F. Scott Fitzgerald employs symbolism throughout his narrative piece, The Great Gatsby, to convey the novel's themes, and the color green is one of the most prominent symbols. Throughout the novel, the color green is used to symbolize wealth, corruption, the American Dream, and hope in order to further illustrate the flaws and balance of the world back then in the 1920’s, as well as the world today.
Fitzgerald’s use of the color green to symbolize the immense wealth of Gatsby. This is evident in the descriptions of Gatsby's mansion, which is described as "a colossal affair by any standard--it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming
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Gatsby reaches out his arms on page 24 toward the green light, demonstrating the unattainable goal of being together with Daisy, his version of the American Dream. The reality of not being able to achieve something with solely money is inconceivable to Gatsby, and this is shown on page 66 when he replies to Nick’s, “You can’t repeat the past” and replies saying of course he can and how he will fix everything. Gatsby thinks his goals are easily attainable with material wealth, just like the American Dream, until he finally understands, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 110). In the end, Gatsby finally understands that he can’t get/do anything he wants, and the American Dream isn’t really what he dreamt it …show more content…
"It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before” (Fitzgerald 55). Gatsby's shirts are said to be green, symbolizing the shirts as materialistic objects, and Daisy in awe by their magnificence. Her response to the shirts, however, reveals her true moral since it demonstrates a higher value on materialistic wealth rather than real humans and connection. It’s not Gatsby's love for her, but the wealth that brings her to tears. Throughout the book, she is shown in more examples being a gold digger who revolves around green money, and changing love interests rapidly solely because of