FORM OF LITERATURE

FORM: Novel

TYPE: Modernist Tragedy, Jazz Age Fiction

STRUCTURE: Traditional narrative arc, follows Freytag’s Pyramid

PUBLISHED: April 10, 1925

KEY ELEMENTS: 

• American Dream’s corruption & disillusionment drive the narrative, emphasis on external & internal conflict (dream versus reality, illusion versus truth)

• Dream/Illusion = Gatsby devotes his entire life to recreating an idealized love with Daisy and climbing the social ladder, believing wealth can win back the past. His lavish parties, reinvented persona, and the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock all symbolize this unattainable dream.

• Reality/Truth = Daisy is not the woman Gatsby imagines her to be—she’s careless, tied to wealth and status, and ultimately loyal to her privileged world. The reality of the social divide, the cruelty of the elite, and the consequences of blind ambition unravel Gatsby’s dream and lead to his demise.

SYMBOLISM:

• The Green Light: Represents Gatsby’s unreachable dream and eternal hope.
  
  

• The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg: Symbolize the loss of spiritual values in America and the idea of an indifferent, watchful god or society.
  
  

• The Valley of Ashes: Symbolizes moral and social decay, and the bleak consequences of pursuing material wealth.
  
  

• Gatsby’s Mansion: A hollow shell of extravagance, representing the emptiness behind the American Dream.

LANGUAGE & IMAGERY: Lyrical prose, loaded metaphors, color symbolism (green, yellow, white, gray), and a romantic yet cynical tone highlight the tension between idealism and harsh reality. The novel’s restrained but poetic style reflects both beauty and tragedy.