Green Light In The Great Gatsby

One of the main themes in The Great Gatsby is the American Dream and how each character attempts to pursue it. Gatsby’s dream is to repeat the past and be wealthy enough to impress Daisy. Throughout the whole novel, all Gatsby worries about is being with Daisy, and everything he does is an attempt to gain her attention. However, the only thing stopping him is Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband. The green light is the best example of symbolism in this novel because it represents Gatsby’s dream along with the whole American Dream. Gatsby is blinded by his hopes and dreams of being with Daisy that he doesn’t face the reality that she will never leave Tom for him.

During the novel, one of the greatest illusions mistaken for reality is Daisy’s love

for Gatsby. When Daisy and Gatsby met in Louisville before Gatsby went to war, Daisy assumed Gatsby was wealthy and they fell in love. Since Gatsby was able to maintain the lie of his wealth, their relationship continued through letters while Gatsby was gone. Then, after being separated for 5 years, Gatsby expects to come back to the United States and marry Daisy so they can spend the rest of their lives together. However, he was greatly mistaken because Daisy has already married the rich and self-absorbed, Tom Buchanan. Gatsby is determined to get Daisy back but he knows he needs to come across a lot of money first. Rumor has it that this is when he meets Meyer Wolfsheim who introduces him into the bootlegging business. Then, Tom confirms the rumor and exposes him in front of Daisy, “I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were. He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter…” (Fitzgerald 133). Gatsby soon becomes very wealthy from bootlegging and buys a mansion in West Egg right across the bay from the Buchanan's mansion in East Egg. From here on, everything Gatsby does is a desperate attempt to gain the attention of Daisy.
Now that Gatsby is wealthy enough to reach Daisy’s high standards, he has to arrange a meeting with her.

He learns that his neighbor, Nick Carraway, is Daisy’s cousin and asks Jordan Baker to arrange a meeting through Nick. “He wants to know,’ continued Jordan, ‘if you’ll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over” (Fitzgerald 78). Nick agrees to the meeting and on the day of their reunion, Gatsby is extremely nervous and awkward around Daisy but as they talk, he becomes more confident. Nick describes Gatsby’s emotions when he says, “He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence” (Fitzgerald 92). He shows Daisy around his mansion and everything he owns to impress her. During Gatsby’s next party, Daisy and Tom come and once the party ends and everyone leaves, Gatsby is very upset. He tells Nick, “She didn’t like it,’ he insisted. ‘She didn’t have a good time” (Fitzgerald 109). The reason Gatsby throws all these big and elaborate parties is to gain Daisy’s attention from across the bay hoping maybe she would stumble in. Then, once she finally comes to his party, he feels that she didn’t have fun and enjoy the party. All Gatsby hoped for was for Daisy to come so he could impress her. However, it didn’t work out the way he expected because Tom was there and Daisy looks down on people with new money since she comes from old money and holds herself to a different standard. This is one of the first times Gatsby is forced to realize the reality that he might not be with

Daisy.
Although Gatsby feels that Daisy wasn’t impressed, he’s still determined to be with her. He tells Nick, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before, she’ll see” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby’s biggest dream is to repeat the past with Daisy but he has to face the harsh reality that she’s already married and she may not want to leave Tom. However, Daisy knows that she’s happy with Gatsby and loves him; she’s just too scared to admit it to Tom. So on one hot day, Gatsby, Nick, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan go into town and Gatsby finally tells Tom that Daisy doesn’t love him. “She never loved you, do you hear? She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!” (Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby soon realizes that even though Daisy loves him, she admits that she once loved Tom too when she says, “Oh, you want too much! I love you now-isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past. I did love him once-but I loved you too” (Fitzgerald 132). This is the second time Gatsby has to face the reality that she might not want to leave Tom and things start to go downhill from here.
After Tom learns that Daisy loves Gatsby and Gatsby realizes that Daisy still loves Tom, things get very heated so Gatsby and Daisy leave together in Gatsby’s car. On their way back home, Daisy is driving frantically when she suddenly hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Things spirals downwards fast when George Wilson shoots and kills Gatsby because Tom told George it was Gatsby who killed his wife. In the end, Daisy stays with Tom and Gatsby is killed because of Daisy’s actions. Almost all of Gatsby’s life has revolved around Daisy and his dream to be with her forever. Unfortunately, he never reaches that dream and dies trying to fulfill it.