Examples Of Plato In The Great Gatsby

299 Words2 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes allusion to characterize young Gatsby through the flashback of Dan Cody, while close shots of Gatsby are used in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the novel. After Gatsby saves Dan Cody from his yacht being destroyed, he embodies the “Platonic conception of himself” to acquire wealth (Fitzgerald 98). The allusion refers to Plato, a Greek philosopher who taught the idea every object on Earth strives to be perfect. As a young man, Gatsby upholds the same ideology as Plato, as he is determined to be the perfect individual with lots of wealth. Though he grew up in poverty, the reference to Plato emphasizes Gatsby’s ambition to attain his goals and become the person the wants to be,

Open Document