Symbols
 Everyone has something
that they long and search
for that is just off in the
distance. That is the green
light.
 Literally, green means “go”
(traffic light). It give Gatsby
the “go ahead” to pursue his
dream of Daisy.
 These eyes are from a billboard
that looks over Wilson's garage.
The eyes are always mentioned
whenever Nick is there. They
look over the situation,
objectively, but offer a kind of
judgment on the characters and
their actions.
 George Wilson refers to them as
“The Eyes of God” who sees
everything.
 He watches over Gatsby’s house all
the time. He keeps things safe and
shows Gatsby’s wisdom by his
amusement in all the books Gatsby
has.
 One of the most important themes in the novel is class
and social standing. It is a barrier for almost every
character. East and West Egg acts as a symbol of this in
it's physical makeup. Tom and Daisy live on the East
which is far more refined and well bred. Nick and Gatsby
are on the West which is for people who don't have any
real standing, even if they have money. The green light
shines from the East Egg enticing Gatsby towards what
he has always wanted. And Daisy, the woman that Gatsby
has always wanted but never gets, lives on East Egg. The
barrier that the water creates between these worlds in
symbolic of the barrier that keeps these people apart
from one another and from much of what they want.
 White color is the most
significant to the story. It
symbolizes purity, innocence,
and royalty, but Fitzgerald used
this color to underline the inside
of the wealthy people. This
innocence is just a surface; they
cover their dark side behind it,
like Daisy. Her name symbolizes a
flower: its petals are white, but its
inside is yellow, not as pure (0r
more corrupt) as white.
 Daisy - Her name symbolizes a
flower: its petals are white, but its
inside is yellow.
 Eggs – On the outside, they are
white, but they too are yellow on
the inside. The people who live in
both East and West Egg are
symbolic of the place they inhabit.
They present a white, innocent
façade, but on the inside, they are a
bit corrupt, and less innocent than
they seem.
 The major theme in The Great Gatsby
is immorality of the people in 1920’s,
especially the upper class. Daisy, Tom,
and Jordan are “old money” people.
They wear white clothes, live in white
houses, but they are immoral inside,
they have no scruples.
 It symbolizes a desire for
wealth, and old money.
Fitzgerald attempts to
illustrate that rich people
are “rotten” inside, like
daisies. But “noveau riche”
people are also yellow
inside, like Gatsby.
 Gatsby gained his fortune through dealings
with crime. And this exemplifies a theme of
death of the “American Dream”. The
immoral people have all the money, and,
according to the “American Dream”, money
should be a reward for honesty and hard
work, not for careless selfishness and
immoral behaviors.

 Gatsby and his gold tie
and silver shirt: Gatsby’s
clothing is representative
of his money and his
attempt to capture Daisy.
 Gatsby’s yellow car – a
symbol of the wealth
that money can obtain.
 Yellow (Leaves and Car)
Decay, corruptness
 Green color is also significant. It symbolizes new
money, and hope. In The Great Gatsby green is
associated with Gatsby. He is a “new money” person,
so he lives in a green house, surrounded by green lawn.
He has a hope of repeating the past, what is another
theme in the novel. Every night he reaches toward the
green light on Daisy’s dock. In the end of Chapter IX,
Nick, the narrator of the story, compares the green
light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must
have looked to early settlers of the new nation.
 Industrialization, dreary, bleak,
lifeless
 Examples: Valley of Ashes
Death, abuse,
violence,
destruction
 Examples: Tom
Buchanan breaks
Mrytle’s nose, etc.
 Her voice is like a
Greek Siren – It
calls to Gatsby and
irresistible. Her
voice, according to
Gatsby, is full of
money. It calls to
Gatsby, but it is
hollow.
Status symbol, also
indicates
carelessness and
recklessness
George Wilson
wants Tom’s blue
car.
 Represents the
criminal world;
ruthlessness;
barbarism
 Clock – represents time and the
past
 The Clock sits on the mantle and
when it falls, Gatsby puts it back in
place. Gatsby’s attempt to
manipulate time and past is futile;
he tries to “repeat the past,” but
Nick reminds him “You can’t repeat
the past.” Gatsby replies, “Of course
you can.”
 Faded Timetable – Gatsby’s focus
on time, and plotting to get what he
wants.
 This schedule shows the determination that Gatsby
had to make something of himself in life.
 Summer – Heat – hot –
boiling point – Chapter 7
brings the heat of the
summer to a climax as the
tension of the summer
comes to a “boil.” The
events of the chapter take
place during August and it
is “hot, hot, hot.”
 Shrub / ground cover that
supports life (to indicate
vitality)
 “Then the valley of the ashes
opened out on both sides of us,
and I had a glimpse of Mrs Wilson
straining at the garage pump with
panting vitality as we went by.”