Josely Martinez

11/30/14
English 3

Unit 1 Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby is a haunting novelization on one of the most impacted years
of American history: the 1920s. It acts as a sort of firsthand account by Scott Fitzgerald.
One of the uses of symbolism involved the use of the green light in the novel. The Great
Gatsby gave out many symbols in the novel, including the green light. The 2 main points
that interpret the green light as a symbol are that it constitutes hope, and signifies the
American Dream.
To begin with, The Great Gatsby showed symbolism in the green light because it
constitutes hope. In the text it states that, He had come a long way to this blue lawn
and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it.(Fitzgerald,
189) This means that Gatsbys hope for the green light diminished as the hope it
signified was already gone. Another piece of evidence states that, No-Gatsby turned
out all right in the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of
his dream (Fitzgerald, 6) This means that Gatsbys dream that held in the dust of the
green light held him as hopeful. In addition, in the text, it states that Possibly it had
occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished
foreverNow it as just a green light on a dock. (Fitzgerald, 98). This means that
Gatsby being close to Daisy now realizes that the green light no longer signified Daisy
but the hope that Daisy will stay with him and the future he had thought of.
In addition, The Great Gatsby showed symbolism in the green light because it
signified the American Dream. In the text, it states that, Its vanished trees, the trees
that had made way for Gatsbys house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and
greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held
his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation
he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with
something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. (Fitzgerald, 189) This explains
the concept of the American Dream as the dreams Gatsby had wanted for himself and
Daisy and how he held on to those dreams until the end. Also, in the text it states that,
Shes got an indiscreet voice, I remarked, Its full of- Her voice is full of money, He
said suddenly. (Fitzgerald, 127) This explains that Fitzgeralds concept of the American
Dream has to do with the wealth that someone has as well as the people associated
with it as Daisy is a woman with a voice full of money and is therefore part of Gatsbys
idea of the perfect future for himself if he has a wife that is rich as he is.
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby gave out many symbols in the novel, including
the green light. The 2 main points that interpret the green light as a symbol are that it

constitutes hope, and signifies the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his idea
of the American Dream through Gatsbys eyes and will continue to spread this idea as
well as hope for many years to come.