What Does The Color Green Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald develops the themes of corruption and love through symbolism to depict the fall of the American dream.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses many symbols as an integral part of developing the themes in the novel. One of the numerous symbols Fitzgerald uses is the use of color. Fitzgerald uses real colors to paint a picture for the reader of what life was like during the 1920’s. According to Maia Samkanashvili, different colors are used to represent different themes throughout the novel and give importance to characteristics of the characters (39). Fitzgerald uses the color green as a symbol of hope, wealth, love and corruption. The color green is also used to represent the character of Gatsby. Fitzgerald

shows that Gatsby is filled with hope as he looks at the green light, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.

It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further...”(189). This shows that the light was Gatsby’s motivation throughout the novel to reach his ultimate aspiration of love. Nonetheless, the closer Gatsby got to the “green light” the further he was from attaining his goal. Gatsby was a dreamer hoping to live the American dream, yet his dream was a dream of the past. The love Gatsby wants is an ideal that he has dreamed of, not a reality. Fitzgerald also uses the color green to represent wealth and materialism. The character of Gatsby wants everyone to perceive him as someone with “new wealth.” He throws elaborate parties, has a green car, a lush green lawn and wants the envy of people of “old wealth.” Deitermann states, in Gatsby's case, "Gatsby feels that he needs green money to live and to impress Daisy"(1). Gatsby is green with envy that Tom has Daisy and wants to win her love by making her think he has money. Gatsby knows that material wealth is important to Daisy as he expresses, "Her voice is full of money," and he tries to use money and material possessions to impress Daisy (Fitzgerald 127). Unfortunately, money can not buy love. Fitzgerald shows that money during the 1920’s was the root of all evil. The

symbolic use of color throughout the novel, specifically the color green, symbolized hope, love and corruption that led to the fall of the American dream.
Fitzgerald uses the settings in the novel as symbols of the “old rich,” “new rich” and the poor in order to enhance plot development and themes.

The various settings depict the differences between the different social classes. Ornstein refers to the East as being characterized by sophistication and corruption of Long Island and the West by boring righteous Minnesota villages (140). East Egg is where Daisy lives and is symbolic of sophistication and old money. In contrast, West Egg is where Gatsby resides. West Egg is where the people did not grow up with money. They have attained new money and tend to be very showy. Gatsby acquired his money on his own and gains attention by being gaudy, flashy and loud with his money. East Egg and West Egg are symbolic of the two different worlds that Daisy and Gatsby come from and that Gatsby will never be equal to Daisy. According to Ornstein, Gatsby is a story of displaced persons in search of a larger experience in life (141). Fitzgerald also uses the description of the setting of The Valley of Ashes to symbolize material corruption and sin. The Valley of Ashes is a barren village at the end of East and West Egg where the poor live and work. Even the valley’s location shows that they are of less worth than the people who live in the East and the West. The upper class passes judgment and look down upon the people who live in the Valley of Ashes. More importantly, the billboard of the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg watch over the valley

and cast judgment on all the wealthy who try to hide from their own sin. Moyer illustrates how, “The foul dust is the corruptive materialism, like a worm in an apple, at the center of the transcendental dream” (223). The Valley of Ashes is symbolic of the upper classes sin and immoral ways. The desolate and bleak valley represents the moral decay of the upper class. It is symbolic of how Gatsby’ desire for love, material possessions and immoral ways has turned his dream to dust. The symbolic settings Fitzgerald uses represent love and corruption and eats away at the core of the American dream.
Through the use of characters, Fitzgerald illustrates the different symbolic characteristics of each character that help to develop the themes in the novel. Fitzgerald uses the color white to allude to Daisy being pure and innocent, “Like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans” (Fitzgerald, ). Daisy is admired by many, especially Gatsby. Nevertheless, it is later learned that her character is actually symbolic of corruption. Her behavior soon tarnishes her purity and innocence. She is as fragile as a “Daisy,” but in the end her dishonesty contributes to her downfall. She tricks Gatsby into thinking she would someday leave Tom, yet in the end she chooses money over love. Gatsby represents new money and aspires to attain the American dream. Gatsby shows off his new found wealth by driving flashy cars, living in an enormous mansion and throwing elaborate parties. People find Gatsby mysterious and are in awe of his wealth. His societal friends do not know that he acquired his wealth through illegal bootlegging and organized crime. As stated by Levitt, “The novel ends up not blaming Gatsby for his attempt to rise by the "wrong means," but blaming the class structure that made that rise seem so desirable and created those criminal means” (260). As a final point, Fitzgerald shows how the crumbling of Gatsby’s dream parallels the crumbling of the American dream during the 1920’s.