What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is a dedicated dreamer with hopes to rekindle a relationship with Daisy, while trying to ensure that they can be together he becomes obsessed. He makes hope in ways no one else can see. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the theme of a person cannot repeat the past is shown through Jay Gatsby, the green light, and Daisy and Gatsby’s reunion at Nick’s house. Gatsby's obsession grows and his heart has control over him. His life becomes one big snowball falling from a mountain, picking up more and more until it hits rock bottom.

Jay Gatsby is one of the critical main characters in the book The Great Gatsby. He is introduced as a dreamer who is endearing, pleasant, and a little mysterious from early on in the book. Yet as the

Even though this small detail is only mentioned a few times and may seem insignificant, the meaning behind it is very deep and presents Gatsby in a new light. We first hear of the green light in chapter two when Nick finds Gatsby on his dock. He says, “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."(Fitzgerald 19). This quote seems to show Gatsby in a state of delusion. He looks at the green light across the water obsessively. The green light is a beacon of hope for Gatsby. He hopes for Daisy and his relationship with her to rekindle and the light is at Daisy's house so he assumes that she must feel the same way he does. He shares his thoughts with her when saying “If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock". Daisy put her arm through his abruptly but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him 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

We see that Gatsby is very close to realizing his desire of being with Daisy is getting closer, but the foreshadowing suggests that his dream might not come true. Even before Daisy arrives, Gatsby is in a frenzy. When she arrives Gatsby and Nick talk in the kitchen because Gatsby is so uneasy, he says “This is a terrible mistake, a terrible, terrible mistake.”(Fitzgerald 68). In this scene, Gatsby reveals his genuine self. Throughout the majority of the book, he hides his personality behind his suits and his wealth, but in this scene, we see Gatsby as a frantic, little boy in love. This sets the scene for the first conversation between Gatsby and Daisy in five years. Which Gatsby knew a little too well off the top of his head, this made the mood awkward when he told Daisy. He said, “Five years next November.”(Fitzgerald 67), “The automatic quality of Gatsby’s answer set us all back at least another minute.”(Fitzgerald 67). Daisy shows some hesitance when talking with Gatsby which could be for many reasons. She is startled to see Gatsby, to start with. We know she never would have predicted that Jay Gatsby would show up and have tea with her because she was not given any advance notice or information about what was going on. Gatsby did this on purpose to ensure that she would come. He is a smart man who knows how to hide his true