Green Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the colour green as a symbol to show how modern America has strayed from the moral code of the country and in doing so, has become obsessed with wealth. He does this by comparing Gatsby to Dutch colonists. This is because for both Gatsby and the Dutch colonists in the 1610’s, green was a representation for what they want most in their lives. In the fifth chapter, Fitzgerald developes this symbolism when he writes, “‘You always have a green light that burns at the end of your dock.’ Daisy put her arm through his abruptly… Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever” (92-93). This is saying that the green light represents what Gatsby desires most, Daisy, and that now Gatsby has Daisy’s love

Thats was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it” (120). This is saying that Daisy’s voice is alluring to Gatsby and draws him in. By comparing her voice to money, Fitzgerald supplements the fact that green represents Gatsby’s desire for Daisy because American money is green. Through this, he also creates the idea of significant wealth being the dream many wish to achieve. This is a relatively new idea because the industrial revolution had been the first chance at wealth and innovation for many in Europe and America, and it had only occurred a few decades before. Thus, extreme wealth had not been the primary achievement desired during the 1700’s, when the American dream first arose. Therefore, in Modern American society, what people desire most is significantly focused around frivolous and insignificant things such as superfluous wealth, but they are not willing to work hard to achieve