The Great Gatsby Theme Essay

To both the fictional characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, and its endless readers, Jay Gatsby’s overly decadent lifestyle and lavish parties were considered to be the ultimate American Dream and a source of excitement and pleasure. However, a close evaluation of the themes of the The Great Gatsby reveals the meretriciousness of wealth and how it brings more displeasure in life than it brings happiness. The first symbol expressing this theme is the color green, specifically the green light and how it shows desires beyond wealth. Another symbol supporting this theme is Jay Gatsby’s mansion which contains the collection of Gatsby’s expensive exotic items, but is vacuous of people who truly love him, showing that possessions don’t bring …show more content…
The final symbols discussed in this literary analysis are Daisy and Tom and how they show the unhappiness wealth can bring.

Though many desire wealth, Gatsby has obtained it, yet it has not brought him happiness. The green light of the Buchanan’s dock, that Gatsby observes and longs for from his dock, is probably the most well known symbol in The Great Gatsby, and it is used as evidence for many different themes. Its green color, and other green things, represent potentially unattainable things of desire, very few of which are wealth. The