Sunday, October 20, 2013

What is a good thesis statement about flower imagery in The Great Gatsby?*this is not for an essay

A simple thesis would be that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses flower imagery to enhance the characterization of various people in the novel.


For example, the name "Daisy" suggests a white flower           ( perhaps for purity) with a yellow ( suggesting ultimate cowardice) to describe the heroine of the novel. In contrast, Myrtle, her husband's mistress, again reminds the reader of the myrtle bush which has white flowers but also dark berries. This suggests a woman who seems pure but has a dark side or future in front of her. Her adulterous affair with Tom, of course, eventually leads to her ultimate destruction. Fitzgerald also uses flowers to quickly personify minor characters. For example, when one young man brings four women to one of Gatsby's parties, the last names the sweet girls have"the melodious names of flowers or months" while the "sterner" ones have names of "great American captialists."

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