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Theme of Automobile in Great Gatsby Symbolism is an invaluable literary tool that may be employed by authors or playwrights to aid in the development of characters or to display themes in novels and plays. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism heavily in his text The Great Gatsby. Various symbols appear throughout the respective text that allow the reader to gain insight into characters personalities and also add value to major themes and ideas in the texts. F.
Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is a text that is reflective of the Period in which it was written, the roaring twenties. It was written in America during the mid- 1920 s, a time of moral decadence and feelings of complacency following the conclusion of the Great War. On the surface, the text appears to be about love, wealth and power, yet this first impression does not do justice to the texts many complexities and hidden depths. The text also explores corruption, idealism, faith and the illusions of dreams through the use of a variety of images and symbols. Primarily, The Great Gatsby deals with the corruption of the great American Dream, personified by Jay Gatsby, a dreamer intent on procuring the attentions of his long-time love Daisy Buchanan at any cost. The American dream offers faith in the possibility of a better life.
The main theory behind the dreams is the belief that material wealth alone can bring that dream to fruition, and to this concept, Gatsby was faithful to the end. For Americans the car symbolizes wealth and social status. Therefore it is suited for Gatsby to own one of the most majestic cars ever created. The car is yellow, a color Fitzgerald uses repeatedly throughout to represent corruption and extravagant wealth. The use of the symbolic automobile can be seen as a demonstration of how an ideal based on materialism alone can be destructive.
This was the fatal car that kills Myrtle Wilson, a woman lacking in self-respect who craves attention and wealth, whose death indirectly leads to Gatsby's own demise. This is the vehicle that will later play a significant role in the death of Myrtle. The automobile is the ultimate status symbol in America, and Gatsby's is typically showy. Traveling in the car, Gatsby presents Nick with a fictionalized history of himself. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was written about a time of gaiety for a certain set of people.
One of the major thematic aspects of the book is driving and the automobile. At the time the book was written the car had begun its establishment as a national institution. This is apparent in one of the central events in the book. Tom's unfaithfulness first comes to light from a car accident in Santa Barbara.
He misguides the car and the misdirection of his life is made glaringly evident. The automobile affected Fitzgerald and it influenced the writing in The Great Gatsby. Driving is equated with living. Nick Carraway, describing their ill-fated trip from New York in Chapter Seven of The Great Gatsby says, .".. we drove on toward death... " (143) This is both literal and metaphorical.
They were driving toward the horrific scene of Myrtle's death. The entire novel deals with living, which is a movement toward death. Driving becomes a metaphor for living. Bibliography: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, Penguin Books, 1998
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Research essay sample on Theme Of Automobile In Great Gatsby
