The Green Light In The Great Gatsby

Throughout literature, colors are used to represent feelings, emotions and actions of characters. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color green is used to represent the love story between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. As he grew up and worked for his immense fortune, Gatsby transformed his life into one he felt would impress her the most. Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent Gatsby’s perfect image of Daisy, and the greed that engulfs the couple throughout the entire novel.

The green light at the end of daisy's dock is the symbol of gatsby's hopes and dreams. It represents everything that haunts and beckons Gatsby: the physical and emotional distance between him and Daisy, the gap between the past and the present, the promises of the future, and the powerful lure of that other green stuff he craves money. The light is something that is a key part of gatsby's character, even the very first time the books protagonist nick sees gatsby he is down at his dock staring at the light. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” and even nick comes to realize this lights significance , “ And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes —a fresh, green breast of the new world.... And as I sat there, brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out Daisy's light at the end of his dock. He had come such a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it. But what he did not know was that it was already behind him, somewhere in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on

The passage above is situated on the last page of Chapter Nine from the Great Gatsby written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. The extract deals with Nick standing at daisy’s dock and describing the green light. Nick believed that Gatsby was the only one who saw the green light, was optimistic about the future and still believed that he had a chance with his golden girl “Daisy” even after all they had been through which included Daisy being married to Tom. Fitzgerald implicates one of the major themes in the novel The American Dream through Gatsby’s love for Daisy after all several years. According to Nick’s analysis, the more Gatsby moved towards his dreams, the more he was driven closer the wrongs in his past which lead to his obliteration. Fitzgerald focuses on human beings struggling to achieve their goals by surpassing and re-creating their past . Yet he thinks that humans have proven to forget and move forward from their past.. The primary function of this paragraph is to shine light on who Gatsby exactly is through Nick’s eyes. This passage also implicated one of the major themes in the novel- the American dream through Gatsby’s hope.

If you ask most people what a green light means they will most likely say it means “go”. In this case a green light means a lot more than just go. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, it is set in the year 1922 in New York and tells the tale of a man named Nick and his friend named Gatsby who would throw extravagant parties to draw attention from the woman he's been searching for who is named Daisy. Not only does this novel tell this story, it is also laced with symbols that represent different aspects of the novel. One of the many notable symbols in the novel is a green light at the end of a dock, more specifically at the end of a dock that belongs to the woman that Gatsby has been looking for. This green light can mean many different things but it most likely represents Gatsby and his goal of trying to claim Daisy as his own and to repeat the past with her by his side.

The first time we see the green light is at the end of the first chapter. On page 25-26 Nick Carraway glances toward Gatsby and notes this; “he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” Nick doesn't see much, but he sees that Gatsby is reaching out to the mysterious light, and that it seems to be something that Gatsby truly desires, however not only the light but Gatsby himself are shrouded in an elusive cloud. Due to this sense of wonder Nick doesn't really even care for the light, and is much more interested in the menacing figure of Gatsby. Perhaps this represents that we all desire something, and to others our desires may seem “minute and far away,” however no matter what we look for, and no matter how close we come, nobody will ever understand our longings.

“It had seemed as close as a star to the moon.” A star and moon, close and far, both in outer space, with only one thing that sets them apart, distance. In a symbolic way, dreams relate with this example. Every person is a star that is trying to reach the moon or a dream. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts the American Dream as untrue through Jay Gatsby’s persistence, difficulties, and corruption, to grant his desires. (pg.93)

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells us a variety of themes- justice, power, greed, the American Dream, and so on. The Great Gatsby is widely regarded as a brilliant piece of social commentary. The novel concerns the wasteful lives of four wealthy characters as observed by their acquaintance, narrator Nick Carraway. Like Fitzgerald himself, Nick is from Minnesota, attended an Ivy League university, served in the U.S. Army during World War I, and moved to New York after the war. Nick confides in the reader throughout the first pages of the novel. He believes he needs to tell the story of a man called Gatsby. It is as if Nick has to overcome disappointment and frustration with a man who has left him with painful memories. This thesis is valid for three main reasons. First, it is evident that dreams and memories are central to the overall plot and meaning. Secondly, the American Dream is a “green light” of desire that Gatsby never stops yearning for and something he will not forget over time, even as he is dying. This is due to the fact that no one cares about Gatsby or his dreams even after he dies, except Nick. Finally, the fact that Fitzgerald uses flashback; that Nick is telling us about a main character after he has already died and before the story begins, is ultimate proof.The Great Gatsby is structured by Nick’s memory. Fitzgerald’s clever use of flashback throughout and within the novel is the greatest evidence that he intended his novel to be centered on memory and going back in time.

