The Valley of Ashes

This valley is situated between the West Egg where the narrator resides and New York. This valley consists of waste land ranging for a long distance and spreading through a vast area. he author uses this place to symbolize the lives of the high class people who have no morals or ethics in life. They have no sense of social conscience about their personal lives. They don't have any inhibitions when it comes to their personal pleasures and they are in a way responsible for the fading social values.

The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg

These eyes are painted on an advertising hoarding at the valley of ashes. These eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of divine looking eyes which are serene and a bit fading in look. The author symbolizes these eyes with those of God's who look at the society cultures. These eyes watch the grief of George who works hard in the valley of ashes.

Green Light

We can see this green light at the end of the East Egg where Daisy and Tom reside. The author says that this light symbolizes Gatsby's hope to meet Daisy whom he loves ardently. It represents his hopes and dreams for his future too. At one point we see Gatsby reach the place where the light is situated to look for Daisy.

These are the main symbols used by Scott Fitzgerald in the book The Great Gatsby.

Stage adaptations of the book The Great Gatsby

• A show based on the novel was staged in the year 1991 and it was performed by Snow Troupe and was adopted by Takarazuka Revue.
  
• The same show will be performed by Moon Troupe of the same company in the year 2008.
  
• To celebrate the 25th year of the debut of James Levine(American Pianist), the novel was staged at New York Metropolitan Opera in the year 1999.
  
• Owen Davis adopted to stage in the year 1926 under the same name and it was directed by George Cukor.
  
• In 2006, a play under the same name was performed at the opening of Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

Film and TV adaptations of the book The Great Gatsby

• First it was adapted by Herbert Brenon in the year 1926. Filmed as a silent movie, it was called under the same name as the book. The movie starred Warner Baxter, Lois Wilson, and William Powell
  
• In 1949, Elliott Nugent adopted the book to film version starring Betty Field, Alan Ladd, and Shelley Winters.
  
• The famous one of the film versions came in the year 1974 with Robert Redford in the title role. It was directed by Jack Clayton and the other actors of the movie are Mia Farrow and Sam Waterston.
  
• The only television adaptation of this book was made in 2000 by Robert Markowitz under the same name. This version starred  Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd and Mira Sorvino.

Jaded, Arrogant, Youthful. Jay Gatsby is-was, the epitome of the undying and passionate love that one human can offer another. But was what he was feeling really love? Obsession, in his case, plagued the true perception of love and dedication and transformed those feelings into a compulsive and unrealistic desire to possess Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby"s one, “true” love. Gatsby's obsession drove him to illustrate an intricate fantasy world, with Daisy as the “high priestess”, and Gatsby as her suitor. Nick Carraway, Gatsby's good friend, states,

“There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-no through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion…No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” .

Clearly, Gatsby must have looked reality in the eyes, blinked, and ignored it entirely. Readers are unsure whether or not Gatsby did have a reality check, or if he knew that his life's goal was entirely beyond his reach. Gatsby has a history of his obsessions with Daisy including the complete file of Daisy's life, composed of news articles and magazine clippings. Gatsby worked vigorously to acquire money to build his astonishing mansion and even more money to purchase beautiful silk shirts from England. In addition, his home happened to be sitting on the piece of land across from Daisy's house-a perfect view of the green light at the end of her dock. Nick states, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” . The green light symbolizes his longing, his obsession, his want for Daisy. Sadly enough, his want for her transforms into a chain of mindless actions. First, he lets Daisy drive the car to “calm her nerves,” which results in the vicious, yet tragic death of Myrtle Wilson who is ironically the long-time mistress of Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband. Gatsby and Daisy both return home, and Gatsby, as usual, waits by her home to see whether or not she would escape with him into the night. George Wilson discovers the true owner of the yellow car that hit Myrtle, and heads straight to Gatsby's house, gun in hand. As Gatsby lay in the pool, he was shot and killed by the vengeful George Wilson, who then proceeded to commit suicide. Jay Gatsby's dead body sunk deep into the pool, into Summer's waning hands. His clear obsession of Daisy and the “month of love” they had together ultimately aided to his unfortunate downfall-his sacrifice. To Nick's surprise, Gatsby states, "Can't repeat the past?…Why of course you can". Gatsby's weary heart would forever drift through the faint reminisces of the past, where Daisy once believed in true love, when true love still existed in their young hearts.

