Key symbols in the novel:
East Egg, Long Island: This community, where the Buchanans reside, represents the long-established aristocrats, or "old money." Its residents generally are corrupt and jaded.
West Egg, Long Island: This community, where Gatsby and Nick Carraway reside, represents the nouveaux riches, or "new money." Its residents tend to be regarded as upstart outsiders by the East Egg crowd.
The Green Light: It represents Gatsby’s dreams and gives him the go-ahead to pursue them.
The novel’s major symbol of the corruption of the American Dream is the valley of ashes – the ashes represent the fragility of the Dream. The valley represents the corruption that the upper-class characters inflict on society.
The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg, Ophthalmologist: Displayed prominently on a billboard, they apparently represent the eyes of God watching the characters play out the drama. Dr T J Eckleberg represents the moral blindness of all the major characters:
Gatsby’s blindness to Daisy’s emptiness
Tom’s blindness to his own hypocrisy
Myrtle’s blindness in mistaking Jordan for Daisy / Tom for her salvation
George Wilson in mistaking Dr Eckleberg for God / in killing the wrong man.
The Weather: It represents the shifting moods of the characters. the intense heat is symbolic of intense emotions. For example, Gatsby and Tom angrily confront each other in a hotel room on the hottest day of the year.
The car – a symbol of wealth and an instrument of destruction.
Look at the cars belonging to Daisy, Nick, Gatsby, George Wilson.
Bad driving is linked with lack of moral direction truth and deceit
The cuff buttons of human molars represent the predatory aspects of human beings (paralleled byTom’s purchase of cuff buttons in his last meeting with Nick)
The clock is an obvious symbol of time running out for Gatsby
Gatsby’s shirts the “ineffable gaudiness” of his universe
Colour symbolism green represents the unlimited promise of the dream (but is a blend of yellow and blue) yellow / gold is the symbol of money and represents the vulgar
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