1. THEME
1.1. The American Dream
1.1.1. American Dream
1.1.2. The main character Jay Gatsby, personifies the American dream, being a self-made man who pulled himself out of poverty, only to meet a tragic end.
1.1.3. “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor. Ch.4
1.2. Materialistic and Money in Social Rank
1.2.1. Money and Materialistic things was something that in the novel showed your social rank in society.Gatsby uses his money and items to win Daisy over.
1.2.2. He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs. Ch5
1.3. Old Money VS New Money
1.3.1. Old Money VS New Money
1.3.2. “Who is this Gatsby anyhow?” demanded Tom suddenly. “Some big bootlegger?” “Where’d you hear that?” I inquired. “I didn’t hear it. I imagined it. A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know.” “Not Gatsby,” I said shortly. He was silent for a moment. The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. “Well, he certainly must have strained himself to get this menagerie together.”
1.3.3. In the novel New money is seen down upon by the old money people born into wealth like Tom is to Gatsby.In the novel the West egg is were new money people are at and the East egg is were old money people live at.
2. MOTIF
2.1. Money
2.1.1. Money
2.1.2. “Her voice is full of money,” he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. . . . (7.105-6
2.1.3. The Great Gatsby in both story version and book version money is important to some characters. Having money in The Great Gatsby can buy you anything but not happiness.
2.2. Clothing
2.2.1. Clothing
2.2.2. "They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before." (5.118
2.2.3. The Great Gatsby characters all have unique way of dressing. But there clothing in the story represents hope, dreams, and wealth.
2.3. Cars
2.3.1. the great gatsby cars
2.3.2. " Gray line of cars crawl along the invisible track. " pg.25
2.3.3. Cars were seen as a status of wealth and a sense of new found freedom.
3. SYMBOL
3.1. Green Light
3.1.1. ¨Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning —— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.¨ Ch.9
3.1.2. The green light symbolized the determination that Gatsby had for Daisy.
3.2. The Valley of Ashes
3.2.1. ¨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 houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight.¨ Ch.2
3.2.2. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the poor