Green In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, describes two different forms of the American dream-- the desire for monetary success which motivates the inhabitants of West Egg and New York City, and the romantic hope that drives Gatsby. Both dreams are represented by the color green: the color of the statue of Liberty, the color of our money, the color of Gatsby's light at the end of the dock. Gatsby’s dream, however, is the original American dream, the dream that pulled the first settlers westward. Through his use of green, Fitzgerald demonstrates that this first American dream has been corrupted by the new, money-driven version.
To Gatsby, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is the physical manifestation of his dream. In his first description,

Fitzgerald never describes nature using the color green, except when describing the original settlers’ vision of America. Instead, trees have “vanished,” having “made way for Gatsby's house” (Fitzgerald 180). The trees that do remain are “black” and “knotted,” or “white,” or “yellowing” (Fitzgerald 88, 107, 161). All of the traces of the “fresh, green breast of the world” which inspires the original American dream have disappeared (Fitzgerald 180). Even the lawn that Gatsby stands on as he dreams his pure and original American dream is described as “blue” (Fitzgerald 180). The foundation upon which he stands, the viewpoint which allows him to see the physical manifestation of his dream, the green light, has been corrupted. The grass is not green anymore, but blue. Now all that remains is the fading remains of the nature that used to exist. When preparing for tea with Daisy, Nick has to drive “into West Egg Village...to search for...lemons and flowers” (Fitzgerald 84). America is no longer a lush nature-filled paradise, but a place where one has to go actively search and purchase flowers. A disconnect between society and nature has formed. Green nature is not the foundation of the American dream anymore. Instead, green money