responds to this fact: "Then it had not been merely the stars to which he

Gatsby, a flawed character in a flawed world, cannot resist the temptation of the “single green light, minute and far [away],” that is flashing at the end of Daisy’s dock (Fitzgerald 21). The symbol of the green light means everything to Gatsby: without it, his life is meaningless. He is unable to resist the calling of the green light, and his yearning for Daisy is the sole motivation in his life. To Gatsby, the green light symbolizes hope.What he does not register is “that [his dream] [is] already behind him” (180). Another interpretation of the green light is that Gatsby is “green with envy.” After losing Daisy to a wealthier individual, Tom Buchanan, Gatsby enviously soldiers on with the glimmer of hope that he will, one day, finally have Daisy all to himself. True to the ideals of the modern world—a world in which people are willing to sacrifice everything in order to achieve their true desires—he remains in pursuit of Daisy. However, Gatsby is not cognizant of the fact that his dream can

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- to morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning---” In the Great Gatsby, the green light signifies Jay Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future and ultimately the American Dream. The green light represents the lost dreams of Americans, unrealistic hope and the determination to achieve the American Dream. The writing from F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby” allows the reader to learn the significance behind the green light, if hopes and dreams are always centered around future belief and if the belief is more satisfying than one’s desires.

The image of the green light in the novel Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a significant symbol which shows Gatsby's dream and what gatsby longs for. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald uses many other images or symbols. At first, it may seem very basic, but when the symbol is closely studied, the symbols mean a lot more found. Fitzgerald uses these symbols to make a point to the reader. He then uses this point for a deeper meaning, into a myth about America. The green light in the novel clearly shows an example of this.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is the story of one man searching for a long-lost love and the struggles he goes through to get her back. It is the story of Jay Gatsby, his wealth, and most importantly, his awe-inspiring love for Daisy Buchanan, his first and only true love. Gatsby spends all of his time trying to build up a life to impress Daisy and win her back from her rich, jealous, and aggressive husband, Tom Buchanan.

     Perception and reality do not always align. Is true love really true love, or is it a farce, a self-created mythical re-interpretation of the thing we hold so dear? In The Great Gatsby, is Gatsby really in love with Daisy, or his vision of her? Does she feel the same way for him, or does she truly love him? And what does the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock mean to Gatsby?

In the novel, “The Great Gatsby”, it states that Gatsby believes in a green light. Which can mean that Gatsby believes in hope for the future, that something good will eventually come. With green being the color of the light, and for envy; symbolizes Gatsby’s envy/longingness for Daisy. In the novel, Gatsby focuses his only dream on one thing; having Daisy back into his life again. Fitzgerald leaves a sentence at the end unfinished, which can be his way of making the reader think on what happened and how it happened. Nick hopes on “one fine morning” that the American dream will become uncorrupted and the pursuit for extreme wealth will finally be over. Most, if not all, dreams are focused on one thing, to achieve, to work hard for your dreams,

In Chapter 12 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster discusses how symbols can possess multiple meanings due to the different ways that humans interpret literature. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many symbols can be up for interpretation by the reader. For example, a recurring symbol in this novel is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. At the beginning of the novel, this light resembles Gatsby’s dream of having Daisy to himself. As Fitzgerald describes this light as “far away,” he reveals that this dream may be unattainable. However, the green light does not simply symbolize Gatsby’s yearning for Daisy. As Foster states, “in general a symbol can't be reduced to standing for only one thing” (105). The green light also can serve as a symbol of the American Dream of the 1920’s—climbing the social ladder and acquiring vast wealth. Although Gatsby has achieved much of this dream, he often appears dissatisfied with life—despite the fact that he possesses a significant amount of money and power—and always strives for more. As Gatsby keeps looking toward the green light in hope, this symbol reveals that Gatsby never believes that he has fully achieved the American Dream. Other readers may think of more possible meanings for the green light. As Foster also reveals in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, The Great Gatsby displays that symbols can possess multiple layers of meaning due to the imaginations of readers.