Green Light In The Great Gatsby Essay

Dreams are a compelling force in people’s lives. They are what propel them forward each and every day in an effort to reach something better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism, setting, and theme to depict the unattainability of the American Dream.

The idea of American Dream as presented by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby novel involves rising from poverty or rags to richness and wealthy. The American Dream exemplifies that elements such as race, gender, and ethnicity are valueless as they do not influence the ability of an individual to rise to power and richness. This American Dream makes the assumption that concepts such as xenophobia are non-existent in America a concept that is not true and shows vagueness of the American Dream. In his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Great Gatsby to demonstrate the overall idea of living the American dream. Gatsby leaves his small village of farmers and manages to work his way up the ladder although some of the money he uses to climb the ladder is associated with crime “He was a son of God and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 6.7). This phrase shows that Gatsby wasn’t meant for a life similar to that of his father but rather destined for greatness. However, his dream his short-lived and he doesn’t make it to the top as Daisy who is a symbol of his wealthy rejects her and a series of events transpire that result in his death before he could live his American Dream alongside everyone else who was working up the ladder to live the American Dream.

responds to this fact: "Then it had not been merely the stars to which he

“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- to morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning---” In the Great Gatsby, the green light signifies Jay Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future and ultimately the American Dream. The green light represents the lost dreams of Americans, unrealistic hope and the determination to achieve the American Dream. The writing from F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby” allows the reader to learn the significance behind the green light, if hopes and dreams are always centered around future belief and if the belief is more satisfying than one’s desires.

Fitzgerald reveals the truth of the American dream which is, the consequences of America's craze for wealth and a perfect life. The author uses symbols such as the green light, to reveal Gatsby's hope of one day living a life with Daisy. In the novel, Fitzgerald writes, "Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock"(Fitzgerald 21). This quote shows how Nick saw the green light, yet it didn't mean anything to him. However, the light was the only thing Gatsby saw, it was his hope

In relation to the green light, Gatsby associates it with Daisy, making her his American dream, his goal at the end of the journey. “Gatsby believed in the green

The American Dream is an implicit assurance given to all American people, which asserts that any person can aim to new heights by their meritocracy ideologies, regardless of their social class. The Great Gatsby presents the American Dream as a delusion which can never be attained. Several aspects represent the American Dream invalidity such as Daisy's personification as the American Dream, Myrtle's demise, the meritocracy issue, the manner in which Gatsby is refused entry into the elite class and the green light image. This American Dream illusion is the fundamental Great Gatsby theme. It is also the principal message that the author tries to convey in his melancholic but intuitive novel.

Gatsby is an interesting character that often looked across the bay at the shining green light “Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away” which he had connected to Daisy, but this essay is about a different green light related to Daisy, and Gatsby did not have to look far he just need to look next door at Nick Carraway. Nick Carraway displays three prominent green traits such as; him wanting space, is always trying to be calm, and is extremely thoughtful.

The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald is about the failure of the American dream in the roaring twenties. The American dream is the concept that in America, every citizen reaches an optimistic and illusionary goal to meet wealth and happiness. The characters that Fitzgerald usea in the novel, are all attempting to reach a life where there isn’t any inequality and poverty. The characters of the novel are divided into two different groups: 1. The rich upper class where they live on East Egg and the lower class society that lives within the West Egg. However, the unrealistic goal to meet the American Dream does not turn into a reality, no real sign of joy and happiness but instead it creates lots of problems for the characters in the book. The cruel pursuit of wealth, Jay Gatsby’s insistence of holding on Daisy and the corruption of the upper class society shows why the American dream was never achieved.

