The Great Gatsby

Please, choose three symbols from ” The Great Gatsby” and write 3-5 pages essay, relating and discussing the symbols in the novel/film, relating the images to the time period, social and cultural background and time period.

Concentrate on the point of view; is Nick Carraway a reliable narrator and why.

Some of the other symbols that you can concentrate on is the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and the time frame.

Does Fitzgerald represent the American Dream in the novel and to what extend? Does he view it as totally dead or still alive?

To help you develop your essay, please realate the following questions in your essay:

1.Analyze Fitzgerald’s conception of the American Dream. Does he view it as totally dead, or is it possible to revive it?

2.   Is Nick a reliable narrator? How does his point of view color the reality of the novel/ film, and what facts or occurrences would he have a vested interest in obscuring?

3.   Trace the use of the color white in the novel. When does it falsify a sense of innocence? When does it symbolize true innocence?

4.   Do a close reading of the description of the “valley of ashes.” How does Fitzgerald use religious imagery in this section of the novel? hint (The Eyes of God)

5.   Is the American Dream Still alive? Compare/ contrast how Fitzgerald portrays the dream in comparison to our world today.

6.   What does the green light symbolize to Gatsby? To Nick?

7.   What is Gatsby’s tragic flaw?