The Great Gatsby is based on a man named Jay Gatsby and his
idealistic infatuation to a girl named Daisy that he met while he was young.
Gatsby was not of a wealthy family and therefore Daisy would not marry him.
Gatsby devoted his life to getting what he needed to win Daisy. After the
war Gatsby became a bootlegger to attain what he needed to win Daisy. In
the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various colors, objects, and
gestures as symbols to portray the lack of moral and spiritual values of
people and the different aspects of society in the 1920’s. The colors
which are spread throughout the novel are green, white, gold, and others.
F. Scott Fitzgerald provides a social commentary on the 1920’s in this
novel. The Great Gatsby is an important American novel and not just a mere
historical document depicting life in the 1920’s. Like other writers of
the 20’s Fitzgerald was fascinated by the spectacle of what had become of
the American Dream and how it had become corrupted by greed
andmaterialistic possessions.
At the end of Chapter One, Nick catches Gatsby stretching his arms
out towards a green light. At the time it is not revealed to us that this
is the light at the end of Daisy’s dock.
he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far
as I was from him 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
26)
Throughout the novel Fitzgerald emphasizes the color green as a
promise of hope. Through Gatsby this promise is corrupted by the …
…. (Northman 24)
The moral values of the time, as Fitzgerald shows us, is greatly
declined in the novel. Gatsby, although he treats Nick as a good friend,
is only concerned with one thing. He wants something from Nick.
And what does Gatsby want of Carraway? “He wants to know,”
continued Jordan, “if you’ll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and
then let him come over.” He wants Carraway, to put this bluntly, to help
him capture a friend’s wife- (Dyson 1401)
The story of Jay Gatsby is deep with meaning and with many
different interpretations. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald shows
us how society acted during the roaring 20’s. He provides us with views
into worlds of love, money, power, and the moral blindness of the time by
using symbols with everyday objects and occurrences.