With the beginning of the 20th century, great changes arrived in all spheres of human activity due to the growing needs of the society. Like everything else, literature had to offer new literary frames that will meet the requirements of the readership. One of the pioneers that had the courage to try something different and unique was the American novelist Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who became a cultural icon because of his success to embody the era he in which he lived inside of his works. Through the analysis of some key symbols in ‘The Great Gatsby’ we will see how for example colors do not always have positive connotations or how some elements, minor and irrelevant to the one group of characters, have great importance to the other. The symbols
Later on in the novel the violence escalates, “The death car, as the newspapers called it, never stopped...” (Fitzgerald 137). This quote is referring to Myrtle getting hit by a car. This incident causes a reaction from her husband, George Wilson. From his reaction we get to see a glimpse into the nature of man. “It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald 112).
The Great Gatsby which is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most evaluated and interpreted novels in American literature. The reason is not just about the voice, literary devices, or techniques he uses. Also, it is about the content of the novel. For example, he shows us the condition of American society and their aims in The Great Gatsby. In the novel, Fitzgerald does not just tell the events, he uses characters’ thoughts to develop the whole idea and to make the novel more pleasant to read.
It shows her escaping wilson and most importantly it shows her running into the road toward this car where she is ultimately killed leaving her dead corpse in the road. This version also focuses on her dead body, showing her shirt that was ripped and a bloody cut that was below her left breast followed by a flashback of the eyes of Tj Eckleburg 's billboard, witnessing her death that was merely accidentally on purpose. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald would surely prefer the 2013 version of Myrtle 's death because of its thoroughly detailed symbolism compared to the 1974 version in which Myrtle 's death is not portrayed but revealed in wilsons garage where random
The literature of America has undergone radical change since it’s beginnings with the puritan tradition. This rapid development has essentially been driven by a “desire” for a new literary “expression of American identity” and “artistic independence” from Europe, which was the center of world power and culture in the nineteenth century . In 1837, Emerson demanded that an end be put to America’s dependence on and “long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands” and encouraged his contemporaries to think with their own minds . In order to truly understand the spirit of a nation, one must look to its artists writers and philosopher, especially those of reputation and influence within the nation itself . The works of Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott were heavily influenced by the changing atmosphere of the nineteenth century with its new emphasis on self and society .
Over the decades, art has been used as a weapon against the callousness of various social constructs - it has been used to challenge authority, to counter ideologies, to get a message across and to make a difference. In the same way, classical poetry and literature written by minds belonging to a different time, a different place and a different community have somehow found a way to transcend the boundaries set by time and space and have been carried through the ages to somehow seep into contemporary times and shape our society in ways we cannot fathom. Widely recognized as an American classic, Howl by Allen Ginsberg of The Beat Generation is a poem that managed to have a powerful influence on the American society in the 50s - the impact of which can be felt even today, world over. The Beat Generation was a group of writers that emerged in the 50s with one goal in mind - to challenge conventional thinking, to purge the society of materialism and to encourage liberal thinking and non-conformity. These Columbia University students were strongly influenced by the Romantic, Surrealist and Modernist movements and their work is a clear reflection of it.
Ironically he does so by doing nothing. Nick Carraway’s passive nature leads to the many mishaps in the novel, which stresses the idea that not being evil does not necessarily make someone a good person. “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements” (1) Nick states at the beginning of the novel, which instantly sets up his passivity. His passiveness sparks complications early on, such as when Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle in secret. Nick tags along because he “had nothing better to do” (24) and seems to have little qualms about the fact that Tom is cheating on Daisy openly.
After Gatsby’s death, Tom, Daisy and Nick’s departure, the green light is only a memory in Nick’s mind. The light now has no concrete meaning and it is just a symbol. Therefore, Fitzgerald uses the green light, unreachable but
What is a certain thing is that a new trend of using symbols in writing had drew writers' much attention, especially in the 20th century. Writers were willing to adopt symbolism in their works. Be as specific as possible, it is a writing skill that uses a person, place, or objects to represent something else which is larger and often untouchable (Literary Devices, 2017). Nevertheless, there is no doubt that it is broadly used in literature allowing authors to be objective while expressing his or her views at the same time. Symbols, also, in a story can be understood differently by different people.
Breeding from the unruly mood at the beginning of the 20th century, modernism was a profound approach that craved to stimulate and renovate the way modern civilization pictured life, art, politics, literature and science. It is a classical trend of thoughts that ratifies the power of human beings to create, improve and reshape their environment with the aid of scientific knowledge, technological advancements and practical experimentation. As a trend, it is less lucid, its perimeter looser, than, say, classicism. a number of analysts would contend that modernism isn 't a single trend , that it embodies a great array of aesthetics and sensibilities. It encouraged the re-analysis of every aspect of survival from commerce to philosophy, with the