Great Gatsby Green Light Essay Research Paper

Great Gatsby Green Light Essay, Research Paper

Green Light in the Great Gatsby

After the events of this story have unfolded, the narrator Nick, focuses on the man

most like himself; Gatsby. Both Nick Carraway and Jay Gatz hail from the mid-west,

where morals and the right way of getting ahead are instilled into them. They travel to

New York, where the morals are paper-thin and everything seems turned upside down.

The saps with morals stay in the ashheaps while the careless, foolhardy upper society do

what they please. Nick stays true to the mid-west morals of an earnest, hardworking

living while Gatsby tries to be just like the others on East Egg. Nick says this of him,

.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…..And one fine morning-. (189). A central theme of the novel I think, is the idea

that people aren.t satisfied with what they have, they are always going further and further,

never knowing when to stop, and always striving for that bright star that .seemed so close

that he could hardly fail to grasp it.. (189).

To Gatsby the green light symbolizes Daisy, Daisy in a way represents her peers in

the same social strata as her. Daisy is a fool, living vicariously and so are the characters in

this book. The green light represents the wild and recklessness of the times. These were

times when women for the first time were drinking and smoking alongside the guys, their

war was over and so were their troubles. The green light for them means go, after most

wars the economy experiences a boom, this was no different. They are cocksure, thinking

that whatever they do is right, and they always push on. They don.t care what happens to

others as long as they remain untouched and unrivaled.

This selfishness is shown in nearly all characters except Nick, who accepts his life

and is satisfied. He works hard and scrapes by, but he is living the life he wants, .I am one

of the few honest men that I have ever known..(64). He.s sensible and thinks out his

actions. He doesn.t have the green gleam in his eye that everyone else seems to have. He

is an observer to the situation, and when he talks of Gatsby believing in the Green Light,

he sums up Gatsby.s philosophy and possibly what was written in the back of his most

recent edition of .Hopalong Cassidy.; the way to live his life dedicated to Daisy. His

whole life was devoted to re-wooing Daisy and finally have that .one fine morning. when

she would be his completely. I do not think that he knew when to stop.

Once Gatsby achieves his dreams and Daisy is now seeing him on a regular basis,

he doesn.t know what to do. This whole time he wanted her so much and he couldn.t get

her, he was dreaming. Dreaming that the green light would shine on him, and once it did,

he couldn.t help but go further, stretch his arms just a little further, and ask Daisy to leave

her husband. On page 139 in the hotel scene Daisy says to Jay, .Oh, you want to much! I

love you know—isn.t that enough.. But for Gatsby it isn.t enough, he wants more and

more and really it is this dream of .one fine morning. that is the reason he is killed. He

lives his life as a dream. He accomplishes the .American Dream. by coming from nothing

and getting everything but all his profit go to Daisy, she is his dream all along, and it is

from this situation that in the end he is killed, caught in the tangled web of the Buchanans

marriage.

Tom is a good example of not knowing when to stop. He was born into wealth

and went to a prominent college. His life is set up, he has wealth, a beautiful wife, a child,

a lavish lifestyle, and no worries. His decision to have extra-marital affairs is a key

example of .stretching his arms., and indulging himself to the point of fallout. This is

common among his peers, the rich New York crowd.

Gatsby follows Daisy from the time he arrives back until the day he actually has his

dreams come true and he meets her. She is symbolized by the green light at the end of her

dock. To me, this green light is representative of not only Daisy, but of all the other

people in her social class who love the color green as well, and happen to live on the East

Egg. I say they love the color green because all they are interested in is money. Money is

an important factor in this novel. When Gatsby flaunts his money around he gets people.s

attention. When he dies and can no longer shine his green light, the attention dies too.

The New York society is very materialistic, and Gatsby has everything someone in

a material world could want; a huge house, servants, lots of cars, fame, and extra money

to throw around to parties and houseguests. He has everything except personal

satisfaction. He knows that Daisy is the answer, and she is represented in the light. In a

way, the far-off

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