Allie Saile
Mr. Melvin
Honors English 10
3 December 2013
Gatsby Final Paper
Inside the book The Great Gatsby lays the story of a man who's "dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it" (Fitzgerald 180). When Gatsby stood alone on the marble steps with the look of "nothing sinister about him" (50), the readers learned who he really was. He looked at his party as if he couldn't tell the difference between his illusion and his reality. Jay Gatsby was a man with everything anyone could ever want, but nobody to share it with. He had "no one [swooning] backward on [him] and no French bob [touching] [his] shoulder" (50), and he ended the novel in the same lonely state. Gatsby's illusion of his persona, dream of the green light, and reality of time lead him to believe that his illusions are indeed real.
Leonardo DiCaprio at the Body of Lies film premier...
The cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby...
The grave of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzger...He believes that he can change his name and become a brand new person, but in reality he will always be James Gatz. Also, Fitzgerald shows the readers that the green light is Gatsby's dream and he is under the illusion that it could someday become a reality. Lastly, he thinks that he can just live in the past and make things how they used to be between him and Daisy, when in reality he has to move forward. Fitzgerald represents symbolism in The Great Gatsby to prove that one must look past the illusions of life to reach the reality.
Gatsby's persona and possessions show the readers that he has been chasing the American Dream since he was a young man. Gatsby believes that he can just change his name and move away and become a brand new person, when in reality he will always be James Gatz...