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Green Light Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby pursues his everlasting goal of attaining a massive amount of wealth to win Daisy’s love. As the narrator, Nick Carraway, experiences the affair of Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, as well as that of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. To Gatsby, Nick is more of a tool, rather than a friend, to get closer to Tom’s wife. By dedicating his entire life to Daisy, Gatsby developed a strong desire for money, which would eventually trigger his downfall. The green light, more specifically the color green, symbolizes Gatsby’s unattainable dream and future of becoming Daisy’s lover. “Far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling,” Fitzgerald continued, “Involuntarily, I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a green light, minute and far away,” (20). Gatsby purchased a large mansion near Daisy's location in hopes of impressing her and that she would come to one of his Saturday night parties. Despite his short distance away from Daisy’s mansion, Gatsby feels far away from her. Daisy did not wait for Gatsby to come back from a war, and she married Tom Buchanan instead, which …show more content…

Gatsby claims, “‘Her voice is full of money.’... high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl,” (120). Daisy had a very lavish and wealthy childhood. The “golden girl” must be pampered with money in order for her to stay committed to something or someone. Fitzgerald mentions, “With Jordan’s slender golden arms resting in mine… we sat down at a table with the two girls in yellow,” (43). In contrast, the two referred girls in the quote do not have gold anything on their person. Their attire is made up of a yellow dress. In this case, yellow is often used as “fake gold,” meaning that the two females are “fake” themselves. However, one must be born into a prestigious and wealthy family in order to be considered as “old money” and

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