Trees

trees

friendly, of the mid-west, 7
great bursts of leaves, 8
wings beating in the, 25
white plum, 111, 113
dark, rustling, 149
amorphous, 169
vanished, 189

 Many times in the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses not only trees but other vegetation to create an imagery and add to the mood of the story.  Throughout the book he sends out the constant reminder when describing a person or event that plants are present there too.  Trees and flowers are also compared with the character’s actions and emotions and are used in similies to describe a landscape.  I believe that the foliage represents life, growth and purity a stark contrast to the scenes that they permeate which are filled with destruction and death of the characters both physically and mentally.   Though Gatsby may reminding us that through this chaos there is good in the world.  Maybe the plants represent God always present and looking after people in their lives.  Trees create a reminder of what the characters should strive for:  purity, innocence and good.

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way.  Some see Nature all ridicule and
deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all.  But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
-  William Blake, 1799, The Letters       

This poem alludes to the idea in The Great Gatsby that nature and trees was so often mentioned because God was trying to make the characters realize what was really important in the world and to open their eyes to the beauty of nature a acknowledge God and their inner self.

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