Looking Green, Old Sport
In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a love story is portrayed including Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. While Daisy is a well-rounded lady that grew up in a higher class environment, Gatsby had to work extremely hard to achieve the wealth he acquired. He transformed his life into one he felt would impress her the most. Everything he did was always for her. Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent Gatsby’s immense love for Daisy, and the progression of his dreams regarding his past flame for their future together.
When someone experiences true love, the feeling overpowers their entire being. Drastic measures may be taken in an effort to preserve the feeling for as long as possible. Green often
…show more content…
For Jay Gatsby, the color green represented Daisy and his dreams about someday being hers again. He moves to West Egg, holding a party each and every night in hopes his love would walk through the door (78). Soon after, Nick notices a man on his dock with his “arms towards the dark water in a curious way” while “nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been as the end of a dock” (20-21). Gatsby held his arms out in the direction of the green light that belongs to the dock of Mrs. Daisy Buchanan, like he was dreaming of her coming back into his arms. Therefore, the green light represents unrequited love that only becomes reality during Gatsby’s dreams about who he wants Daisy to be. Jay Gatsby let his love for Daisy transform his entire life. One day, before the arranged meeting between the past lovers, Gatsby sent Daisy flowers that “were unnecessary, for at two o’clock a greenhouse arrived from Gatsby’s” (84). The greenhouse represents incubation. For years Gatsby has kept all of his love for Daisy inside of him, like a greenhouse can trap in heat for flowers and plant life to grow. Furthermore, Gatsby’s greedy nature, represented by the color green, helped him build his fortune in hopes of pulling the love of his life back to