Symbolism: the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are a lot of symbolism in its work. Fitzgerald incorporated symbolism in The Great Gatsby to have a enhanced and better story and meaning overall. Such symbols like the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and the burning temperature are used in the book. The symbolism in The Great Gatsby is in there to enhance the overall message and idea of the book.
The green light is referenced throughout the book. There was a green light on Daisy shouse that Gatsby watched attentively from his own house across the water; it represents the hopes and dreams he had for the future, and the future that will always be elusive, something that he can never find. Gatsby’s goals for himself was to make a fortune and to rekindle Daisy’s love that she once had for him. The green light also represent how elusive his dream is for him, I glanced seaward- and distunguished nothing except a single green lignt, minute and tar away, l21). When something is considered to be elusive, it means something unattainable, something afar. That IS what the green light is, it is something Gatsby can see, but something he cannot reach and gain; likewise, this can be said about his dream. He wats Daisy’s love back; he wants to show her what he can do with his life, but this is something unattainable. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, and she is a mother to a little girl; Daisy is happy with her lifestyle.
The idea of her leaving Tom, her child, and her lifestyle is considerably bleak; thus, it is unattainable like the green lignt. Fitzgerald incorporated the eyes of Dr T.J Eckleburg. which are pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the Valley of Ashes, in The Great Gatsby. The eyes symbolize God staring down on the mortals, judges them because of their immoral acts, which include the illegal selling and consuming of alcohol and bootlegging. The novel is set during the Prohibition when alcohol was banned, but everyone in the novel is always consuming an alcoholic beverage, The bar is at full swing, and floating of cocktails permeate the garden, till the air is alive with laughter and chattered, (40). The characters in the book break laws, party and drink. Since breaking a crime is a crime, the characters of The Great Gatsby are commenting a crime, and to commit a crime is considered a immoral action. There is a law, the prohibition, which is something that is against the use of alcohol; however, the guest of Gatsby break this law.
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To break the law, is considered an immoral act. Not only are the characters of the Great Gatsby drinking day in and day out, but there are also bootleggers and bootlegging, Every Friday I saw five crates of orange and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York, (40). During this time, people did not get that much produce on a weekly basis, but Gatsby always get it. It is suggested that Gatsby bootlegs for the produce and fruit. It is clear that the characters in In The Great Gatsby live immoral acts. The eyes of TJ Eckleburg watches and judges from above. The eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg could be a symbol for the eyes of God who looks down on the people on earth, watching them live in sin. In the novel, Fitzgerald used the burning heat as a symbol of hell that the characters are living in here on earth. Each characters has faced their share of sins. Myrtle s lust and wanting for Tom even though she was married, the fact that all the characters broke the prohibition act by drinking, Daisy running over Myrtle, and the killing of Gatsby all qualifies for internal damnation for everyone.
The heat represents the burning inferno of hell, It seems pretty sure the earth is going to fall into the sun, (119). The heat is the representation of hell. All the characters have committed immoral acts; hence, this is why the heat is a representation of hell itself. The use of symbolism can enhance a book and its meaning, and this is what the symbols found throughout The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald did for the book. Such symbols like the green light, the eyes of Dr. TJ. Eckleburg, and the scorching temperaturee are used in the book, which was made better by symbolism. Fitzgerald used symbolism to enhance the book a deeper overall meaning and message.
