The Eyes of The Great Gatsby

Symbolism is bountiful in The Great Gatsby, including Fitzgerald’s use of color and names.

Directions: Draw one symbol and pair of eyes for each of the seven main characters on one sheet of paper: Nick, Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Jordan, Myrtle, and George. The central character should be placed in the middle of the page with the other characters surrounding.

Character Symbols:

  • Symbols may be shapes such as: square, rectangle, oval, circle, heart, star, diamond, hexagon, pentagon, triangle, octagon etc.
  • The color of the symbol should be representative of the character

Character Eyes:

  • Eyes should be shaped and colored to reflect the character’s personality
  • Connect the eyes to the symbol in a creative way

Character Names:

  • Under each symbol and pair of eyes, the character name should be written as a signature.
  • The signature should reflect their personality in some way.
  • The signature must be legible.

Explanation:

  • On a separate piece of notebook paper, write an explanation of each symbol, color, eye choice and signature.

Descriptions

Gatsby is a hexagon because he has many different sides to him. I colored him blue because it’s a bold, strong color and Gatsby is a strong man. He has hearts for eyes because all he sees is Daisy.

Nick is a circle because he has the information about everyone. He has all the characters’ colors because he has a connection to all the characters. His eyes are whirls because everything he’s gathered about the characters is making him dizzy.

Daisy is a heart because she is filled with love for many things. I chose to color her yellow because it’s a delicate color and between Gatsby and Tom, she has become very fragile. Her eyes are question marks because she isn’t sure what to do in the Tom and Gatsby situation.

Tom is a triangle because the sides represent Daisy, Myrtle, and himself. He’s caught between which of three he should care about the most. One of his eyes has a heart and the other has a diamond because he is reluctant to choose between Myrtle, his mistress, and Daisy, his wife. He is colored yellow-green because he has both Daisy’s color and Myrtle’s color.

Myrtle is a diamond because it represents a precious object, which is how Myrtle views herself. She is colored green because she is jealous of Tom’s marriage to Daisy and of all their money. Dollar signs represent her love for money.

Jordan is a star because she is a famous golfer. I colored her red because to me, red represents independence, and I see Jordan as an independent woman. Her eyes are a pair of lips because she is flirty towards Nick.

Wilson is a square because he is basically a nobody. He does not have a lot of money and garage doesn’t get a lot of business. He is colored grey because he lives in the Valley of Ashes and is covered in ashes himself. His eyes are teardrops because he is a sad man, especially after he starts to realize Myrtle is cheating on him.

Views of Gatsby

Jay Gatsby as seen through the eyes of

Henry C. Gatz /
Jimmy Gatz
Dan Cody
/
Daisy
Meyer Wolfsheim / Nick Carraway

Remember to cite the textual evidence that influences these viewpoints!!!