The Great Gatsby Delusion Analysis

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Following a dream and chasing a delusion have an important line between them but if you are incapable of seeing the difference you may end up in a continuous cycle of frustration. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is one of the richest men in West Egg, whose ultimate dream is to reunite with his love from five years ago, Daisy. However in the eyes of the public, she is happily married. In order to get close to her once again, he befriends her cousin Nick, who happens to live right next door. Throughout the novel, one can see all of Gatsby’s attempts to reunite with his true love. Through the use of symbols, Fitzgerald shows that he has the same opinion as Nick: that Gatsby is delusional.

Gatsby dreams of becoming excessively rich by whatever means, for he thinks, it will bring him happiness. When he acquires all his money, he buys a luxurious
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One day, after Nick arrives home from Tom and Daisy’s house, he sees Gatsby standing on his dock. Fitzgerald reveals that Gatsby is worshipping the artificial green light at the end of Daisy’s dock as “-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…[where there was] nothing except a single green light, minute and far away…” (25). The green light is located directly across the lake from Gatsby to represent his goal for the future of once again reuniting with Daisy. Fitzgerald points out how delusional Gatsby seems to be, reaching out to grab the green light, as if there is a possibility he will ever get a hold of it despite the expanse of water before him. Since Gatsby believes becoming rich is part of his way to come closer to Daisy, Fitzgerald chooses the green color to symbolize money which also represents

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