What Does The Green Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Grayson Stallings

Mrs. Tollett

11th-grade American Literature

3 May 2023

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story, The Great Gatsby, there are a large number of symbols used for various descriptions. There are two main types of symbols used in the novel, physical symbols, and color symbols. Utilizing symbols such as the green light, the color white, the clock, and the mansion, Fitzgerald describes the destructive power of obsessive love and the decay of the American Dream, as well as many deeper meanings. One of the first symbols that a reader is introduced to in The Great Gatsby is the green light and the color green. The color green symbolizes growth, nature, renewal, and new beginnings. In chapter five of the novel,

The “greenhouse” was composed of many flowers and other green foliage, symbolizing the nature aspect of the color green. The other green symbol, the green light, is revealed earlier in the story when Nick divulges that the light is situated at the end of the Buchanans’ dock. The light also happens to be across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion. This is not the only time this symbol is seen as Gatsby focuses his obsession with Daisy with the green light. He also sees the light as the mark of the reunion between him and Daisy (Fitzgerald 38). With the focus he has on it, the light “summons Gatsby and his fellow Americans to go ahead, to run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (Fitzgerald 14). Later in the book, when Gatsby has Nick invite Daisy over to share tea and Gatsby would accidentally reunite with Daisy. The three would later go to Gatsby’s house and do a tour of it. At the end of the tour, they were going to go outside, but it began to rain, which led Gatsby to make the statement, “If it wasn’t for the mist,

Scott Fitzgerald, are very crucial to make a story with hidden meanings and to further the story with different depictions and visuals. The Great Gatsby uses many different symbols to describe things like the destructive power of love and the decay of the American dream. Using symbols like the ones in this novel are used is a great way to write an interesting novel with a lot to figure