Pink Suit In The Great Gatsby

Superior Essays
Bryce Gfroerer, Ryan Sullivan, Saade Grassi, Maya Bussey, Hope Campisano, Anna Hilsman
Mr. Beebe
American Literature
17 February, 2016
Gatsby Representation
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows Jay Gatsby on his quest for love. Gatsby fixates on the idea that he is destined to be with Daisy; however, this quest for love becomes much more difficult once Daisy is married. What starts as just a small crush quickly grows until it consumes Gatsby’s life. His sole purpose becomes restoring his love with Daisy. This obsession, however, comes at a great cost. Jay Gatsby causes the downfall of his own character because his lack of social class springs tension between the other characters and himself, and his fixation of Daisy causes him
…show more content…
The first symbol used to show Gatsby’s newly rich social status is the pink suit. The pink suit infuriates Tom, an east-egger, to the point of yelling, “An Oxford man! Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit!” (Fitzgerald 122). This pink suit demonstrates that despite all his great wealth, Gatsby still lacks the social refinement that the east-eggers have. Likewise, the money and alcohol on Gatsby’s hands further exhibit the fact that Gatsby is of new money. This shady business the Gatsby partakes in sources dissension between the more sophisticated class and himself. Tom shows this resentment for Gatsby and other west-eggers complaining that the “newly rich people are just big bootleggers” (Fitzgerald 107). Lastly, the two fighting rams symbolize the rivalry between Tom and Gatsby. These two characters constantly butt like rams going back and forth with banter and disgraceful slurs. This rivalry is seen when Gatsby pretends to be friendly and calls Tom “the polo player” (Fitzgerald 105). Tom, however, resents this name and demands for Gatsby to stop calling him that. Despite this, Gatsby does not stop and “Tom remained the “polo player” for the rest of the evening” (Fitzgerald 105). These symbols exhibit Gatsby’s lack of social class and the conflicts that leads …show more content…
Ever since meeting Daisy back in St. Louis, Gatsby spends the rest of his life trying to earn enough wealth to impress her. Gatsby desperately wants to be with Daisy which is his deepest desire and want in his heart. This is displayed with the green light which symbolizes Daisy. No matter what happened “Gatsby believed in the green light” (Fitzgerald 180). Likewise, Gatsby dreams of being with Daisy and impressing her. This is the dominant thing that Gatsby thinks about in his head and tries to do. The big house and Gatsby and Daisy together represent the things Gatsby thinks

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    When Nick first sees Daisy, he notes they are “like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses…” [qtd in Schneider]. In the beginning, Gatsby is seen gazing up at the “silver pepper of the stars”, Silver and gold is associated with the hope and the promise that dictate Gatsby’s life, as well as the color of money. White, Silver, and Gold combined are a symbol of a corrupt mixture of…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Daisy still thought she had everything. Wealth, love and happiness, which all fall into the category of The American dream, but she discovers that she has nothing. Daisy actually has a child who doesn’t seem significant to her. The kid is never around, which shows quite a bit about Daisy. When her kid was born, Daisy said, “I’m glad it’s a girl.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Symbolic Music in The Great Gatsby Music. Another language of modern society. The Great Gatsby is a famous novel written by Scott Fitzgerald that tells the story of a man by the name of Jay Gatsby who has big dreams and ambitions. Although he is quite wealthy and achieves part of that dream, he lingers upon the desire to marry his dream girl, Daisy Buchanan. This novel is popular for its utilization of music from the Jazz Age.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place during the 1920s, where a man, Gatsby, desires a woman, Daisy, and does whatever it takes to have her. Love can stop none, not even Gatsby, as he chases Daisy through obstacles. Fitzgerald uses the past and future, dreams and reality, and poverty and wealth to impact Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses deception represent past and future. Early on, while in the present, Gatsby smiled at Nick, and “to believe in yourself,” which reveals Gatsby’s deceiving smile (pg. 48).…

    • 1458 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People try to impress others by dressing nice, working on their presentations, and focusing on material goods. Within The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald. Gatsby meets a girl named daisy. Soon after he leave for the war and daisy becomes impatient waiting for gatsby to come back so she starts dating other people again.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby as part of the AP Curriculum? "Is this book interesting?", "Will my students enjoy it?" , "Is this novel truly AP Level?". These are just a few of the many questions that run through a teacher 's head when he or she is selecting a novel for their AP English Class. AP stands for Advanced Placement, and the whole objective of an Advanced Placement English Class is to give students a glimpse of what a college class is like, but more so to prepare them for the Advanced Placement English Exam.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Love can take a person on an unforgettable and otherwise unattainable journey. Jay Gatsby, the love-stricken protagonist in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is pulled into this journey which brings back his past. Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s new neighbor and friend, narrates the situation he sees involving his married cousin, Daisy, who is caught between Gatsby and her husband, Tom Buchanan. Tom reveals to Nick the affair he is having with another married woman, Myrtle Wilson and relationships grow intense. With Nick’s assistance, Gatsby and Daisy reunite, followed by a rollercoaster of events, including murder and suicide.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby Synthesis Essay The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, represents the theme that the American dream is no longer achievable. Happiness eludes those who only want more because as new things arise the temptation is always there, to be one step ahead of everyone else and have it all. Jay Gatsby represents the constant striving to capture something that a person believes will finally make them happy. He wants Daisy, his love from long ago that was supposed to wait for him.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Problematic Love The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is seen as one of the greatest novels with the style of the 1920s. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway who tells the story of his time in New York. During his time in New York, Nick sees the corruptions of the wealthy. He helps with the corruption of Jay Gatsby who wants to be with Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan.…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People who are careless about what they do not only affect their own lives, but they also end up changing or altering others’ lives as well. This was the case throughout the entire novel, entitled The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald starts off the novel with an ambitious, young man by the name of Nick Carraway. This man moves to West Egg in New York to become a bonds man, but soon ends up dropping his aspiring plan to follow Jay Gatsby on a wild ride. Jay Gatsby, referred to as Gatsby throughout the novel, has newfangled wealth, but is chasing after a woman by the name of Daisy—who is married to Tom Buchanan who is old money.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Jim Cullen “The American Dream”, Cullen argues that in order to obtain the American Dream you must continuously strive for what you want no matter what the circumstances are. Cullen explores different aspects of the American Dream and shows how it shaped the American identity. Two aspects Cullen describes is the pursuit of happiness and work ethic. Cullen describes pursuit of happiness as the bases of the whole American Dream as in if one wants to pursue happiness then they must do all the other aspects. Work ethic described by Jim Cullen is that in order to achieve the American dream you must work hard and if you don 't you will not become successful.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The characters of The Great Gatsby can all be viewed in two opposing ways. They have a personality and aura about them that nobody would ever question. In an era of unprecedented wealth and personal freedom, there is so much more to these characters than first meets the eye. There is no better example of this than Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, a member of the “new” rich, holds extrordanary parties every weekend at his estate on the shore of West Egg.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Great Gatsby is famous for its symbolism, and for good reason. The story is filled…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title: The Great Gatsby Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway, a young man who had moved to New York recently, living in a house next to a mystery millionaire, Jay Gatsby in West Egg, Long Island. Mr Gatsby is known to throw large parties that anyone and everyone attends, despite never receiving any invitation. At one of Gatsby 's parties, which Nick gets an invitation to, finally meets that mysterious Jay Gatsby, who wants Nick to do something for him.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Critical Interpretation of The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a 1920 novel written by the American author Scott. Fitzgerald. The novel itself takes place in Long Island, New York throughout the summer of 1922. Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin, peripherally narrates the novel in first-person.…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays