Class in Great Gatsby Thesis

The use of symbolism is portrayed by the characters of The Great Gatsby. A close reading and examination of the novel characters explicitly shows how it was important for the use of symbolism and tone in showcasing the theme of class in Great Gatsby. This essay illustrates how the use symbolism and tone represented the American dream, and in light of this, how it is being related to the state of American society which at the time exposes the reality that exists between the social classes. The symbolic nature of the colour, the eyes of Dr T. J. The tone in Great Gatsby………………………………………………………………12 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………. Introduction The Great Gatsby literature work by F. Scott Fitzgerald showcase the explicit differences that exist between the social classes back in the years the 1920s.

In the story, the role of social status is discovered pertaining to the lives of the characters. One of the main results of the later is exploitation of the working class who are the main drivers of the economy while the elite people who are very few benefits. The American deals usually violets the societal rights without even giving a second thought of the repercussions that are there when the deals are out of extent to which humanity should be treated. The aspect of ‘all in the family’ shows that as far money takes the centre stage, those who are born and find themselves in wealthy families usually have a jumpstart in their lives. The characters, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Barker in the literature find themselves in the elite social class (Audhuy, 1980).

They enjoy the benefits which every human would want to have; these are the affluence, the opportunities, and the much more important benefit of social respect. Background information on symbolism, tone and their importance Symbolism is an aspect of language that uses the symbols to represent ideas; it is an artistic and widely a poetic style that uses symbolic images and indirectly expresses the mystical ideas, emotions and the mental state. Its advent began in 19thcentury in France and Belgium. Symbolism has been used mostly in literature when one thing is meant to represent something else. Symbolism was first developed by the French military movement in the 19th century. It later gained popularity when it was published in 1886 in literature work of Jean Moreas’ manifesto in Le Figaro. Symbolisms using physical objects are often used to symbolize ideas or concept as a method of guiding the reader towards the themes of the literature is dealing with.

An example of an object showing the aspect of symbolism is the poet writing a nice poem about a flower that dances to the tune of the wind in order to convey the sense of harmony, innocence and happiness (Lindberg, 2015. The second type of symbolism is the use of characters. In literature, characters sometimes can be the symbols representing a particular virtue or a vice, or of simply a political ideology. An example of a symbolic character is in the Edmund Spenser’s widely known poem ‘The Faerie Queen’, the character female knight Britomart symbolizes the values of chastity and restraint. It is usually expressed by the word choices or the point of view of the writer towards a particular subject. The tone of literature can be formal, informal, comic or serious, it can be sad cheerful, sarcastic to express the feeling towards the subject.

In general, it is what the author feels about the subject narrated. The tone is differentiated from mood though there is always a possibility of confusion in the later. The tone of voice usually conveys the mood of the literature work (Matisoff, 1994). In the great Gatsby literature in illustrating the difference that exists between the upper and the working, Scotts Fitzgerald uses tone to inform, persuade and entertain the reader and get his message home. The novel Great Gatsby by F. Scotts Fitzgerald is the most visual and explicitly vivid novels. It uses many forms of symbolism to explain and illustrate the reality that exists between the upper class and the working class. It is a novel that describes the story of helpless Jay Gatsby obsession with the rich Daisy Buchanan.

Moreover, the mansion is surrounded by ‘an extensive green lawn’ or ironically the ‘green ivy’ which grows on the mansion. Further, the color green is symbolic again; the inside of the Gatsby car is described as “a Sort of green leather conservancy”. This shows how the green color is explicitly symbolic in describing how the pursuit of happiness is preceded by the pursuit of money. The event Gatsby being unable to get the attention of daisy when he was still languishing in poverty is a great illustration of the differences that are there between the upper-class working class. The social class diversity takes the centre stage even in the social-cultural events like marriages and friendship. The green light is seemingly a beacon that alerts boaters that there is a barrier hence they have to change tract (Lindberg, 2015).

Symbolically, the green light represented the dream of Gatsby of getting to Daisy. The green color chosen by Fitzgerald as a symbolism makes the desire of Gatsby for daisy somewhat ambiguous. In general, the aspect above represents symbolically the America dream. The novel describes the great sacrifices that the people make to make their dreams come true without looking at the expense they have caused to the society in terms of morality. The elite social class owns the New York City industries, in their pursuit of money, they leave behind the wastes to the working class. This is a clear representation and illustrated point view showing the great difference that is there in the American class. Dr T. J Eckleburg using his brooding eyes sees the alley of ashes as grey in color and it is also dreary backdrop which is compared to the other side which is to east and west.

The grey color ashes are associated symbolically with bad outcomes of humanity such as depression, poverty and ultimately death. Though the light that should be shown to illuminate Gods presence has faded away, people are not any more concerned with the outcomes of their actions. Despite, George Wilson being respectable of good deeds, he later loses hope and does the most immoral thing by killing Jay Gatsby. The tone in Great Gatsby The tone in literature is the writer’s attitude in regard to the subject or theme of the novel. As discussed above, the tone is conveyed in a number of ways hence explaining getting the message home. In Great Gatsby novel, the narrator (Nick Carraway) changes the tone in the entire book as he tries to convey his message about the explicit difference that exists between the two social classes being discussed in the book.

On the other hand, a time back the house of Gatsby was at point dazzling with the parties of their kind, the parties have now gone and the only thing Nick has now are the memories of the music, laughter and the good things, faint and incessant to act as a reminder for him to the good things that have gone for good. Most of the actions of Nick take place in darkness usually at night. The action taking place at night signifies the climax of everything that surrounds Nick and also this is significant of death and life moving on later. The image of the sound of the boat on its way down is also a reference to death, and also gives a picture of the travelling down below the river to the underworld.

Comic tone is expressed in many instances and it is expressed in by an overwhelming character who shows the comic character. This phrase shows how the working classes in the society are seen as less of a people and they should not be given the privileges they want in their lives. Later, the clock luckily took its moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, he turned and luckily catches with trembling fingers then again he sets it back in the usual place (Schneider, 1956). The trembling of Gatsby's hands when he catches the clock before it goes down is a clear manifestation of the working class who are fearful of losing something. This is because they cannot acquire them easily. Despite them working, it does not guarantee them a happy, meaningful life; this is because of the small number of wages they are paid when they work at the industries owned by the wealthy elite class.

Fitzgerald as a way of showing the real difference that exists between the elite social class and the working class. “I love to see you” at my table is a phrase used when Nick is on the first hang out with Buchanan and Jordan. The tone used to exhibit the reality being discussed in the novel. In a certain instance in the passage from the F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, there as a depressing and dreary tone created by the author. Bibliography Audhuy, Letha. The" Waste land" Myth and Symbols in" The Great Gatsby". Etudes anglaises 33. Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby (1925). Sound symbolism. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hodo, Zamira. The Failure of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”-Fitzgerald. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 6. Macmillan Pub Limited, 1990. Matisoff, James A.

Tone, intonation, and sound symbolism in Lahu: loading the syllable canon. Sound symbolism (1994): 115-129. Schneider, Daniel J.