The Great Gatsby.

I think I’m the only one who has never read The Great Gatsby prior to being in this class, but everyone I have talked to seems to hate it. The only experience I have with F. Scott Fitzgerald is reading the short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair and I really enjoyed that. As I’m currently reading The Great Gatsby, I think that it really isn’t too bad in my opinion, besides Daisy being rather annoying but I hear most people complain about her. Also, the novel was really slow during the first few chapters but after those few, the story seemed to pick up the pace and it became easier for me to read without dragging the plot. As I’m reading I see some of the symbolism in The Great Gatsby including the green light and the constant infidelity. Although, I think I had help with recognizing the symbolism by listening to other people discuss the novel.

The green light on Daisy’s dock to Gatsby represented his dream of having Daisy once again and I also saw it as a sign to dream and try to go for it. Green has a different symbolic meaning than red. If the light had been red I would have said that that symbolized Gatsby’s dream was dead or had failed. Since the light was green and not red it symbolized that Gatsby still had hope. This was the easiest symbolism in the novel that occurred to me.

All the constant infidelity to me is symbolic of how the American Dream has failed. Tom cheats with Myrtle because he is bored of Daisy, Myrtle cheats on her husband, George, because she wants Tom to provide her with an escape from the Valley of the Ashes. Daisy cheats on Tom with Gatsby because Tom doesn’t provide her with the attention that she wants, that Gatsby gives her. While in Gatsby’s mind having Daisy once again is his “American Dream. No one is happy where they are and they cheat because they think their other significant others can provide them with what they want. Something that turns out to be a false reality. Ultimately, the American Dream dies when Gatsby dies.  

- Brittany