We hope you enjoyed this shortlist of The Great Gatsby symbols. Yet the green light persists as a beacon (literally, in this case) for the lost and optimistic in America, fervent in the promise that anyone can make their dreams a reality. While this is personified by Daisy, the green light and the water between him and his dream comes to represent the differences in old and new money: the rigidity of class in America, the illusory nature of the “American Dream”, the futility of dreaming for something better. Gatsby spends the entire time reaching for a life that is just out of his grasp. This is arguably one of the more prominent and famous symbols in the novel, not only for how memorable it is, but what the light stands for.
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It wouldn’t be Gatsby without the green light that he’s vying for throughout the whole book. The main symbols of the past are Daisy’s green light, the bay between East. He’s a harbinger of significant events, and the only one to look closely at a situation, and at a man who is made of everything carefully constructed and perfected: Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a book all about symbols used to foreshadow, and relay the past and the relationships between the characters. In fact, it’s why we’d call him a symbol. He’s one of the only guests from the party to show up, possibly hinting that this character is more all-knowing, all-seeing, and genuine than he lets on. We see the owl-eyed man at the very end too, at Gatsby’s funeral. Gatsby wants to be seen as well-read and cultured, despite not having torn open the books (mere props) before. He even likens Gatsby to a theater producer. He’s delighted by the fact the unopened books on Gatsby’s shelf are real: Gatsby went to great lengths to tailor his image, and the owl-eyed man remarks that Gatsby’s attention to detail is commendable. We first meet the owl-eyed man in Gatsby’s library during a party.
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Here’s a weird Fitzgerald character that acts, in his own right, as a sort of symbol for framing Gatsby. If East and West Egg represent the differences in old and nouveau riche, the Valley of Ashes would be the slums: dirty, industrial, and as dead and cold as the remnants of a fire. The Valley of Ashes is a noticeable symbol because of how bleak and foreboding it is. This part of town takes on all things ashen and grey in Gatsby with some quasi-horror zeal.