The ravenous roots of obsession implanted itself into the mind of Daisy Buchanan as well. Daisy was a well-known and affluent lady of East Egg who did not carry the world on her shoulders, but in her wallet. Gatsby mentions that, "Her voice is full of money" . Daisy was obsessed with the toys of the rich, what made the world go "round; the green made her heart leap. Though Daisy might seem like the kind of girl you could take home to your parents, she was nothing of the sort. She was the queen of manipulation. Daisy was obsessed with the notion of another person exuding his/her love for her. She loved attention-whether it was positive or negative. In addition to her air-headedness, she was utterly confused about what and whom she wanted. She even says, "What"ll we do with ourselves this afternoon? Cried Daisy, and the day after that, and the next thirty years”. The reuniting of her and Gatsby with his love, and her powerful urge to put up with a very wealthy man fought to the death in her mind. Even her marriage with Tom Buchanan appeared to be framed because all they seemed to enjoy was their incredible sum of money. Nick makes an intelligent remark about them, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together”.

It was true; Daisy could not leave Tom or ever love Gatsby because her sick obsession with money had already consumed her entirely. Love was never a factor in any of Daisy's relationships, and she would never let something as petty as love get in the way of her money. As Daisy drove home with Gatsby beside her that hot day, she ran over Myrtle Wilson, the woman she knew to be Tom's mistress. With the minor distraction out of her life and Tom's, she finally realized that she could not leave Tom or the money. Daisy and Tom quickly leave the town for a long while, right after the three deaths. Daisy shrunk back into her obsessive desire for money, erased the notion of true love from her head, and continued to breathe as if that summer had not existed at all.

Burning and thriving beneath the vengeful eyes of George Wilson are the destructive roots of Obsession. Wilson is completely infatuated with Myrtle, a sensuous and sexual woman, one with vitality and life. Wilson nearly idolizes her and sometimes cannot even believe he is married to such a vivacious woman for he was the exact opposite. Sadly, his stupidity and impulsiveness lead to his demise. Tom, Myrtle's lover, even says, “He's so dumb he doesn't know he's alive". Wilson is desperate to keep Myrtle-he even goes through the length to keep her locked up in her upstairs bedroom, like a caged bird. After discovering her affair, he decides to move west out of sheer impulsiveness. As Tom stops by to fill the car with gas, Wilson mentions his plan to him. Wilson claims, “I want to get away. My wife and I want to go West…She's been talking about it for ten years.

And now she's going whether she wants to or not. I'm going to get her away”. First Wilson says he wants to get away, and as he is revealing his plans to Tom, he then says he is going to get her away. His attempt to keep a leash on Myrtle by moving West was his last chance, but unfortunately it did not end that way. When Myrtle lay dead on a table in the garage, Wilson's mind becomes ravaged by confused thoughts of revenge and grief. He had lost the one thing that made Wilson feel like he had a place in the world, and his longing finally ended with Myrtle's last breath. Without her, he had nothing to lose. He became a monster who wanted to take away the most important thing to Gatsby: his life. The death of Myrtle signified the death of his own pride, and he longed to avenge her. Gunshots were fired into the once hopeful body of Gatsby, and Wilson's body accepted the bullets as well. Their obsession of the two women who were in love with Tom had brought death upon them. There, in the dwindling days of summer, lay the two most hopeful dreamers of this story, the two men whose dreams were carried off into the sunset.

