Valladares

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Chantal Valladares
Ms. Trebtoske
English Hon 11
20 March 2015

In the novel, The great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald showed through colour,
symbols, and actions in the book to show that Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy were mostly motivated
with wealth and power, rather than the ethics.
Tom was a person who didnt followed any good morals, had power, and because of
that, he thought he could get away with anything he did. In pg 19, you can see that he always
hang out with other women other than Daisy, As for Tom, the fact that he had some woman in
New York...Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical
egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart. It also shows that he likes to live wildly
trying new things. Another quote from the book would be pg.275, She's not leaving
me!...Certainly not for a common swindler who'd have to steal the ring he put on her finger."
This shows that tom mostly married Daisy based on wealth and high status, he doesnt really
see marriage as commitment, true love, family, and such.
Gatsby loved the wealth, he tried to have power, growth, rather than following faith and good
morals. For example in pg.26, he was content to be alone he stretched out his arms toward the
dark...I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far
away Green symbolize growth, money, envy, and perhaps materialism. Gatsby reaching for this
could mean he wants those qualities, and possible have envy with Tom or people with old
money. In pg. 142, Now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail".
Hes comparing Daisy as a grail and hes following her. A golden grail could mean perfection,
pureness, and wealth, which he probably admires. He desires to be with Daisy but they are
different like where theyre money comes from. He possibly loves her,but he could see her as

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his goal of higher class. In F. Scott Fitzgerald & the Magical Glory, it explains what was most
of American society saw as a dream, For Scott and Zelda were doubtless the first literary
couple to realize that notoriety in America is merely a form of publicity, that publicity is
indistinguishable from celebrity, and that even notoriety attained through scandal can still be
instantly turned into wealth, fame, and power(James). Also in Fitzgerald's Rendering of a
Dream, it showed more of how this dream is hard to achieve, Fitzgerald negatively implies (via
Nick's observations) that Americans are pretentious; we rely on images instead of reality to the
point that "reality [has become] an endangered concept in American society"(Kimberly). Gatsby
was living in a dream, he didnt look at the reality. He became obsessed with wanting to be with
Daisy and living in the wealth. Despite him becoming wealthy through a bad way, he didnt
achieve that dream because he isnt from a rich family, he doesnt have like a backup of
money as people with old money have, which Daisy knows.
Daisy loved the attention she made, she had the money, and it seems like she liked to
manipulate people to get what she wanted. In pg. 13,she does sneaky things, A subdued
impassioned murmur was audible in the room beyond, and Miss Baker leaned forward
unashamed, trying to hear. Shes constantly murmuring which will make people become more
curious to hear what shes doing. This both gives her attention and shows how manipulative she
can be. In page 16-17, it describes what she wears, which is a white dress. White represent the
pure, being at the top, and classiness. Even though shes has the perfect dream for most
people, she isnt really considerable.
In conclusion, Fitzgerald provided all these clues through his text to show how the american
society wanted the perfect dream and theyll do what they could to do to achieve it. He showed
all of this based on the symbolism and actions of Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy.

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Works Cited

F. Scott Fitzgerald & the Magical Glory

Tuttleton, James W. "F. Scott Fitzgerald & the Magical Glory." New Criterion. Nov. 1994: 24-31.
SIRS Renaissance. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.

Fitzgerald's Rendering of a Dream

Hearne, Kimberly. "Fitzgerald's Rendering of a Dream." Explicator (Vol. 68, No. 3). Jul-Sep
2010: 189-194. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.