When reading the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I did not expect for something as simple as the green light to have such a huge effect and importance to the plot. This light having a big effect on one of the main characters really grabs the reader’s attention and makes us want to find out more and question it all. Fitzgerald uses the symbolism of the green light in order to praise those who maintain hope, humanity, and progress within a corrupt society.
The notable green light is first come across in chapter one where Nick Carraway, the narrator, encounters Jay Gatsby and “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 away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once
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It is pretty obvious now, knowing the green light is related to Daisy, shows Gatsby as a normal human figure like everybody else because he has true feelings, good intentions, and hope within himself which is hard to find in a person now in this corrupt society. Gatsby having Daisy back in his life again meant that the “colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (Fitzgerald 93). One of the biggest symbols in the book was losing its importance because Gatsby had Daisy in his arms. The author used this quote to show how Gatsby did not give up hope and humanity and was able to successfully reach his romantic goal, Daisy, the love of his