Symbols in The Great Gatsby Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, there are many symbols that help the novel portray a greater plot than just a wealthy man who falls in love with a woman. These symbols help the reader divulge into greater thoughts that help the reader better analyze the plot and structure of the novel itself; they keep the reader on the edge of their seat of what is about to happen next. These symbols also help to give the reader better insight into the characters’ thoughts and feelings, especially when it comes to Mr. Jay Gatsby. Common recurring themes that play a major role in the novel, The Great Gatsby, are the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of Ashes. The green light is a recurring theme in this novel, for it helps the reader better understand Mr. Gatsby and his everlasting love for Daisy; the green light is seen as his key to happiness with the love of his life, Daisy. This is personified in the novel by the quote “...I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 21). This quote means that Gatsby is reaching toward the green light in an
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T.J. Eckleburg symbolize how the lifestyles of both the characters and society are seen as overly extravagant and superfluous. The author personifies this idea through the use of the quote “...Then as Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s faded eyes came into sight down the road, I remembered Gatsby’s caution about gasoline” (Fitzgerald 122). This quote means that the eyes were always lurking in the characters’ minds as judgement of their lifestyle. Although, Gatsby did live an over-the-top life, he still stayed true to his blue collar roots; he knew that he was privileged to live with his means. Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes are the author’s way of criticizing lifestyles that he sees as unjust and
T.J. Eckleburg symbolize how the lifestyles of both the characters and society are seen as overly extravagant and superfluous. The author personifies this idea through the use of the quote “...Then as Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s faded eyes came into sight down the road, I remembered Gatsby’s caution about gasoline” (Fitzgerald 122). This quote means that the eyes were always lurking in the characters’ minds as judgement of their lifestyle. Although, Gatsby did live an over-the-top life, he still stayed true to his blue collar roots; he knew that he was privileged to live with his means. Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes are the author’s way of criticizing lifestyles that he sees as unjust and