How Does Fitzgerald Use The Green Light In The Great Gatsby

It can be very challenging to achieve the American Dream without attracting the jealousy of others. This is apparent in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, where the main character, Gatsby, comes from humble beginnings to make a substantial amount of money during Prohibition. While he is doing this, he is meeting new friends and enemies and reuniting with an old girlfriend, who becomes very important in the life of the Great Gatsby. As the book progresses, Fitzgerald seems to blend his own life into the story by showing his interpretation of the American Dream and how other people think of a person who has achieved it. Fitzgerald indicates Gatsby’s relationships with the other characters in the story through the use of symbolism, with

It is apparent that Gatsby uses the green light to encourage him to achieve his dream, as he comes out of his mansion“to determine what share was his of our local heavens….and (Nick) distinguished nothing except a single green light” (20-21). Since Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, he sees the green light as his way to be with Daisy. Additionally, he also sees the light as his way to prosperity and acceptance by the other rich people people in the area. Finally, Fitzgerald used the light to create the idea that a combination of optimism and hard work will always end with near-perfect results, as shown by Fitzgerald commented on how “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-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (180). Fitzgerald connects his ideas of the green light to the ideas that working hard and having the right amount of optimism will accomplish anything, including allowing Gatsby to risk his life, in order to obtain his money, to be with Daisy, who Gatsby reaches out to every night. This attracts jealousy from Tom, who doesn’t want his wife to be enthralled by Gatsby. This shows how Fitzgerald uses the green light, and the optimism and hard work that it symbolizes, to show how wealth and friendship can often attract