The Great Gatsby is a truly heartbreaking story. The unsettled spirit of obsession lurks about the pages, possessing the poor bodies of three such unique characters. Jay Gatsby's life and dreams were both pierced by those vicious bullets. The happiness and love that used to reside within Daisy had left her long ago with the departure of Gatsby to the war. She was empty, with only the flowers of obsession and greed blooming within her. Wilson's soul, or what was left of it, was left open and exposed. It was so easy for such happy feelings of love and devotion to evolve into something so deadly and malicious. No happy endings, no tugs on the heartstrings or tears of joy-what remained was the transcending and deviant plant of Obsession, casting its shadow upon their world.

Assuredly when mediocre Nick came to West Egg, Long Island, he was just a normal guy, with an average house, car, and job. He came to West Egg, starting his dream to make something for himself in the bond business that he could be proud of. Nick, who wanted all of the luxuries of being wealthy, liked Gatsby. Nick originally thinks of him as being very grand because of how much money he has, the extravagant parties he throws, all that he has accomplished, and Gatsby's behemoth ability to make what he desires a reality. Nick learns that the Jay Gatsby he knew came from the image that Gatsby wanted everyone to see. Gatsby would do anything to complete his greatest goal, to have a wealthy successful life and have everyone love and respect him. Although he accomplished this goal, it came with the price of weakness.

The fact remains that Gatsby's desire to give people the idea that he was a great man led to some of his weaknesses. He built up the image of a strong, confident, powerful man. The problem? He had to show a weaker side when he began to chase after Daisy. At the same time he also had to make everyone keep thinking he was still a powerful individual. Chasing after Daisy showed a less able side of him because he had to get her away from Tom, then woo her over with whatever he could think of, even resolving to criminal acts if that would get him more money and a higher social standing. Although his infinite optimism did turn him into a so-called “great” man, I am not sure that using illegal acts qualifies this. Doing immoral deeds such as this enfeebles a person's soul. The “Dark Path” of a life as Yoda would have called it, tends to be easier than the path of the light. When a person's life is easier than the average schmuck, it isn't as fulfilling, so your conscience tells you that this is wrong, but you keep doing it because doing what is easy is easier than what is right. Once Cody died - Gatsby followed this unfulfilling path consistently to the end of his life and he was tired. Compared to his mediocre counterpart Nick, he was not all that great.

In addition, mediocrity did win. In my opinion, Gatsby had some bad karma, and Nick turned out to be the greater man by the end of the novel. “The Gatz” owned incredible optimism for the future, determination for what he wanted, and intelligence on how to get it. Unfortunately, his bad and sometimes evil ways brought his character down to a wicked level. So was Gatsby really a great man? Sometimes it can be hard to tell.

Fitzgerald first begins using weather as a motif when Nick arrives at the Buchanans' mansion, underscoring the situation's mood. When he arrives, the weather outside is warm, sunny, and windy. This description gives the readers the idea that Nick's visit will be happy and friendly with happy and friendly people. However, the readers soon learn that this is not the case. As the chapter progresses, Tom says the following: “It's up to us [Nordics] who are the dominant race to watch out or these other races will have the control of things” (Fitzgerald 14). From this quote, the readers clearly realize that Tom is an absolute racist and an irrational bigot full of hauteur. Believing in the Nordics' superiority over all other races, Tom advocates Nordic domination over others. This is simply one example of the fact that things don't go warmly inside the home.

Fitzgerald further presents Tom as a supercilious libertine when the readers learn that he commits himself to an affair and, because of the affair, is not present at the birth of his child. Because he didn't appear when his own child is born, he makes evident his uncaring and selfish nature. The readers later learn that he easily gets irritated and Tom and Daisy's relationship is certainly not reciprocal. Daisy is not so perfect herself, since she talks and acts lazily and cynically. As seen, the weather outside the house juxtaposes sharply with the “weather”, or mood, within the house: When is warm and sunny outside, it's stormy inside. Fitzgerald's juxtaposition shows the readers how superficial the Buchanans and wealthy people in general are.

The average American believes that they have a perfectly happy life. In reality, the situation cannot be further from the truth. The upper-class try to cover up their ugliness with all their money and power, as Daisy and Tom do. The weather serves as an important aspect in this scene and will be even more important later on.

