Essay: Symbolism behind Jay Gatsby’s material possessions:
Francis Scott’s Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” is riddled with symbolism which is portrayed in Gatsby’s material possessions in an array of ways. His mansion for example symbolizes the contaminative effect money can have on individuals. One of the most unique qualities about the symbolism within the novel, is in it’s approach and how it is utterly incorporated into the plot and structure; only with a thorough analysis, can we succeed at understanding the author’s intentions. The symbolism of material possessions is repeated constantly throughout the novel and is used to reassure that a dream rooted in possession and materialism can lead to disparage.
Firstly, Gatsby’s house is described in the novel as a “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy” containing “a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy” which portrays Gatsby’s large illegal earnings, and also his carelessness with money which is a major part of his persona. In addition, it represents the grandness and emptiness of the 1920s boom, and only by filling the house with “celebrated people” can he achieve to suppress his feeling of desolation. Also, the house is the physical symbol of Gatsby’s love for Daisy, he used his fortune to create a place that he thought rivaled the houses of the "old money" that had taken her away. …show more content…
While the cars in the novel symbolize the social status of people, the houses symbolize the characteristics of their inhabitants. The symbolism of Gatsby’s material possessions very much summarizes the whole novel: his house, a symbol of his wealth and success becomes a symbol of his colossal loneliness and the utter failure of his pursuit to happiness. And his car, a symbol of power and social status becomes a prelude of his own death and failure at achieving Daisy’s
Francis Scott’s Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” is riddled with symbolism which is portrayed in Gatsby’s material possessions in an array of ways. His mansion for example symbolizes the contaminative effect money can have on individuals. One of the most unique qualities about the symbolism within the novel, is in it’s approach and how it is utterly incorporated into the plot and structure; only with a thorough analysis, can we succeed at understanding the author’s intentions. The symbolism of material possessions is repeated constantly throughout the novel and is used to reassure that a dream rooted in possession and materialism can lead to disparage.
Firstly, Gatsby’s house is described in the novel as a “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy” containing “a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy” which portrays Gatsby’s large illegal earnings, and also his carelessness with money which is a major part of his persona. In addition, it represents the grandness and emptiness of the 1920s boom, and only by filling the house with “celebrated people” can he achieve to suppress his feeling of desolation. Also, the house is the physical symbol of Gatsby’s love for Daisy, he used his fortune to create a place that he thought rivaled the houses of the "old money" that had taken her away. …show more content…
While the cars in the novel symbolize the social status of people, the houses symbolize the characteristics of their inhabitants. The symbolism of Gatsby’s material possessions very much summarizes the whole novel: his house, a symbol of his wealth and success becomes a symbol of his colossal loneliness and the utter failure of his pursuit to happiness. And his car, a symbol of power and social status becomes a prelude of his own death and failure at achieving Daisy’s