Symbols, Themes and Motifs

7/30/2019 Symbols, Themes and Motifs

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In

Symbols, themes and motifs


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Themes


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1.The Decline of the American

Dream in the 1920sThe American dream

was originally about

discovery, individualism,

and the pursuit ofhappiness.

In the 1920s depicted in

the novel, however,easy money and relaxed

social values have

corrupted this dream.


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The luxurious parties which Gatsby throws everySaturday night => resulted in the corruption of the

American dream, as the unrestrained desire for

money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals.


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World War I ended in 1918

American veterans became disillusioned

Made the Victorian social morality in 20th centuryseem like stuffy, empty hypocrisy


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The rise of the stock market led to a sudden

increase in the national wealth and a newfound

materialism, as people began to spend and

consume at unprecedented levels.A person from any social background could,

potentially, make a fortune, but the American

aristocracyfamilies with old wealthscornedthe newly rich industrialists and speculators.


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2. The Hollowness of the Upper ClassIn the novel, West Egg and its denizens

represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its

denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, representthe old aristocracy.

Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich as being

vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social

graces and taste.


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Gatsby lives in a monstrously ornate mansion,

wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce, and does

not pick up on subtle social signals, such as the

insincerity of the Sloanes invitation to lunch.


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In contrast, the old

aristocracy

possesses grace,

taste, subtlety, andelegance, epitomized

by the Buchananstasteful home and the

flowing white dressesof Daisy and Jordan

Baker.


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Gatsby, whose recent wealth derives from

criminal activity, has a sincere and loyal heart.

He remains outside Daisys window until four in

the morning in Chapter 7 simply to make surethat Tom does not hurt her.

He takes the blame for killing Myrtle rather than

letting Daisy be punished.


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The East Eggers, on the other hand, prove

themselves careless, inconsiderate bullies who

are so used to moneys ability to ease their

minds that they never worry about hurtingothers.

The Buchanans exemplify this stereotype when,

at the end of the novel, they simply move to a

new house far away rather than condescend toattend Gatsbys funeral.


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3. Gender roles

Men work to earn money for the maintenance of

the women.

Men are dominant over women, especially in the

case of Tom, who asserts his physical strengthto subdue them.

The only hint of a role reversal is in the pair of

Nick and Jordan.

However, in the end, Nick does exert his

dominance over her by ending the relationship.


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4. Violence

Violence is most embodied

by the character of Tom.

As an ex-football player, he

uses his immense physicalstrength to intimidate those

around him.

When Myrtle taunts him

with his wife's name, hestrikes her across the face.


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Cars:

At the time that The Great

Gatsby was published,

Fitzgerald uses cars to

symbolize the dangers of

modernity and the dangers

of wealth.

The climax of the novel,

the accident that kills

Myrtle, is foreshadowed by

the conversation between

Nick and Jordan about

how bad driving can cause

explosive violence.


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The end of the novel consists of violence against

Gatsby. The choice of handgun as a weapon

suggests Gatsby's shady past, but it is symbolic

that it is his love affair, not his business life, thatkills Gatsby in the end.


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Symbols


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1.The Green Light

Situated at the end of Daisys East Egg dockand barely visible from Gatsbys West Egg lawn,the green light represents Gatsbys hopes and

dreams for the future.


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He reaches toward it in the darkness as a

guiding light to lead him to his goal.

In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green bulk ofAmerica rising from the ocean to the green light

at the end ofDaisys dock.


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2.The Valley of Ashes

The valley of

ashes between

West Egg and

New York Cityconsists of a long

stretch of desolate

land created by

the dumping ofindustrial ashes.


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It represent the moral and social decay that results

from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich

indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their

own pleasure.The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of

the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the

dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.


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3. The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg

The eyes of Doctor T. J.

Eckleburg are a pair of

fading, bespectacled eyes

painted on an old

advertising billboard over

the valley of ashes.

They may represent Godstaring down upon and

judging American society

as a moral wasteland.


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4. Houses

The Buchanans' house: beautiful on the outside

yet ever-changing on the inside, represents Daisy

and Tom's relationship.

Gatsby's mansion: giganticand ostentatious, issymbolic of Gatsby's lifestyle and how it came to

be. The American Dream, to Gatsby, is the

acquisition of money and goods which, in theory,

will lead to a happier life.


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George Wilsons house: as the leader of a

simple life, George Wilson is stuck in poverty

just like his house in the middle of the valley of

ashes.


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5. Symbolisms of character

Daisy embodies a fragile flower, because she is a

fragile person who cant make up her own mind.

Tom represents power, but mostly the abuse of the

power that he has been given.Nick is someone who stands to the side. He has his

own opinion, but he doesnt always express it.

Gatsby represents the result of a dream deferred.He overestimated what it would be like with Daisy.

The more that the hope did not come alive, the

more he dreamed, and that made it all the worse

for him and Daisy.


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Moti fs


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1. Geography

Places and settings epitomize the various aspects

of the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald

depicts.

East Egg represents the old aristocracy, West Eggthe newly rich, the valley of ashes the moral and

social decay of America, and New York City the

uninhibited, amoral quest for money and pleasure.


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The East is connected to the moral decay and

social cynicism of New York, while the West is

connected to more traditional social values and

ideals.Though the story is set in the East, it is really

one of the West, as it tells how people originally

from West Coast react to the pace and style of

life on the East Coast.


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2. Weather

The weather in The Great Gatsbyperfectly

matches the emotional and narrative tone of the

story.

Gatsby and Daisys reunion begins amid apouring rain, proving awkward and melancholy.

Their love reawakens just as the sun begins to

come out.

Gatsbys climactic confrontation with Tom occurson the hottest day of the summer, under the

scorching sun.


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Wilson kills Gatsby on

the first day of autumn,

as Gatsby floats in his

pool despite a palpablechill in the airasymbolic attempt to stop

time and restore his

relationship with Daisyto the way it was five

years before, in 1917.


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THANKS FOR YOUR L ISTENING!


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Symbols, Themes and Motifs