Preview

The Great Gatsby Compared to the Wasteland

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1245 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Gatsby Compared to the Wasteland
Fitzgerald 's Great Gatsby and Elliot 's The Wasteland are two stories that similarly express the modernist post-war disillusionment. Both stories comment pessimistically on the direction that our world is moving in from the post-war modernist perspective. Both men looked past the roaring twenties, and realized that this time period was actually a moral wasteland. The final paragraphs of The Great Gatsby sum up their mutual lack of faith in American culture to improve. Fitzgerald uses a number of both direct and indirect ways to comment on what has happened to America. The green light is a recurring symbol in this book that has many deep meanings. Beginning in the first chapter, when Nick compares the green bulk of America rising from the ocean to the green light at the end of Daisy 's dock, this symbol takes on many meanings. This is the green light that drives Gatsby, this is the green light symbolizes the new money and materialism in the world. This shows that money is now the new driving force in the world, and that people work to consume. This ties into the fact that Gatsby went to great lengths to become rich solely to impress Daisy with his wealth. Additionally, Gatsby showed off this wealth by showing her all of the shirts that he had purchased. All of this points towards the emerging consumerism in American society. The green also seems to symbolize the automotive industry, which was one of the biggest parts of the new consumer culture. Henry Ford made a policy of paying his workers high wages, because he realized that if they were paid more, they themselves would become consumers of his products. Today, cars are often seen as a status symbol, which began back in the 1920 's. The Wasteland of Elliot 's is analogous to the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City. It is an industrial wasteland that was clearly created by large corporations and industries. This valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay created by limitless

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gatsby “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, trembling” as he reached for the green light at the end of a dock across the bay. That dock belonged to Daisy Buchanan, the object of Jay Gatsby’s affection. He had longed for her for so long, and now, he felt as if he could almost touch her. She was just across the bay, and yet still so far away. He felt compelled to go after her. The color green is symbolic of Gatsby’s drive-his drive for Daisy, as well as his drive for wealth and the American Dream. On a traffic light, green means “go,” and this green light told Gatsby to go for his goals, to keep on trying to win Daisy again. He did everything in his power to achieve that. He amassed great wealth in order to impress her. He moved to the East and bought a house just across the water from the one she shared with her husband. Every weekend, he held lavish parties, full of strangers that neither had interest in him nor interested him in any way, all in hopes that by some slight chance Daisy would enter his doors one Saturday evening. He had determination, and to him, that green light was an encouragement to keep on going, to continue working toward that dream of being with Daisy. Gatsby also had great determination in acquiring his fortunes, and the color green naturally accompanied these pursuits. Starting at a young age, he did everything he could to get his money, legal or otherwise. When he first met his inspiration for all of this, Dan Cody, Gatsby wore a green…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a green light that is placed at the end of the dock where Daisy lives, Gatsby, who lives across the lake, can barely see it from his West Egg mansion. This light is a symbol for the future of Daisy and Gatsby. In chapter 1, he tries to reach towards it during the night as a guide to lead him to his goals. Because his goal of reaching for Daisy is so relevant to the American Dream, it also symbolizes that great idea. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jay Gatsby embodies the idea of the American Dream in the sense that he has spent his whole life trying to achieve it. What Gatsby longs for is not wealth, as he has already achieved prosperity, but love. In the novel, Fitzgerald depicts Gatsby standing alone on the dock, reaching out toward a green light that can never be reached. Nick says, “. . . [Gatsby] he stretched out his arm toward the dark water in a curious way, and . . . involuntarily, I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away” (Fitzgerald 20-21). The green light is a symbol of hope, representing Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The color green is a very important symbol used throughout the book because it symbolizes the the hazy and eluding future with Daisy that Gatsby was trying to reach. One of the most important representation of the green color is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock that Gatsby was extending his arm out to. This symbol leads to the theme of the American dream because Gatsby went from poor to rich to reach his goal but failed. Nick claims,”Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eludes us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Green is associated with both the green light of Daisy's dock and the "green breast of the new world," which unites the hope and promise of Gatsby' s dream with America. The color green is traditionally associated with spring, hope, and youth. Throughout the novel, green has many possible interpretations, but its use to explain Gatsby’s character is probably the most meaningful in the story. It is also probable that Fitzgerald uses green to symbolize money and its power in society. Money rules the lives of the people in the story. Gatsby needs money to live the life that he does. Gatsby also feels he needs the money to get back together with Daisy. Gatsby has a large green lawn and green ivy going up his house. Inside Gatsby’s car, the passengers sit "in a sort of green leather conservatory." All of these things represent the riches, as well as the importance of money in Gatsby’s…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby Symbolism Essay

