What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel depicting and representing the American Dream in the 1920s. a society which was clearly filled with glamour and excess that had became a symbol of the pursuit of wealth and success. Through the use of symbolism and characterization, Fitzgerald shows the flaws and ideals of the American Dream as it existed at the time. Fitzgerald shows this through his characters and uses each one to represent an idea of the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby is a book that is widely understood for its use of symbolism in order to represent the ideals of the American Dream. Fitzgerald pushes symbols such as the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of Ashes to illustrate the failure of

… God sees everything” (164, Fitzgerald) This is stated by Wilson referring to the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg and explains how no matter how corrupt or unethical the actions of some of these characters are, they will still be seen and exposed throughout the book. The green light is seen by Jay Gatsby as a symbol of his longing for Daisy, whom he sees as an embodiment of the American Dream, through love and obsession. These symbols have been used by Fitzgerald to illustrate the idea that the pursuit of the American Dream is futile and can lead to a life of corruption. This is shown within the book as quoted: “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.” (Fitzgerald, 101) This explains how the differences of the American Dream are leveled by the work and even whether its ethical or unethical. The characters in the novel, such as Jay Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom, all

Jay Gatsby is a prime example of a man striving for the American Dream. As it’s believed the American dream is rising from nothing and turning into anything and everything desired to be. He attempts to win back the heart of Daisy, ignoring the brief yet effective interactions with Nick a man shown to live happily, which to some is the true ideals of the American dream. This is shown within, when in the text it states “His house was at the very tip of the egg only 50 yards from the sound and squeezed between two places that rented for 12 or 15,000 a season” (Fitzgerald, 9) which shows that although not necessarily rich he was satisfied. George Wilson, who also represented a different element of the American Dream, is viewed as nothing more than a poor man who failed at meeting the expectations of the American Dream although his perspective is different as he continues to fight for it throughout the entirety of the book it can be seen when stated “he's so dumb he doesn't know he's alive." (Fitzgerald, 30) Although, they both participate in the game of success, only one comes out a winner which in this case ended with tom. The Great Gatsby serves as an example of how the pursuit of the American Dream can have troubling and often different results. This is represented within The Great Gatsby when it says “His parents were