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Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Gatsby with a great deal of symbolism and for good reason. Symbolism in writing adds more meaning and depth to a story and helps the reader think about underlying themes. It can show what is really going on under the surface of the plot. Several issues exemplified through The Great Gatsby were that wealth and power corrupt, people aren’t what they seem, you can’t go back to the past, actions have consequences, and that the idealistic American dream has been replaced by materialism and greed. One of the symbols that Fitzgerald took advantage of was color. If he made a point to mention or emphasize a specific color in the book, it most likely had meaning to it. One of the main issues in the Great Gatsby was materialism and greed. For example, one character is named Daisy. Her name shows that she is like the flower; white or pure looking on the outside, but yellow and corrupted on the inside. For example, when Gatsby went to war, she wouldn’t wait for him and started to date other men. “Suddenly she was again, keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men,” (Fitzgerald, 151). Then later in the book, Daisy accidentally hit Myrtle with a car. “The ‘death car’ as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend,” (Fitzgerald, 137). However, instead of trying to help out or admit to her mistake, Daisy wouldn’t say anything, letting everyone

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