Jay Gatsby, the title character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, is a rich and mysterious man who throws lavish parties at his mansion in West Egg, Long Island. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is revealed to be a romantic idealist who is chasing an unrealistic dream. As such, he comes to symbolize both the extravagant prosperity and careless spirit of the 1920s Jazz Age as well as the unrealistic American Dream that cannot be achieved. Gatsby’s lavish mansion, his nice cars, his expensive clothing, and his luxurious parties are all symbols of his wealth and the spirit of excess in 1920s America. However, clues about Gatsby’s criminal connections and obsession with the past symbolize the idea that his wealth and status have been built on illusion. Overall, the key symbols that represent Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby are:
Gatsby’s Mansion
Gatsby’s luxurious mansion in West Egg overlooking the water is one of the most important symbols in the novel. The mansion represents Gatsby’s newly acquired wealth, with its lavish parties and over-the-top interior decorating signifying the excessive spirit of the Jazz Age. The house is only a façade however – just like much of Gatsby’s persona is an illusion. Fitzgerald describes the exterior as an “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy” with a “tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy.” The interior is furnished with expensive antiques and has a marble swimming pool. Gatsby’s ostentatious mansion symbolizes his achievement of the American Dream – at least materially. He has risen up from his poor past to become rich, with all the trappings of wealth and status surrounding him. However, the house and its chaotic parties also represent how Gatsby’s conception of the dream is misguided and built on illusion.
Gatsby’s Cars
Gatsby’s luxury vehicles also symbolize his wealth and privilege. He owns a rare, cream-colored Rolls Royce – a sign of extreme wealth at the time – as well as a “circus wagon” car. Nick describes Gatsby’s Rolls Royce as “a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns.” The ostentatiousness of the vehicle mirrors Gatsby himself, presenting a flashy and excessive veneer but with hints of something criminal and deceitful beneath the surface (the “monstrous length” and tie to illegal liquor with the “supper-boxes”). The cars, like the mansion, represent how Gatsby has achieved a lavish material version of the American dream, though the underpinnings may be false.
Gatsby’s Clothes
Gatsby’s fancy clothing also represents his wealth and desire to belong in the upper class. He wears expensive suits, ties, and shoes in the latest 1920s styles. For example, at his reunion with Daisy, Gatsby wears a “gorgeous pink rag of a suit” that represents his excitement and vulnerability. His pink suit suggests he does not truly fit in with the East Egg elite he is trying to impress. Gatsby also wears owl-eyed spectacles, which represent his constant need to observe and “see” things, especially Daisy, from a distance. His lavish wardrobe overall symbolizes that he has “made it” in material terms but views the world through rose-colored glasses, not seeing reality.
Gatsby’s Parties
The over-the-top, debaucherous parties Gatsby throws at his mansion symbolize both the exuberance and emptiness of the Jazz Age. The parties are lavish and well-attended, with hundreds of guests drinking, dancing, and reveling without inhibition. They represent the youth, vibrancy, and endless possibilities associated with 1920s America. However, the parties are also replete with drunkenness, gossiping, and vulgarity. None of the guests seem to know Gatsby or care about him – they just want free food, drink, and entertainment. This symbolizes the vacuousness lurking beneath Jazz Age high society. Additionally, the “new money” guests disdain Gatsby’s parties even as they attend them, showing he does not truly belong. Overall, the parties show the allure of Gatsby’s vision of wealth and status, but also how hollow it is at the core.
The Green Light
The green light situated at the end of Daisy’s dock that Gatsby gazes at longingly is a key symbol in the novel. The green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams – specifically, his dream of one day being reunited with Daisy and having a future with her. However, the green light is located across the bay on East Egg, showing how distant and remote his dream of being with Daisy remains. The green color symbolizes money, jealousy, and the promise of Spring – suggesting wealth, desire, and hope. However, green can also symbolize sickness or decay, foreshadowing how Gatsby’s dream will slip through his fingers. Overall, the green light symbolizes the grand ambitions and wistful longing of the American Dream, and how it lies frustratingly out of reach for Gatsby.
The Valley of Ashes
The bleak, polluted Valley of Ashes that separates West Egg from New York City represents the moral decay and emptiness hiding beneath the flashy exterior of Jazz Age society. Fitzgerald describes the Valley of Ashes as a “desolate area of land” with “ashes grow[ing] like wheat” where “occasional houses” gaze down “at us from their melancholy hills.” The valley represents the moral decay and aimlessness lurking within 1920s American life. Although the Jazz Age outwardly appears to be all about glitz, glamour, and prosperity, an ethical wasteland full of lost souls actually exists beneath the surface. The valley also symbolizes how the reckless pursuit of wealth leads to corruption and ruin. Overall, the Valley of Ashes symbolizes the moral and spiritual decay that results from focusing solely on empty materialism, which Gatsby does.
The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg
The giant, bespectacled eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that gaze out from a faded advertising billboard in the Valley of Ashes symbolize the eyes of God watching over society’s moral decay. The eyes represent a higher power gazing down and judging American society as it loses itself in empty materialism and hedonistic pleasures. Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes watch over the valley without passing any kind of tangible judgment, paralleling how God watches over a wayward society obliviously chasing wealth. The huge eyes symbolize the realization that spiritual poverty and decay lie beneath the flashy surface of the 1920s. Overall, Dr. Eckleburg’s watchful eyes symbolize the omnipresent moral judgment of a higher power as American society falls into decadence.
Gatsby’s Schedules and Lists
Gatsby’s habit of making schedules, lists, and writing things down in notebooks symbolizes his attempt to gain control and order over his desires and his life. For instance, after meeting Daisy again, Gatsby makes a schedule detailing his rituals for self-improvement. Additionally, he shows lists of party guests to Nick and keeps notes on celebrities who have attended his parties. These symbols represent Gatsby’s attempt to quantify, categorize, and gain mastery over his dreams of wealth and sophistication. However, the fact that Gatsby never adheres to these schedules shows they are an artificial method of maintaining order. In the end, Gatsby’s meticulous notes are fruitless – representing the futility of his attempt to control fate and achieve his unrealistic ambitions through material means alone.
Conclusion
In summary, Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby functions as a vessel for key symbols that represent the American Dream, the spirit of 1920s Jazz Age America, and themes of illusion vs. reality. His lavish mansion, cars, clothes, and parties symbolize his achievement of wealth and status, but also the excess and emptiness hiding beneath the surface. Other symbols like the Valley of Ashes and Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes represent moral decay and lost spirituality. And symbols like the green light and Gatsby’s schedules symbolize his unrealistic ambitions and inability to recreate the past. Through these multifaceted symbols, the character of Jay Gatsby comes to embody both the alluring, romantic possibilities and the ultimate shallowness and impossibility of the American Dream.
References
| Source | Reference |
|---|---|
| Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925. | Primary source for analysis of symbols and characters. |
| Callahan, John F. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Evolving American Dream: The ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ in Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and The Last Tycoon.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 42, no. 3, 1996, pp. 374–395. | Literary analysis of how Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the American Dream evolved throughout his work. |
| Person, Leland S. “Herstory’ and Daisy Buchanan.” American Literature, vol. 50, no. 2, 1978, pp. 250–257. | Feminist analysis of Daisy Buchanan’s character and relation to Jay Gatsby. |