Symbolism in Fitzgerald\'s the Great

Symbolism in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Scott Fitzgerald's novel, the Great Gatsby, is filled with symbolism that focuses on the extravagance of the twenties. The novel takes place during an occasion in history when materialism has hit an all-time high in America. Gatsby, the character, becomes just one symbol in the novel. Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom symbolize the greed and extravagance of this self-serving generation. Adultery becomes a symbol is the moral indecency that permeates the society. Fitzgerald has also incorporated numerous other symbols in the novel that represent the different aspects of this incredible generation. The green light on the Buchanan's deck, affluence, the Valley of Ashes, Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes and the East and West Eggs are a few of the symbols Fitzgerald utilizes to illustrate his points regarding this group of people. These symbols allow us to understand the scope of what has happened with this generation. They are not simply rotten; they are corrupt beyond all hope. Adultery, murder, and a total lack of regard for life remain the only memories for Nick as he leaves New York. The Great Gatsby captures all that is real and ugly about humanity. The passion and the pain only scratch the surface of the human heart as that collective heart is calloused by decadent living. The last drops of sentiment are relief as Nick manages to escape the least unharmed.

Gatsby is a symbol of the materialism that ran through the twenties. He is a self-made man that has the world at his fingertips. He has unbelievable parties to impress not just everyone around him but Daisy and he brags that he keeps his home filled with "interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people" (92). Gatsby does not withhold when it comes to entertaining these people, either. On almost every Friday night, his festivities include everything including "five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiter in New York -- every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves" (40). In addition, buffet tables were lined and "garnished with glistening hors d'oeuvres, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold" (41). This lifestyle symbolizes the wealth and the waste of the twenties. These are the kinds of people that have so much money they do not know what to do with it. The last thing they worry about is how much something costs. Gatsby, being from poor roots, symbolizes the excess of this generation.

Gatsby is a complicated character because even as he symbolizes the lavishness of his generation, he also symbolizes the American Dream. His chronicle is actually a successful one in that he made his own wealth. He had an objective and he achieved it, which is admirable. He worked hard and made a name for himself. This is the epitome of the American Dream and Gatsby does this very well. However, in all his efforts, Gatsby misses the mark along the way. He lets his foolishness regarding love not only interfere with his fortune but also literally destroy it. We cannot look at Gatsby's achievement without also looking it his decline. Gatsby is a symbol of the silliness associated with love. He wagers everything on the notion that Daisy will return to him and when this does not happen, he is crushed in more ways than one. Her love was everything to him and when it seemed that love was lost, Gatsby lost his will to carry on with his extraordinary lifestyle. What energizes Gatsby to become great is what destroys him. In this sense, Gatsby is a symbol of the mistakes we make when we think we are doing the right thing but do not slow down enough to consider the risks.

Daisy is a symbol of what can go wrong with a human being that surrounds herself with the riches of the world and never truly discovering who she is. Daisy is happy with money and as long she has money enough to do whatever she pleases, she is content. There is no substance to Daisy and because of this, she represents the type of people that emerge from excessive wealth. She and Tom are symbols of the worst of what can emerge from wealth. They are despicable, self-centered people. They are, in a word, ugly people but they would argue otherwise. Daisy's world is fake and "redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new times" (154). It would be easy to feel sorry for Daisy and Tom except they would belittle anyone for doing so because there is nothing wrong with them. They would defend this position by pointing all of their things declaring all their wealth. Nick realizes their snobbery by the novel's conclusion, noting that the couple is careless because they "smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" (184). This statement captures the essence of what these people symbolize, which is basically everything bad in mankind.

Adultery is a symbol of the moral wasteland in which Gatsby lived. Again, when viewing Gatsby, we see how desire pulls Gatsby off course. He wants Daisy and he never stops to consider that face that her marriage is anything that should stop him. In fact, he is convinced that she still loves him as she once did and her marriage is simply something in the way. Gatsby cannot see himself committing adultery; instead, he sees two people in love. It is this simple for Gatsby and her marriage to Tom is nothing more than bothersome. This cavalier attitude toward marriage symbolizes the lack of morality that permeates society. Gatsby is not the only one infected; Tom and Myrtle are infected, too. These people carry on in affairs without one mention of the immorality of what is going on. Adultery is something that happens like anything else. It is not shocking; it is not loathed. These people were compelled not to do the right thing but to do what felt good. Gatsby do not care if Daisy is married and she certainly does not seem to care. Her marriage does not stop them from doing what they want to do. Her child never comes into question, either. Gatsby behaves as if Daisy's marriage or child did not exist. Sadly, Daisy seems to mirror these same sentiments. She feels no loyalty to her family and this is a symptom of the times. Gatsby hopes this is because of him but the truth is that Daisy is hardened to any kind of emotional connection to her family because of the excessive lifestyle she lives. In short, there is nothing wrong with having an affair. Everyone having an affair is too self-absorbed to think about immorality or the repercussions of their behavior. Guilt is bypassed in order to feel good. The damaged aftermath symbolizes the harm resulting from this behavior. These people do not believe in consequences and, should there be any, they will simply buy something to make themselves feel better. This mentality symbolizes an entire generation raised on greed and selfishness. They see nothing wrong with committing adultery and do it without thinking. Adultery leads to death. Tom and Myrtle, Daisy and Gatsby are playing a dangerous game. However, it is important to realize that they do not see things this way. They are simply satisfying their desires. The lack of morality is emphasized the how these people carry on as if adultery is acceptable. This type of mentality symbolizes the moral decay of the twenties.

