What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald came from a mixed inheritance that consisted of the family that bore Francis Scott Key and the family that bore Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, who was hanged because of an association with President Lincoln’s assassination (“Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald”). He blamed this mixed family background for his “curiously divided nature,” which made him feel like a member of the middle class and an outsider at the same time (“Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald”). Fitzgerald used his experiences in war and feeling of American life to write The Great Gatsby, a novel about the American dream. Throughout the novel, there are many examples of symbolism and use of the three parts of the subconscious, namely id, ego, and superego, that portray the mind

The biggest symbol in the book, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock and the color green, symbolize Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. Nick Carraway, the narrator, wrote “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 – and distinguished…a single green light…” (Fitzgerald 20-21). In this scene from the book, Gatsby reaches out towards Daisy’s green light at the end of her dock across the lake. This shows Gatsby’s desire for Daisy, his past lover, and shows that he is always reaching/longing for her but fails in his efforts. The water in the quotation is a gap, whether that is an emotional/physical gap, or a gap in Gatsby’s mind between his past relationship with Daisy and the present. Green has multiple meanings in literature, typically meaning life. In terms of this book, Fitzgerald writes that green is the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” (180). This means that green is the past and the future. People reached out in the past and their dreams eluded them, and they are still reaching out in the future with optimism. Therefore, green also stands for the American dream we all reach for and the unattainable we do not reach. Fitzgerald uses many examples of

The three parts of the subconscious are id, ego, and superego. All three interact to decide human behavior (“Superego” 637). Id means “the part of the personality that includes basic biological impulses … The id operates on the ‘pleasure principle’…” (“Id” 323). Ego is “that portion of the personality that imposes realistic limitations on [id behavior]” (“Ego” 208). In terms of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s ego does not impose any limitations on his id desires, and his love for Daisy is made clear through his efforts to be with her (Fitzgerald). For example, his desire for her has no filter, causing him to go to great lengths to be with her, such as when he told Daisy’s husband Tom that Daisy “doesn’t love you…She’s never loved you. She loves me” (130). That is only one example of his unattainable desire for Daisy. Overall, his three parts of the subconscious fail to work together and make him unable to reach his desire, therefore representing the American dream of pursuing what you desire while said desire is