for virtuous principles. At the book’s conclusion, the sins committed resurfaced and struck when least expected. It is impossible to discard past sins and never see consequences. Selfish ambitions were character flaws encountered in the way these people conducted their lives. Without upright principles at the core of life, the journey is guaranteed to be dangerous and full of turmoil.
Post a Comment