Examples Of Green Light In The Great Gatsby

In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, readers are presented with the notion that the American Dream is unattainable, for different reasons, even with hard work and determination. We see an example of this idea at the end of chapter one, where are first introduced to Jay Gatsby and the green light: “But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone – 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 way, that might have been the end of a dock” (20-21). In the passage, Gatsby is reaching for a “minute and far way” green light which we later discover is coming from a light that burns

This connects to the subject of the American Dream because "Daisy" represents Gatsby’s dreams and hopes for his future. The American Dream is the notion that every U.S. citizen has an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through their hard work and determination. In “The Great Gatsby”, the green light symbolizes the American Dream. For Jay Gatsby, it represents a future of fulfillment by being with Daisy because he has wealth, but the only thing he’s missing is his love. He’s reaching for something that is in sight, yet is still out of reach. So, due to the fact that he cannot reach the green light, the author exemplifies the idea that the American Dream is impossible to achieve. A second example comes from chapter two, “This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery