God in The Great Gatsby Throughout history and in many works of literature, the ideas of God and religion play very important roles in determining how people and characters act and think. Often, stories include symbols that represent God or godly power. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 book The Great Gatsby chronicles the story of a rich criminal named Gatsby who spends all of his time going after Daisy, his love, but ultimately fails, resulting in a catastrophic series of events which culminate in Gatsby’s death. In the story, several symbols emerge that are often associated with God, leading the reader to believe that these have some significance to the story. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses several symbols that represent God to
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Weather is something that is often associated with godly power and can represent the ideas or emotions of God, or can represent a sentiment being expressed by God. In The Great Gatsby, weather shows up many times, and often foreshadows important events. Although this foreshadowing on its own may not represent the idea of God, when combined with other symbolism, it is indicative of some kind of higher power. The different types of weather often correspond with the plot, suggesting that a higher power may be involved in what is happening. For example, on the day that Daisy and Gatsby meet up again after five years of not seeing each other, it “was pouring rain” (83). As the reader later learns, Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship will ultimately fail, so the fact that the weather was dreary and discouraging on the day that it was created gives the idea that it was doomed to fail from the start, and a higher power is sending them a sign that signifies that fact. Later in the story, many of the tensions between the characters boil over on one day when Nick, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, and Jordan go to the city, which results in a heated argument. Nick describes the weather on the day that this event occurs as “broiling ... certainly the warmest of the summer” (114). The hot weather on this day foreshadows the heated argument that is on the verge of erupting, as though God …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald uses several symbols to show the reader that the idea of God is very important to the story. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald uses symbols such as the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, descriptions of weather, and the character of Owl-Eyes to represent how God is watching over and judging the actions of the characters. This story includes many characters who commit immoral actions without thought of the consequences and who do not believe in any kind of religion, so the addition of a God-like figure suggests that these characters do in fact receive retribution for their actions. Additionally, the story is set in the 1920s, a time that is often considered to have been immoral, so perhaps the addition of a God-like figure provides reassurance that in the end, people cannot get away with whatever they want, because a higher power is watching over
Weather is something that is often associated with godly power and can represent the ideas or emotions of God, or can represent a sentiment being expressed by God. In The Great Gatsby, weather shows up many times, and often foreshadows important events. Although this foreshadowing on its own may not represent the idea of God, when combined with other symbolism, it is indicative of some kind of higher power. The different types of weather often correspond with the plot, suggesting that a higher power may be involved in what is happening. For example, on the day that Daisy and Gatsby meet up again after five years of not seeing each other, it “was pouring rain” (83). As the reader later learns, Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship will ultimately fail, so the fact that the weather was dreary and discouraging on the day that it was created gives the idea that it was doomed to fail from the start, and a higher power is sending them a sign that signifies that fact. Later in the story, many of the tensions between the characters boil over on one day when Nick, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, and Jordan go to the city, which results in a heated argument. Nick describes the weather on the day that this event occurs as “broiling ... certainly the warmest of the summer” (114). The hot weather on this day foreshadows the heated argument that is on the verge of erupting, as though God …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald uses several symbols to show the reader that the idea of God is very important to the story. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald uses symbols such as the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, descriptions of weather, and the character of Owl-Eyes to represent how God is watching over and judging the actions of the characters. This story includes many characters who commit immoral actions without thought of the consequences and who do not believe in any kind of religion, so the addition of a God-like figure suggests that these characters do in fact receive retribution for their actions. Additionally, the story is set in the 1920s, a time that is often considered to have been immoral, so perhaps the addition of a God-like figure provides reassurance that in the end, people cannot get away with whatever they want, because a higher power is watching over