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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Green Light
Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation.
Read explanations of key quotes about The Green Light as a symbol.
The Valley of Ashes
First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.
Read explanations of key quotes about The Valley of Ashes as a symbol.
The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. Instead, throughout the novel, Fitzgerald suggests that symbols only have meaning because characters instill them with meaning. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God exists only in George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. This lack of concrete significance contributes to the unsettling nature of the image. Thus, the eyes also come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning. Nick explores these ideas in Chapter 8, when he imagines Gatsby’s final thoughts as a depressed consideration of the emptiness of symbols and dreams.
Read explanations of key quotes about The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg as a symbol.
The Automobile
In the novel, Gatsby’s stunningly beautiful Rolls-Royce and other automobiles are at least superficially offered up as a symbol of modern progress and ingenuity. However, in almost every chapter, fancy cars are shown to represent danger and destruction. These incidents include the car crash by the drunken party-goer outside of Gatsby’s mansion, Nick and Gatsby’s joy ride over the Queensborough Bridge, and—most significantly—Myrtle being run over by Gatsby’s car leading to her death, as well as (ultimately) the deaths of George Wilson and Gatsby himself.
Read more about the automobile as a symbol in the novel in a brief essay.
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