Wednesday, June 5, 2013

What was a symbolic element of The Great Gatsby?

There are many symbolic elements in The Great Gatsby; they're one of the most notable features of the book. Arguably the most important is the symbol of green light, which represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams of being reunited with Daisy. This can be observed in the famous scene in chapter 1 where Jay stretches out his arms toward the light at the end of Daisy's dock. He's reaching out towards her, both literally and figuratively, demonstrating how much he wants to be with her.
Yet all Gatsby's hopes and dreams in relation to the woman of his dreams are destined to be dashed, as the social gap between Daisy and Jay, between East Egg and West, is simply too great to be narrowed. Metaphorically speaking, Jay will always be reaching out to Daisy's light without ever coming close.

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