The green light shining at the end of Daisy's deck is a significant symbol of Gatsby's dream. Like Daisy, Gatsby can see the light. He can reach out and have it seem inches from his fingertips yet he is unable to actually touch it. We see Gatsby reaching out toward the light early in the novel because, like Daisy, he is consumed with it. He comes incredible close to touching but it misses him. The light is "minute and far away" (Fitzgerald 22), as Nick tells us. Nick understands that Gatsby will never have it. It is far away and that is how it will remain. Even at the end of the novel, Gatsby still looks at the light longingly as if there is a chance for Daisy to come back to him even after all that has happened. The light, as long as it shines, represents hope just as Daisy, as long as she lives, will represent that same hope.

The enormous symbols of wealth represent the extravagance of the era. Houses become symbols of status and wealth. The houses in the novel symbolize extravagant wealth. Gatsby buys a mansion and furnishes it with "Marie Antoinette bedrooms and Restoration salons," (93). It also has a "Merton College Library" (93) inside along with period bedrooms were "swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers" (93). Nick tells us that the house has "bathrooms with sunken baths" (93) and Gatsby a private apartment in the house complete with a "bedroom and a bath, and an Adam study" (93). The bathroom even has a toilet seat of "pure dull gold" (94). Gatsby's tailor lives in England and "sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall" (94). All of this extravagance symbolizes a total lack of regard for anything but the here and now. Gatsby, a single man, lives in a home too large for him and he still has his own apartment in the home. He has a staff that waits on him and he goes to great lengths to keep his home beautiful and desirable. Of course, he is doing this for Daisy but it is important to realize the depth of this excessiveness. On the same level of lavishness, the Buchanan's home is worth mentioning. Nick states that their home is "more elaborate" (7) than he could ever dream. The home is a "cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens" (7). Here we see the extent of Daisy's life. Her home is on the beach. Her yard is filled with gardens and sundials; she is living in a very nice, materialistic world. She seems to have it all. How these people live is not as important as how they are perceived to live. Clearly, Daisy and Tom have serious issues but, as long as they appear to be a happy couple, that is all that matters. A nice home with all of the amenities can cover a world of pain.

The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the decay of this society. We read it is a "fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take 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" (23). This image is significant because it represents just how deeply everyone is affected by immorality. It does not simply sit above the people in this novel; it grows into ridges and takes form of the chimneys and houses, filling the air and lungs of those who breathe it in. It is inescapable. Ash is the remainder of something that once was; it is what we see after something has burned. This symbol represents the morality of these people. They have burned their lives; they have wasted them and all that remains is ash. There is nothing strong and stable on which these people can lean. They are surrounded by this gray, powdery ash that represents death and their own decay. The most amazing thing is how they carry on among the ashes as if there were nothing wrong. They have burned, or wasted, their lives.

Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes symbolize something more than the ash-covered world. While these people seem to live in a bubble, unaware of anything but their own lives, the eyes are a reminder that there is something more. The doctor's eyes rest above the "grey land and the spasms of bleak dust . . . his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground" (23). These eyes represent God, or a higher power, watching as these people wreck havoc on this dumping ground. The eyes are faded, an indication of neglect. They are not, however, blind and they see everything going on. George emphasizes this when he says, "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you can't fool God! (163). This statement falls on deaf ears but it is more true than anyone realizes. George is emotionally wrecked but so is just about everyone else by this point on the novel. The point of George's estimation is that the universe has a way of working things out in its own way. It may be karma or the vengeance of God but there seems to be reckoning at work. While it may seem that the Buchanan's escape unscathed, we must remember that they are stuck with each other. Gatsby does lose his life but Daisy and Tom must live out the remainder of their days with one another knowing the truth, which is its own purgatory. The eyes remind us of these forces in the universe.