In the novel the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald symbolism is a reoccurring technique that is used to show the idea of the American dream and how its illusion falls into everyones eyes. In this novel the illusion of the American Dream is used to control the characters actions and how they live their lives. The story line revolves around everyone thinking they need to live up to the expectations of the rich society around them. What they do not realise is that the illusion is completely false and only exists in all of their heads. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols throughout the novel to show what life was like in the roaring 20’s and gives us a slight insight on the living patterns the NYC residents went through everyday. Three key symbols that portray this idea are The Green Light, The Eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg and Water.
The first idea that is used to convey that the American dream is an illusion is the green light. The green light is located at the end of Daisy’s doc. It represents the hopes and dreams that Gatsby has of his future wth Daisy. This for him is the American dream. In The first time we get introduced to Gatsby is when he is reaching out towards the green light.
1 Comment
Add Yours →Hi Mikaela,
Well done on making a start with this. You have moved through the points I gave you for an introduction well.
Make sure you make the connection between ‘illusion’ and the symbols really clear. At the moment, it seems like you might be going in two different directions- character and illusion.
Now move to building your body paragraphs!
Mrs. P