Although Fitzgerald uses the weather for juxtaposition, he uses it for more than just that, as it also coincides with a present mood. Following a few chapters, when Gatsby decides to meet Daisy, he meets her amidst a rainy weather, foreshadowing an awkward or unpleasant situation. Sure enough, when Gatsby finally gets together Daisy, the incredibly awkward situation keeps all the characters almost dead silent: “For half a minute there wasn't a sound. Then from the living room I heard a sort of chocking murmur and part of a laugh followed by Daisy's voice on a clear artificial note” (91). This clearly demonstrates the situation's awkwardness: none of the characters make a sound until Daisy laughs. Her laugh, which would go unnoticed in any other situation, rings clearly here. Furthermore, the author describes her laugh as being “artificial”, indicating that Daisy fakes it to relieve the present tension. This silence and unpleasantness between the characters corresponds with the rain. Like rain, their shyness ruins what could have been a pleasant reunion.

Later, Nick goes outside and leaves the two alone. The rain starts clearing and the sun starts shining by now. When Nick returns, he finds that the tension is dramatically relieved. No longer reticent, Gatsby and Daisy joyfully laugh, cry, and joke around with each, as old friends do. Here, the rain's end symbolizes that the initially awkward and quiet moment between Daisy and Gatsby has “cleared up” and the situation has “brightened up”, like the sun's arrival. The chapter finally ends with Nick “walking out of the rain” (102). When he walks out, he is met with rainy weather again showing that Daisy and Gatsby's relationship may deteriorate in the future. This foreshadowing proves itself correct when readers later discover Daisy eventually deserting Gatsby and not appearing at his funeral - the funeral of a man who has dedicated his whole life to her. As seen, the weather's significance becomes larger and larger as the story progresses, with weather becoming a major indicator of the situation's mood.

Similar to the weather representing awkwardness and rejoicing, it can also represent anger and passion amongst the characters. As time passes a little more, Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, Nick, and Jordan go to New York on a day which is the year's hottest day. Throughout this chapter, Fitzgerald constantly describes the weather as being excruciatingly hot. When readers look back at the story, they realize the weather gets hotter and hotter as the book progresses. The reason for the increasing is more than just marking spring's transition to summer; the heat coincides with Gatsby and Daisy's growing love and Gatsby and Tom's growing tension. The gang's excursion to New York occurring on the year's hottest day means this is the day when Tom and Gatsby's tension and Gatsby's Daisy's love come to a crisis. Daisy's quote foreshadows this future crisis: “'But it's so hot,' insisted Daisy, on the verge of tears.

"And everything"s so confused'” (125). Her association of confusion with the weather implies a coming confusion, passion, emotion, and conflict. As expected, although this chapter is not the book's climax, it is the most intense part of the book. It is in this very chapter that Tom openly scorns Gatsby about Gatsby's reputation and his love for Daisy. It is also in this chapter that Daisy ultimately has to choose between leaving with Gatsby or staying with Tom, and she chooses the latter. Thus, it is very fitting that all this passion and conflict occur on that year's hottest day, as the hot weather correlates perfectly with the conflict.

The last portions of the book, Gatsby's death and the aftermath, are worth noting for its complex weather, since Fitzgerald adds both a more positive and darker meaning to it. On the day of his death, it is the first day of autumn, when the temperature starts getting chilly. This chilly weather is a perfect setting for the cold-blooded murder that's about to occur. Thus, in this chapter, the most hateful action occurs. After Gatsby's death, Nock holds Gatsby's funeral on a rainy day. In the arts and literature typically portray funerals on a rainy day, and they occur on a rainy day for a reason. Even though the rain in this case does not represent awkwardness, it underscores the dejection within the funeral attendant's hearts and the situation's unpleasantness.

