F. Scott Fitzgerald, the icon of beautiful lyricism, uses many intriguing patterns within his novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald, in his writing of the 1920s, introduces the reader to the world after the Great War; a world of overindulged wealth, unrealistic dreams, and undeniable poverty. Where there is wealth it is not used in an honorable way; where dreams may form, they are impossible to accomplish due to their exorbitant standards; and where dust accumulates, there poverty gathers as well. Throughout his novel, Fitzgerald uses the pattern of dust and ashes to display his essential themes of immorality, poverty, and death.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald contains a vast amount of profound symbolism. From all the distinct colors to the Valley of Ashes. There is the green light, which Gatsby can only come close to grasping. Then there’s the hellish Valley of Ashes where hopes and dreams go to stare into the face of death, and slowly dissipate over time, until there’s nothing left except a lust for more out of life.Then there is a billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, his eyes forced to view the putrid wasteland.The eyes Dr.T.J. Eckleburg are not merely that of a billboard, but instead the eyes of Hades overlooking the Valley of Ashes or Tartarus of the American Dream.
The sky lightens up and the rain comes to a halt. “After an hour, the sun shone again,” the unforeseen change in the skies attitude can be seen as the two characters, Gatsby and Daisy, getting familiar again. The sun mainly represents their love rekindling. As they continue to talk throughout the book and fall back in love the days get hotter and hotter. Long Island, New york reaches scorching temperatures.
It is a valley in which the ashes of the rich are dumped upon. For example, Tom Buchanan is a rich man in the novel who has regard for nothing, but his own pleasure. He secretly has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, who is George Wilson’s wife. Once Wilson finds out about Myrtle’s affair he becomes weak and sick and locks her in her room. This shows that due to Tom Buchanan’s actions George Wilson, who lives among the dirty ashes of the rich, loses his vitality as a result. The valley of ashes is a representation of the moral and social decay that results from an individual’s quest for wealth. Throughout the novel, the rich people of East and West Egg indulge themselves with nothing but selfish pursuits. The valley of ashes successfully symbolizes the plight of the poor for people like George Wilson. Fitzgerald’s integration of the valley of ashes allows him to portray the effects social classes can have on society. This allows him to successfully enhance the quality of his
The first time Daisy and Gatsby meet, its pouring rain to show that their current feelings for
A valley of ashes is used to convey the theme of the inequality of wealth that was so widespread in the 1920s. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, and Nick Carroway go on a drive to visit Tom’s mistress. Myrtle lives in an apartment above her husband’s workshop, in the coal and ash covered mining town on the outskirts of New York City. Fitzgerald, in narrator Nick
Normally weather and emotions are not associated, but throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes multiple references comparing the feelings of Jay Gatsby to the weather outside. He uses rain to represent the times of sadness or awkward situations. When those moods uplifted the clouds would break, and the sun would shine. Other times he would use heat to represent times of anger, or tension. The weather always corresponded with the feelings and emotions that Jay Gatsby was feeling at that time, especially during the hotel fight between him and Tom Buchanan, tea time with Daisy Buchanan, and at the end of the book the season corresponds with the death of Gatsby.
Weather and heat are great metaphors for life-sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and there’s nothing you can do about it (Pepper Giardino). In the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, a narrator named Nick Carraway tells the story about his neighbor, Gatsby, who is filled with wealth and love. Nick grows to know Gatsby and is involved with all the incidents that happen during the novel. Throughout the story, there are reoccurring elements and literary devices. Weather and heat are frequently used to represent the setting of internal emotions within the characters. Therefore, Fitzgerald uses weather to symbolize Gatsby’s inner emotions and heat to symbolize the climax of the story and the anger
The color grey often symbolizes dull and lifeless characteristics or a state of depression. During the 1920s people in the working class were described as “grey” as they chased their goals they could never achieve. The Great Gatsby is a story of people who try to gain and reach success in a world where social classes vary significantly. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the color grey in both characters and settings to portray the disillusionment of the American Dream through his characters' corrupt ambitions and amoral behavior.
Mid-way between New York City and West Egg, lies the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is a dreary place symbolizing the moral descent of society. As described in the novel it is, “A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” (Fitzgerald, 23). It is in The Valley of Ashes where most
First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the dissolute pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the difficulties of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.
Low class presented by grey is first witnessed by George Wilson as “a white ashen dust veiled his dark suit (Fitzgerald 26).” The wealthy within the novel are associated with a brilliant, bright color of gold. In contrast, the opposite class reveals a dull, uninspiring color of grey. The colors represent the social classes and how people view one another within the classes along with the hopelessness in his and the Buchanan’s marriage. Also, the grey Valley of Ashes between West and East Egg and New York City symbolizes “Daisy and Gatsby’s inner character. It also serves to portray the materialistic society that surrounds them (The Colors of Society - Camouflaged Discontent).” The characters portray such class and wealth along with fake happiness. The Valley of Ashes looks at how they feel on the inside which Daisy and Gatsby both ooze with discontent with how they’ve made decisions and how their lives did not turn out how they dreamed. Next, at one of Gatsby’s many house parties Nick makes a list of “grey names, and they will give you a better impression than [Nick’s] generalities (Fitzgerald 61).” Though hiding behind Gatsby’s colorful parties, when the citizens are put together the colorful society is exposed for its true mess of grey. Although the guests of the party plaster wide smiles on their faces to make it seem as though they are happy, the grey names give off the truth of their sad stories from before. In addition, on the way to Myrtle and Tom’s apartment in New York stumble across “the vendor who sells Myrtle her puppy is described as a “grey old man.”(Brozak).” The fact the man is described with this color and is seen when going to Myrtle and Tom’s apartment proves that the two have inner shame and discontent with their affairs and relationships. The color grey gives off a gloomy and sad vibe of shattered hope and broken
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald represents all sorts of different lifestyles in the roaring twenties. From rags to riches, there is a character for each category. Throughout the 1920s, America went through drastic changes. Just as some of the characters experienced transformations throughout the novel.
The valley of ashes played a very significant role in the book The Great Gatsby by creating a definition of the classes. The valley of ashes were large ash heaps piled up
In the text, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a wide range of literary techniques to convey a lack of spirituality, and immorality. Techniques such as characterisation, symbolism, and metaphors help to cement the ideas Fitzgerald explores. However, there are some features to this world that redeem it. Which are displayed through expert execution of techniques like characterisation, contrast, and repetition. The world of The Great Gatsby is home to many morally corrupt and spiritually empty characters however, the world itself is not a spiritual and moral wasteland.