Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in subject, is about an American bootlegger who nourishes an adolescent dream about a golden girl he can’t have. The novel should be considered a literary merit because it is accessible; because of its literary devices, including symbolism and themes; because it affords an extensive study on point of view; and because Fitzgerald’s style and prose is vivid and hauntingly beautiful. One important factor of the The Great Gatsby is that it is accessible to all different readers, including high schoolers. Teacher, Colleen Ruggieri said that “When thinking about a book that is accessible to nearly all students—despite their varying reading levels, mastery of English, or personal interests—it is The Great Gatsby…show more content…
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses a lot of literary devices, such as symbolism, making it popular within the classroom. Norris, the author of The Colombia History Of the American Novel, states that “Fitzgerald achieves both Nick’s and the reader’s troubled repulsions in the world of Gatsby by producing spiritually resonating distortions and symbols that defamiliarize the world and make it strange” (p. 326). An example of this is in the symbolism of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes. The symbolism is prominent closer to the end when Wilson is staring at the old advertisement, “I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me but you can’t fool God” (167). The eyes symbolize more than just God, they symbolize religion within America because the “eyes of God”, ironically, are in an advertisement (Norris, 326). The bond to objects is found in the symbols of cars and driving. Those in the 1920’s began to define others by their possessions this is the reason many think Myrtle and Gatsby are killed: “people confuse the cars with their drivers” (Peck, 77). Other symbols that have importance are the light at the end of Daisy’s dock, a symbol of what Gatsby cannot have, and the Valley of Ashes, which symbolizes the death and immorality of wealthy society. The novel offers an abundance of literary devices, which makes it widely

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