(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Great Gatsby


             Scott Fitzgerald is a novel with loads of allusions to Greek mythology. Fitzgerald uses these allusions in canny ways. It's bizarre how Fitzgerald uses these myths that make the reader feel in tune with the story. There"re hundreds of Greek myths but Fitzgerald focuses only on a few; he has a very enigmatic way of using them. Fitzgerald is well known for his technique in using mystical characters and links them to some of his own. In this book he bases some of the characters on to real life people and even some to portray him. Each character is tied into a Greek myth somehow. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses three Greek myths in particular throughout his book to describe his wistful characters, the myth of Icarus, the myth of Teiresias, and the myth the Sirens.
             The first myth of the book is the myth of Icarus. Icarus is the son of Apollo and he wants to fly the sun chariot because he wants to get closer to the sun. Through out the book Fitzgerald uses various examples of that. In the scene at the hotel that day is the hottest it has been all summer long. The characters are all hot and sweaty. In another part of the book there is a reflection of the sun of off Gatsby's car. The Icarus myth is used also to describe characters and also as imagery. The allusion is a favorite of Fitzgerald. The sun is used to describe how a person feels or how a person behaves.
             The second myth to appear in the book is Teiresias. Teiresias is a man who can foretell the future but he is as blind as a bat. He is struck down by Hera when Teiresias didn't side with her. His eyes give him the power to see into the future. In the book owl eyes is the allusion of Teiresias. When ever an owl eye appears in the story the characters all notice the big eyes. The eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg are also the allusion of the myth of Teiresias. The eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg are big and he has these huge glasses he wears that refer to him not having good eye vision, as if he is blind.


Essays Related to The Great Gatsby


Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question