But, at the funeral, the rain represents more than just sadness. What is most significant about this rain is a quote one of the attendants or the minister at the funeral says: “Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on” (183). This is clearly an allusion to either the English poet Edward Thomas or the famous 17th Century English proverb, “Blessed are the dead that the rain rains on,” or possibly both. In Edward Thomas's case, the line “Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon” (line 7) appears in his poem “Rain”. Despite the poem's melancholy mood, Thomas does include these lines: “And neither hear the rain nor give it thanks/ For washing me cleaner than I have been” (lines 4-5), which precedes the line first mentioned. These lines make the rain a symbol of spiritual cleansing and therefore, the dead, cleansed by the rain, are truly blessed.

The English proverb, however, means that if the rain falls on a coffin, it indicates that the deceased's soul has arrived safely to the afterlife. In both the proverb and the poem, rain takes a positive connotation and embodies a blessing. This spiritual cleansing corresponds well with Gatsby's numerous religious associations and Nick's idea that Gatsby is the only moral person he meets in the East. Thus, it is perfect that someone moral and surrounded by religious imagery be spiritually cleansed before ascending to heaven. In Gatsby's funeral, the rain serves as both a symbol of sadness and cleansing, and Fitzgerald's ability to skillfully incorporate the weather sheds much meaning into the book.

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells a story of love, ambition, and tragedy. His characters in the novel are as diverse as the weather employed. One minute it is raining, and the next minute, it is completely sunny. All this weather serves a purpose, whether to emphasize the tension or to show spiritual cleansing. The weather's ultimate purpose is to underscore the situation's mood and relationships between the characters. This is clearly present in numerous situations where the weather plays a significant role. It sheds light on the wealthy people's corruption and Gatsby's spirituality. In the end, Fitzgerald crafts a book that not only interests the readers, but is also full of vivid weather imagery that adds much significance to the book's meaning.

Nick as a Dynamic Character

One reason that many critics of this novel believe that Nick, not Gatsby, is the hero of this book is because nick is the only dynamic character in the story. Although many would argue that Gatsby was the hero, by the end of the book Gatsby's outlook on life was exactly the same. Gatsby still believed that he could change the past and died thinking he had. Nick, on the other hand, changed throughout the book. His entire viewpoint on the American Dream was changed by the end of the novel. He realized that the moral decay of the east had destroyed the American Dream and he had to move back west to keep that dream alive. He also realized that you “can” repeat the past. His mindset is changed and he realized that the past is doomed to repeat itself, whether it is good or bad.

Nick as the Protagonist

The second reason why many say that Nick is the hero of this book is because he is considered the protagonist. Although Gatsby comes in a close second, Nick is the most prevalent character of the book. The novel not only starts and ends with Nick, Nick, himself, is the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Nick told this story from his point of view sometime after the events had taken place and he had been able to bring all of the facts together. Because of his involvement in the story, and his narration of the story, it proves that he is the protagonist of the book. Further proving the point is Nick's antagonist, society. Society's pull tries to change Nick. The moral decay of the East during this time period is the main antagonist of the book and the character it quarrels with the most, is, without a doubt, Nick. By the end of this novel, Nick is forced to overcome society's moral decay and move back west where life is simple and morals are present.

Nick as the Main Initiator of Action

Finally, it is easy to see that Nick initiates most of the action in the book. Without Nick's connection to all of the main characters in the novel, many of the conflicts that arose would never have happened. Nick's friendship with Gatsby, and family ties with Daisy made it possible for them to reconnect. Gatsby may never have had the courage to meet with Daisy and tell her he still loved her if Nick hadn't have been there for support and to help with the planning. Nick also wraps up many of the stories in the book. Through Nick's actions and thought, Gatsby's, and many other characters', true colors are revealed and a lot can be learned about them. Nick is the main imitator of action in the story and can be exclusively linked to almost every major occurrence in the novel.

Conclusion

Nick, not Gatsby, is the hero of this novel. The critics who believe this are right in their thinking for many reasons. It is easy to see that Nick is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby, it is a fact that he is a dynamic character, and he is essential to almost every action that takes place in the novel. Nick is the hero of The Great Gatsby.