Use Of Green Light In The Great Gatsby

The end of the first world war sparked the beginning of the Roaring 20’s, similar to the novel The Great Gatsby, and with it came the goal Americans strived for, The American Dream. The novel takes place in the 1920s and is narrated by the main character Nick Carraway. The novel focuses on the life of Gatsby and how he is on the quest of the The American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols such as the green light, the yellow car and temperature to show mood, progression and ultimately failure in Gatsby’s quest for The American Dream. The theme is enforced by the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock which is used in the novel to represent Gatsby’s hope to be with Daisy and to eventually accomplish his dream. Gatsby’s yellow car is used

in the novel to represent his own wealth, hope, progression and death. Finally, Fitzgerald uses temperature and different settings to depict the mood and emotion of the climaxes and declines of the novel.
In the light of Gatsby’s quest, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is the last piece of the puzzle to his American Dream and it is telling him to go ahead, and finally win Daisy’s heart and complete his life goals.

There are many pieces to Gatsby’s dream, he manages to attain all the pieces necessary besides the piece that is Daisy Buchanan, which Gatsby desperately needs to be happy. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock across the bay symbolizes the distance Gatsby must go to ultimately win over Daisy. An example from the novel showing Gatsby reaching for that last piece is when Nick states “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 faraway, that might have been the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 21-22). Gatsby is “stretched” for his dream which is the green light, but what Gatsby is not aware of is that the light is further than it seems and the level of difficulty Gatsby will need to win over Daisy and achieve his dream. The green light also represents society’s desire and the seemingly impossible to obtain materialistic American Dream. This is represented by the quote, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us,” (Fitzgerald 182), essentially a signal to go ahead. In society, a green light means go, [which is the same with

Gatsby and many other Americans in the 20s, to try and achieve this dream,] but in this case the light never turns red, so Gatsby never knows when to slow down. Finally, Gatsby’s metaphorical light burns out and it is the death of Gatsby’s chances of ever attaining The American Dream. At the end of the novel Nick sees the green light and says “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it,” (Fitzgerald 182). At this point in the novel, Gatsby’s physical light has gone out and what seems so close ends up being just out of reach. Gatsby fails to realize that his dream is gone and there is no retrieving it, and it ultimately ends up killing him. All in all, the green light is a symbol of progression in The American Dream and not only Gatsby’s dream, but also society’s dream as a whole.
Fitzgerald uses the symbol of Gatsby’s yellow car to represent progression, hope and death.

It is yellow because the colour yellow is the colour of life and happiness but it ultimately puts an end to Gatsby’s dreams. The yellow car shows accomplishment because cars were a luxury in the 20s, but a yellow car is a symbol of great Gatsby’s wealth. Given the setting and time that this novel takes place in, as recently as 1916, closed cars, such as the one belonging to Gatsby, were much more expensive compared to the open doored cars (Little). This quote simply helps to prove that Gatsby is flaunting his money with his closed door yellow car, this car is an excessive piece that contributes to his American Dream giving him a sense of progression and hope. Secondly there is when Daisy is driving herself and Gatsby back from New York after the argument, and Daisy hits and kills Myrtle Wilson. When Nick is talking to Gatsby after the incident, Gatsby already knows, “Was she killed? Yes.” (Fitzgerald 144), then Nick talks about Gatsby’s reaction, “He spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered.” (Fitzgerald 144). Given the situation in this scene, it demonstrates that Gatsby is so blinded by Daisy that he did not care about what happened to Myrtle, and he only cares what Daisy thinks and what Daisy thinks of him. This shows how determined Gatsby is with achieving The American Dream. Finally, Myrtle’s husband George Wilson tracks down the owner of the yellow car,

Gatsby, shoots and kills Gatsby, then kills himself. Nick Carraway is one of the first ones to see that Gatsby is dead, “With scarcely a word said, four of us, the chauffeur, butler, gardener, and I, hurried down to the pool. [...] The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water. It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete.” (Fitzgerald 162-163). Gatsby dies in his pool the one of the only times he ever uses it putting an end to all of his dreams. His carelessness and blindness of the image of Daisy, with the help of his yellow car, finally takes its toll on Gatsby. This symbol of wealth and achievement gets Gatsby so close to fulfilling his dreams but it eventually kills him in the end.
Fitzgerald uses temperature and the time of year to demonstrate emotion and mood. For example, he uses heat to depict anger, and heat when there is a conflict or climax near. An example of an approaching conflict is “The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest day of the summer.” (Fitzgerald 114). Considering how the hottest day of the year is the day that Daisy kills Gatsby’s dream and literally kills Myrtle is no coincidence. When it is reaching very high temperatures, people can not think straight and do not really know what is going on. Daisy becomes confused and has mixed emotions when Gatsby and Tom are fighting for Daisy’s heart. At this point in the novel, Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship reaches a climax and finally comes to an end, also resulting in the end of Gatsby ever achieving his definition of The American Dream. Finally, Fitzgerald uses the rainy day when Gatsby and Daisy are having a tea reunion at Nick’s house. Gatsby wants this time to go perfectly, but he is upset when he finds out about the rain, “the day agreed upon was pouring rain.” (Fitzgerald 84). Gatsby and Daisy’s interaction starts out awkwardly and anticlimactically until the rain clears and Gatsby feels like he is finally winning over Daisy. There are many more examples of Fitzgerald using weather and temperature to display mood.
Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the results to change.” Gatsby believed his actions in the long run would allow him to
acquire “The American Dream”, but it ultimately fails and Fitzgerald uses symbols and imagery to show how. The green light represents Gatsby’s dream and in the end, this dream finally burns out. Gatsby gets so far in social class and the evidence of his wealth with his yellow car that it finally kills him before he completes it. Finally, the climaxes and declines of the novel are brought out and displayed with the use of temperature and weather. Some may debate that Gatsby has accomplished his goal of “The American Dream”, but what are the criterias of The American Dream?