SymbolismSymbolism is prevalent throughout "The Great Gatsby." Gatsby's huge mansion is one symbol that is a huge component to the story line. His mansion is said to be so grand that in one section of the house "if [even] one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse" (Fitzgerald 46). Gatsby managed to become so successful and obtain so much property and assets that if even one alteration was made to his elite home it might all come crumbling down. The symbol of Gatsby's house, among others, develops the underlying theme of the American Dream. The American Dream was something many strove for due to how it attracted people and created a certain successful image of that person. By filling his house with so many valuable things and in large quantities, Gatsby shows that his house is a true symbol of the American Dream.
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SimileThe connection of ideas through direct comparison helps develop the underlying theme of love. Daisy and Gatsby's previous relationship ended with Daisy receiving a very heart breaking letter from Gatsby while he was in the armed forces. She could not grasp all the changes that letter brought and "took it into the tub with her and squeezed it up into a wet ball, and only let [her friend] leave it in the soap-dish when she saw that it was coming to pieces like snow" (Fitzgerald 76). Snow slips through your fingers and is very difficult to grasp, which shows the extent of destruction the letter had to go through before she would allow someone or something else possess it. This simile develops the theme of love by demonstrating how Daisy would not let go of something of her love's possession until there was literally nothing left to hold on to and how she did not want to let go and move on.
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IronyThere are many excerpts throughout "The Great Gatsby" that are forms of irony, or in other words they say one thing and show or mean another, that help develop the theme of love. While heading into town Tom stops at Wilson's to fill up on gas and finds out they, or at least he, is planning on moving his wife out of state because he is sick over finding out she is having an affair. Tom is "startled...[that his] wife does" want to go West with him because he is the man she is having an affair with (Fitzgerald 122). This is ironic because he has never shown a real emotional response towards Myrtle and basically just uses her, yet the second he finds out she is leaving he actually is hit with feelings of abandonment. In another sense, this situation is ironic because the man Wilson chooses to discuss his wife's affair with is in fact the man she is cheating on him with. Irony is used to show Tom's true feelings towards not only Myrtle, but Daisy as well, and contributes to the overall development of love in the story line.
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