Scarica The great gatsby themes and symbols e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Themes One of the major topics in The Great Gatsby is how the new millionaires of the 1920s differ from the old aristocracy of the richest families. The clash between “old money” and “new money” manifests symbolic geography: East Egg represents aristocracy as Daisy and Tom, West Egg the self-made rich as Gatsby. Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich (Gatsby comes from a humble family and he made every effort to rise above poverty) as Vulgar Gaudy Ostentatious people lacking in grace and taste. Gatsby, for example, lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce. Gatsby, on the other hand, whose wealth derives from criminal activity, has a sincere and loyal heart, remaining outside Daisy’s window until four in the morning in Chapter 7 simply to make sure that Tom does not hurt her. Ironically, Gatsby’s good qualities (loyalty and love) lead to his death, as he takes the blame for killing Myrtle rather than letting Daisy be punished. In contrast, the old aristocracy possesses grace taste elegance The Buchanans lives in a tasteful home and Daisy and Jordan Baker wears flowing white dresses. However, they lack in heart, they are careless, selfish, so used to money that they never worry about hurting others. The Buchanans exemplify this stereotype when, at the end of the novel, they simply move to a new house far away rather than attend Gatsby’s funeral. Does the book contain real love? The Great Gatsby is about two loveless marriages: Tom and Daisy Buchanan and between George and Myrtle Wilson. In both cases, the marriages seem to be unions of convenience than actual love. -Myrtle explains that she married George because she hoped he’d raise her class status. -Daisy nearly given up her marriage the day before her wedding -Tom had an affair with Myrtle but the couple is well-suited because of their class and desire for fun and material possessions. -Gatsby’s passion for Daisy seems more a desire to possess something difficult to obtain than actual love. Gatsby’s dream of loving Daisy is ruined by the difference in their social statuses, he used crime to make enough money to impress her and a lifestyle based on materialism. Gatsby instills Daisy with a kind of idealized perfection that she neither wants to possess. -Nick dates Jordan Baker only for curiosity. But they generally emotionally distant. Symbols The Green Light The green light represents: -Gatsby’s hopes and dreams -Gatsby associates it with Daisy -it is associated with the American dream (we are going to talk about it later)
