"The Great Gatsby" symbolism and important connections
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Created by:
meghanb318 on May 15, 2008
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9 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Green light | Hope (color green symbolizes hope), desire (for money and Daisy) |
| Myrtle's death scene | Splitting of two facets of femininity - wife and lover - this split leads to her death, punishment for unfaithfulness, brings group out of their fantasy |
| Daisy's name | Daisies are weeds, white on the outside and yellow on the inside (Daisy acts pure on the outside but is actually cowardly and self-centered on the inside), daisies are common and persistant, loves-me-loves-me-not game, daisies represent fragility and femininity |
| Valley of Ashes | Blurs vision and causes distorted perception (disillusionment after WWI), blank/ cleansing area between city and suburbia, the fall of traditionalistic/ conservative society, area for people to rid themselves of reality |
| Movie industry | Emergence of recognizable celebrities, always have an ethereal and unapproachable quality about them when present in "Gatsby", lives of characters begin to reflect movies (drama, affairs, etc) |
| Prohibition | Glamorized bootleggers (Gatsby's "drugstore" business), excessive drinking at parties, arrival of organized crime, changing/ loosening of morals for both men and women |
| Cultural Civil War | War between old money and new money (evident in separation of West and East Egg crowds), old money = traditionalist = Daisy and Tom, new money = cosmopolitan, modernist = Gatsby, changes in morals reflected in women |
| Billboard | Eyes of God always watching and judging emerging immoral/ materialistic society, rejection of tradition, mentioned when events take place that are or need to be scrutinized, rise of consumerism (advertising, preoccupation with material things), yellow glasses = cowardice = afraid to face the truth |
| Fitzgerald's opinion on "society" and America | Shows preference for new money (old money are portrayed as villains), almost autobiographical, portrays the superficiality and greed of society (crowds at Gatsby's parties compared to lack of crowd at his funeral, everyone only out for themselves, only concerned with finding a good time) |
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