Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet that, "What 's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but if that is so why should we even use names, if not to imply something about the object referred to. The Great Gatsby was written in the era of the modernist movement, which specifically focused on the ideas of subconscious thought. Authors in this era strove to write in a format to emphasize the subconscious mind and its understanding of meanings both literal and figurative. In a similar fashion to the other authors in the time period, Fitzgerald uses names in The Great Gatsby to emphasize the important character traits for all characters in the novel; he uses this method on characters who only appear a few times,
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Li is correct in this statement, but it is also necessary to point out the role in which his name plays in this characterisation, as he only appears in very few scenes in this book, yet he leaves a profound impact on the reader. This is because his name, being starkly different from the others in the book in both meaning and origin, guarantees that the character leaves an impression on the …show more content…
One such example is found in the Student Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald by Linda Pelzer, wherein she states that, “Daisy’s name combines with the novel’s color symbolism to evoke the white and gold colors of wealth” (Pelzer 97). I would accept this analysis of Daisy’s name, except for the fact that white is not a color of wealth, but rather a color of purity and beginnings. This taken into account it can be assumed that they yellow of the flower at full bloom does point to her extravagant wealth and her attraction to the wealth and extravagance of Gatsby.
In the end, it is very clear that Fitzgerald took into account that many associations of the meanings of the names he used when writing The Great Gatsby. He went even further to use these associations to highlight the underlying hopes and dreams of the various characters. In accordance with the style of the times, he did a very good job of using the subconscious to make his writing leave a better
Li is correct in this statement, but it is also necessary to point out the role in which his name plays in this characterisation, as he only appears in very few scenes in this book, yet he leaves a profound impact on the reader. This is because his name, being starkly different from the others in the book in both meaning and origin, guarantees that the character leaves an impression on the …show more content…
One such example is found in the Student Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald by Linda Pelzer, wherein she states that, “Daisy’s name combines with the novel’s color symbolism to evoke the white and gold colors of wealth” (Pelzer 97). I would accept this analysis of Daisy’s name, except for the fact that white is not a color of wealth, but rather a color of purity and beginnings. This taken into account it can be assumed that they yellow of the flower at full bloom does point to her extravagant wealth and her attraction to the wealth and extravagance of Gatsby.
In the end, it is very clear that Fitzgerald took into account that many associations of the meanings of the names he used when writing The Great Gatsby. He went even further to use these associations to highlight the underlying hopes and dreams of the various characters. In accordance with the style of the times, he did a very good job of using the subconscious to make his writing leave a better