Green In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920’s, an era of emerging new wealth and a desire to exploit the new wealth through exuberant displays. The main indicator of individual success became the classification of individuals into social strata. Individuals born in an elite stratum do not need to exploit their wealth. Gatsby’s newfound wealth in turn forces him to exploit his wealth. In the midst of his lavish displays, he becomes more aware of the difference between newfound and preexisting wealth. Individuals with newfound wealth like Gatsby do not come from a lineage of wealth, and to a certain degree cannot validate their wealth to others. The Buchanan’s do not need to worry about economic instability, which can translate

After Gatsby’s funeral, Nick once again comes back to the initial connotation of green, which is of a hopeful idea towards harmony. Nick states that “Gatsby believed in the green light,”(180) in order to reestablish green’s initial association to harmony and livelihood. The contrast between the events taking place and the reestablishment of the initial connotation emphasize its importance, not only because of its contrast, but because it is the initial connotation. Which in this case serves a technique to foreshadow Gatsby’s ultimate fate. Gatsby’s subconscious belief that he can restore the initial connotation, even after social strata, money, and envy poison its meaning, reemphasize his the purity of his intentions even from the beginning. It emphasizes his pure intentions to persevere not only for his personal benefit, but for the restoration of a love between two people. Additionally his desire to save Daisy from individuals without pure intentions, like Tom Buchannan. Even though his intentions to save Daisy are only from his speculations of Tom’s public adultery and not real accounts, he does not let this fact disillusion his goal to save

An American Dream eventually drives Gatsby to his death even though his intentions are always pure. It emphasizes the limitations that individuals with newfound wealth will always endure, in finding anything other than economic success. Fitzgerald’s criticism towards a society that upholds economic origins over the pure intentions and pursuit of aspirations emphasizes the prevalence and therefore the severity of the problem. A society that prides itself in being a land of opportunity, in which any individual can work hard enough in order to win the respect of others, proves to be only a lie, and in turn becomes a reason of disillusion. For this reason, Gatsby’s friends never attend his funeral. His friends like many, put the blind pursuit of wealth over the people that depend on them. Gatsby however is driven by his love for Daisy, a pure motivator for his pursuit of wealth, which in society only proves as a weakness, because it will eventually inhibit an individual from obtaining greater sums of wealth. His pure intentions in the beginning carry on throughout the novel, but eventually prove the fact that economic success must not come from the hope of getting something pure. Since Gatsby does get Daisy, in order to contradict this notion, he dies still believing that he can one day conform and not be a victim of the limitations and