Discuss the use of symbols and imagery in the novel as they relate to the theme of MATERIALISM.
... society observed Gatsby’s materialistic indulgence and so his reputation began to evolve. Fitzgerald displays Gatsby’s party guest’s sudden attraction to him through their sycophantic behavior at the weekly parties he held during the summer. Gatsby would hide in the house while the 'guests', most of who were not even invited, would party, eat and drink until the early hours of the morning. Their actions symbolised the effect wealth had on Americans after the economic drought of the late 19th century. Their desperation to not only survive economically but to secure their status and wealth for the future meant that their relationship to Gatsby was only superficial. Fitzgerald describes this social decay through their actions at the parties. "Every Friday five crates of oranges and Lemons arrived from a fruitier In New York- Every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his backdoor in a pyramid of pulp-less halves." The 'pulp- less halves' symbolises the emptiness of his guests, soulless people, without substance, obsessed by materialism and wealth. Fitzgerald believed this greed was the corruption of the American Dream. Many of the people who lived in this Progressive Era were excessively wealthy and materialistic. Fitzgerald presents the key theme of materialism through the main character of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a sensitive young man who idolises wealth and luxury. He devotes himself to acquiring possessions and hosting parties that he believes will enable him to win the prosperous, Daisy’s love. When Gatsby gives Nick and Daisy a tour of his home, his mansion is laden with expensive belongings such as, "period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers." Gatsby then takes a pile of his shirts and begins to throw them around the room to parade his dispensable wealth. Daisy starts to cry and says, “They’re such beautiful shirts.” These expensive shirts symbolise the distorted values these characters have concerning the practical uses of materialistic possessions. Furthermore, it states that Gatsby “revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” It is clear that Gatsby only resorted to crime in the exposition of the novel to make enough money to impress Daisy, and the rampant materialism that characterises her lifestyle. Fitzgerald represents the materialism in America in the 1920’s through these characters, in order to symbolise the detriment it can have upon society. Myrtle Wilson also represents the conflict materialism can have on civilisation. Myrtle is the mistress of Tom and throughout this affair readers are able to observe the aspects of their unpromising relationship. Myrtle wishes to climb the social ladder, and so she is determined to do so at all costs. She begins the affair with Tom, the fashionably dressed man that she met from the train, distancing herse...