The American Dream is a dream about possibilities, and a desire for success. Sometimes you can interpret the dream for money, sometimes for love regardless of what the you think it is, the dreamer works hard to reach this goal. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is driven by his desire to achieve the American Dream. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s drive to achieve the dream also results in him falling victim to it. Essentially, Gatsby falls victim to the American Dream because he is forced to face the reality that his dream is just that, a dream that is out of reach and unrealistic. The novel also shows what happened to the American Dream in the 1920’s, which is a time period when the dreams became corrupted for many reasons. The American dream not only causes corruption but has caused destruction. In terms of the American dream, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals that to achieve anything in life one shouldn’t lose oneself in the process. The main elements of Gatsby’s American Dream is love, wealth and popularity/status. These concepts, Gatsby both attains and falls victim to them in his quest to fulfill his dream, the American Dream.

The American dream is just a dream which can’t be implemented in the real world. While writing The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald described the actions of the human society by critiquing the high class and low class ultimately providing his view towards the American dream in 1920s. Throughout the book; “The Great Gatsby”, American dream is shown to be a corrupted dream that leads to destruction. Myrtle, Gatsby, and Daisy are 3 main characters who have significantly shown to be corrupted and destroyed by this dream.

In Chapter 12 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster discusses how symbols can possess multiple meanings due to the different ways that humans interpret literature. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many symbols can be up for interpretation by the reader. For example, a recurring symbol in this novel is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. At the beginning of the novel, this light resembles Gatsby’s dream of having Daisy to himself. As Fitzgerald describes this light as “far away,” he reveals that this dream may be unattainable. However, the green light does not simply symbolize Gatsby’s yearning for Daisy. As Foster states, “in general a symbol can't be reduced to standing for only one thing” (105). The green light also can serve as a symbol of the American Dream of the 1920’s—climbing the social ladder and acquiring vast wealth. Although Gatsby has achieved much of this dream, he often appears dissatisfied with life—despite the fact that he possesses a significant amount of money and power—and always strives for more. As Gatsby keeps looking toward the green light in hope, this symbol reveals that Gatsby never believes that he has fully achieved the American Dream. Other readers may think of more possible meanings for the green light. As Foster also reveals in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, The Great Gatsby displays that symbols can possess multiple layers of meaning due to the imaginations of readers.

The American Dream is understood to be that anyone can be successful in America if they work hard enough. In The Great Gatsby, there are characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson who hope to ascend the proverbial ladder. However, this was not so much for the original ideals of the American Dream as much as it was an unscrupulous desire for money, status or married lovers. Fitzgerald paints a pessimistic picture of the American Dream to be perverted and unlikely to be attainable by the lower class.

The “American Dream” can be portrayed within different aspects of what a person strives for in their life. The “American Dream”, can exemplify a person’s want regarding the perfect home with a family or living in a small apartment alone, it all determines on what the person truly wants. To achieve the “American Dream”, one has to be determined, strong, and willing to go through anything to fulfill their dream. In the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows the representation of the “American Dream” through themes within the character, Gatsby. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald represents what happens to the “American Dream” when it destroys your whole mindset. Furthermore, showing the American dream can never be achieved through bad intentions and wrong doings as shown by Gatsby.

Our world is not a perfect place. Everyone aspires to live in a place of love and happiness, but this doesn’t always happen. There’s hatred, racism, anger, and other terrible aspects on life that no one wants to face day by day. In Woodrow Wilson Guthrie’s song, “This Land Is Your Land,” there is a section of the song that is cut out when performed. This part begins with “as I went walking I saw a sign there and on that sign it said ‘No Trespassing.’ but on the other side it didn’t say nothing, that side was made for you and me” (Guthrie 1). From this, it is portrayed that not everyone is welcomed into the United States with the same opportunities. Since it was cut out, Guthrie didn’t want people to hear the bad side that represents the reality of the United States. Our nation is divided and it is not one country as a whole. These ideas can be furthered shown in the past and present lifestyles of traditional Americans. In the novel The Great Gatsby, celebrated author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characterization of Gatsby as well as the infamous symbol of the green light to demonstrate that the American Dream is unreachable and unachievable for anyone who attempts to strive for it.