Mariah Hanson Block 1, HAS 2/17/14 Gatsby Essay: Symbols In The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald practices the use of contextual and universal symbolism to advance the plot throughout this entire 1920’s novel. The Great Gatsby is an extraordinary piece of work that offers an interesting view into the world of the 1920’s throughout many characters of the book. The novel explores the idea of carelessness and tragedy in the 1920’s. Fitzgerald also strongly depicts the 1920’s as a time for deterioration of social and moral values which is driven by the desire of greed and wealth. In the end, Fitzgerald uses symbolism through the green light, The Valley of Ashes and the weather to advance the plot and it ultimately leads to a very tragic ending that was foreshadowed multiple times throughout this novel. Throughout this novel, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is extremely apparent and drives Gatsby to unthinkable measures to prove his love to Daisy. For example, Gatsby bought a house close to Daisy just so he could throw extravagant parties to impress her and get her attention. At the end of Daisy’s dock, which is situated in East Egg, is a green light. Gatsby can barely see the green light from his house, but this green light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams with Daisy in the future. The green light first appears in chapter one “he stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light” (26). Here, for the first time Nick has just observed Gatsby’s love for Daisy. The green light reminds Gatsby so much of Daisy that he eventually rekindles his love for her which causes many conflicts throughout the book between many of the characters. Gatsby reaches out for the green light like he is reaching out for Daisy; he yearns for Daisy and her love. Therefore, the contextual symbolism of the green light drives the plot through Gatsby’s love of Daisy; eventually resulting in the corruption of Tom and Daisy’s marriage and many other significant events. The green light provides hope for Gatsby making him want to get back together with Daisy, advancing the plot even further. This is one instance of how the usage of symbolism has driven the plot of this novel. Many times throughout this book the 1920’s is glorified through the Buchanan and Gatsby’s fancy lifestyle. The 1920’s was often thought to be a time of carelessness and wealth for many, but it was also a time of despair and struggle for others. The Valley of Ashes is a key symbol of moral and social decay that the lower class of the 1920’s faced. The Valley of Ashes challenges the idea of how the 1920’s isn’t all big parties and fancy shiny things like Gatsby’s parties and the Buchanan’s life style makes it out to be. Many live in the dirty ashes of The Valley of Ashes, struggling to make a living. George Wilson is a prime example of the trouble of the poor in the 1920’s. The Valley of Ashes appears many times throughout this novel, “This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of house and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already mumbling though the powder air,” (27). The Valley of Ashes is obviously not a pleasant place to be and it is very dark and dreary there. It is often seen to be where the upper class dumps their problems which is seen with the killing of Daisy and Tom’s affair with Myrtle in The Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes advances the plot by showing the diversity of the 1920’s. Without George and his garage in The Valley of Ashes the conflict between Gatsby and Wilson would have not occurred. The Valley of Ashes offers perspective by revealing that not everything is what it seems. This is later seen through both Tom and Daisy’s marriage and George’s and Myrtle’s. Overall, The Valley of Ashes is a symbol of plight and decay of the 1920’s advancing the plot by offering a place for many dark and ruthless things to happen outside of the pleasant world of East and West Egg. The Valley of Ashes may offer a spot for evil things to happen but the symbol of weather foreshadows these ideas in many occurrences. The weather plays a key role in advancing the plot by letting the reader indirectly know what may happen next. The characters moods are represented in the weather just like when Gatsby and Daisy met for the first time since their love affair 5 years earlier “ The day agreed upon was pouring rain,” (88). The rain suggests a mood of sadness and awkwardness but after their love for each other rekindles the sun reappears, suggesting happiness and love. In addition to that instance, the weather also foreshadows the main climax of the novel, “The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer,” (120). This hot summer day tells that the main conflict of the book is coming and many conformations between numerous characters happens later in the day. The summer season symbolizes conflict and the climax of the book while the fall season shows death and change. Overall, weather is an important symbol of the coming change and it advances the plot by adding a clue to the conflict that is to come and making emotions run higher. The Great Gatsby explores many themes and ideas that were part of the 1920’s. The use of contextual and universal symbolism advances the plot greatly in various ways. The symbolism of the green light provides hope while The Valley of Ashes provides a place for evil things to happen in what seems like a perfect world of the 1920’s. Lastly the use of weather is a symbolism of what is to come and how it affects the moods and tones of the characters. Ultimately, Fitzgerald uses symbolism through the green light, The Valley of Ashes and the weather to advance the plot. In the end the use of many different symbols leads to a tragic ending that indicates not everything is what it appears. The 1920’s is a great example of a gilded age.