The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is recognized as one of the greater modern American novels. One of the reasons for this is that it is an easy story to follow, but is still filled with intriguing and meaningful symbolism. The people in this story live very luxurious lifestyles, yet all of their lives are far from the rich dreamworld that one may expect of them. There are forms of symbolism in this novel that portray the desperation, impurity, and sin that fill the lives of many characters in this novel.

One of the first obvious signs of symbolism in this book first shows itself in the first chapter. It is the mysterious green light that Gatsby seems captivated by as he stands on his lawn with his arms outstretched- "he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and as far as...