2009. A symbol is an object,
action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of
associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea,
clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and,
focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in
the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a
whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
In
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, there are symbols that can easily be
seen everywhere. However, the most dominant symbol in this novel is the green
light. By using the green light as such a significant symbol, Fitzgerald
channels Gatsby through it. When Gatsby goes to reach for the light, he can
never make it there, it always goes out. To help enhance the story as a whole,
the green light creates the initial setting, shows Gatsby’s loss of hope, and
represents how the American Dream is unattainable to Gatsby.
In The Great Gatsby, the
symbolism behind the green light represents hopes and dreams. Gatsby wants more
than anything to get back with Daisy, but this cannot happen for him. He
doesn't realize how everything is always moving forward, and what they used to
have before is no longer there. We see their relationship goes nowhere, because
she has moved on to Tom and she loves him now. In the very beginning of the
novel, Gatsby is looking out across the water and notices a green light. He
reaches out towards it, and that conveys an entire different literary meaning
intended for the readers to pick up on. If it weren’t for his initial drive for
the green light, it wouldn’t be the symbol that is held up to be.
Green is the color of hope. While Gatsby is reaching towards the
green light, he is really reaching for his hopes and dreams to come true with
Daisy. Little does Gatsby know that the green light is actually coming from
Daisy's house, which resembles how he desperately wants to get her back.
Reaching out to this light will lead him to his end goal: getting Daisy. As
hard as he tries, the light doesn't getting any more attainable. It's so far
across the waters, and all he can do is see it. This goes to show how he can't
attain Daisy and all he can do is dream of someday getting her and hope that it
comes true, which we see that it never will.
Gatsby is
representing how America is running down into nothing. He is unable to reach
his goals, and he can’t get what he wants to be happy. He is trying too hard to
fit in with society, and that’s why he isn’t reaching his goals. Currently,
this is how everyone is turning out to be. Everyone is meshing into the same
person, and that is not the right way to live to reach individual goals. The green
light greatly resembles this idea.
If the green light had never been mentioned in the novel, there wouldn't
be a connecting image. Through the light, we can see at the very beginning of
the novel that there is something that Gatsby wants, but we aren't exactly sure
of what that is. As time goes on, we are told that this light stands at the end
of Daisy's dock. Once we know that, as readers, we put the pieces together. There
used to be a “light” between Daisy and Gatsby, but as time went by it slowly
diminished. What he thought was so close and easy to recapture, ended up fading
away right in front of his eyes. Gatsby no longer had anything left to live
for.
No comments:
Post a Comment