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The first symbol we see in the book is the green light at the end of Gatsby’s pier. The first time we hear of it, we do not think much of it because all we see is Gatsby just staring at it. Literally we think of this light as something that just lights up the pier, but is a little more than that. The reason Gatsby moved to this house was to be right across the bay from Daisy, but this light is not just about Daisy. The green light represents the whole lifestyle he wanted to have with Daisy. He wanted to be rich, have the girl, and live the lavish lifestyle of a millionaire. He was able to accomplish two of these things but was able to get the one he most wanted. This is important to the story because during most of the book, Gatsby was doing everything in his power to be with Daisy again. He bought a house close to her, threw parties in attempt to find her, and got his friends to help him get Daisy. Even after all of this he was never able to be with Daisy. So the green light really just symbolized Gatsby’s attempts to win over the girl he loves but never able to do so.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We find out the green light is symbol of Gatsby’s dream and final goal. The green light represents Daisy herself as if she is the final piece of a puzzle to complete Gatsby’s dream. The color green is a symbol saying go, like a green traffic light, the light at the end of the dock is urging Gatsby to go and get Daisy. Being green, the light summons Gatsby to “go ahead”—to "run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . ."(Schneider) The green light concludes the final chapter of the book with Nick’s final words, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And then one fine morning— so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Nick’s words shows how Gatsby went against the current to reach the light, his…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fitzgerald uses the color green to symbolize hope. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock represents Gatsby’s past reminiscence, present reality, and future realization. The emerald glow reminds…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fitzgerald uses the green light at the end of the dock as a symbol for the unattainable. By stretching his arm towards the green light, Gatsby seemed to be longing for it, so much that he trembles at the thought of it. However, Fitzgerald also describes the light as “minute and far away” (21), suggesting that, although Gatsby knows of the light’s existence, it may be impossible for him to reach. This relates to Fitzgerald’s disillusioned belief that the American Dream is unattainable. Therefore, the green light may symbolize Gatsby’s American Dream. Through the use of a green light as a symbol, Fitzgerald conveys the theme that the American Dream is…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1910s and 1920s, red-green traffic lights had first begun to be installed in the United States. In relation to those traffic lights, the green light in Fitzgerald’s novel means “go”. In the context of the plot, the green light symbolizes Gatsby to chase after his dreams. Staring at the green light on Daisy's dock, Gatsby longs to be reunited with Daisy, his lost love. “…he stretched out his arms toward the dark water…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The first of the three symbols, the green light, was a powerful tool in which Fitzgerald used to criticise the loss of the American Dream from the American society. The green light was important because it represented the endless “hope” of which the American Dream promises. The hope for a desire should never be lost if the American Dream is followed correctly; Fitzgerald showed that this isn’t always true in the American society by showing that Gatsby’s hope fades away when he realizes because of class distinction he will never be able to marry Daisy. Fitzgerald emphasizes this though Nick Caraway, his narrator, who observes:…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald deals on one level with Jay Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, but on a deeper level also deals with the Great American Dream. The novel starts and ends with a reference to the green light at the end of the dock, indicating an important symbolism. The first time Nick catches sight of Jay Gatsby, Gatsby “stretched his arms towards the dark water […] [Nick] distinguished nothing except a single green light […] that might have been at the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 2000:25). Fitzgerald ends the novel by again referring to the “green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.” (171).…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism is a major key to Fitzgerald’s novel and he uses it to represent how unattainable American Dream’s are. Fitzgerald uses the green light across the bay to symbolize how unattainable and far away he is from attaining his dream. Gatsby believes that the green light represents his hopes of gaining Daisy is the future…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald uses many symbols. One of which being the green light across the lake. The light represents something that you’ve been yearning for; something you’ve been fighting to get to. For Gatsby, it represents his goals of being with Daisy, even if he has to keep changing himself to get there. Another use of symbolism in this book are the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. These eyes represent the morals americans have lost throughout time. The fading of the sign amoung the Valley of Ashes throughout time. The eyes also symbolize the eyes of God looking down on the earth in despair as people become more and more self centered that they forget to think about others. Thus proving people were so determined to get what they wanted that they wouldn’t be afraid to hurt others in the process.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The green light represents a great deal of things; yet the main concept is how it symbolized Gatsby's longing for a future with Daisy. Finally, when the two reconnect after tea with Nick, they observe the green light. Gatsby realizes that, "the great distance that had separated him from Daisy...was again a green light on a dock" (Fitzgerald 624). After an amazing afternoon with Daisy, Gatsby rather than realizes, believes that after all this time, he is getting what he wanted. At the very end of the story Nick points out how Gatsby really didn't realize that he'd never have her.…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays