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The Great Gatsby
Green.
Known to be just a color in our eyes but during the 1920's and in The
Great Gatsby written by F.Scott Fitzgerald it was known for various other reasons
such as money and love as well as the ultimate goal, putting his past behind him
and beginning his future with Daisy. Fitzgerald used green in many different ways
as Gatsby's dream grew from a dim light in the distance to the reality of the
relationship left in destruction. In our society now, green represents money more
than anything, and now and days money represents power which a lot of rich
people which also comes along with living and lavish life just like Gatsby and
Tom.
They begin to talk about green in chapter one as the characters
embrace the dream at the start of The Great Gatsby. Nick moved out East to
fulfill his dream of leaving his past behind and starting a new successful life. Nick
wanted “to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas
knew. ” (6). Nick, wanting to follow his dream about becoming rich and
successful, moved out East and placed himself in the rich neighborhood of West
Egg. Stumbling upon Gatsby with his arms outstretched toward, " a single green
light minute and far away that might have been the end of the dock" (21), Gatsby
began to gream of his perfect life with Daisy. This light marks the end of the
buchanon's pier and the beginning of Gatsby's green hope. The light represents
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what could have been and what could be. As Nick begins to describe the bright
cream - colored car, Gatsby's car is a reminder of Daisy and of her place in the
world. He buys buys the car to impress her if he can. The interior, “ a sort of
green leather conservatory”(84), is a symbol of the work Gatsby must go through
in order to make his dream a reality. In chapter 5 Nick prepares for Gatsby and
Daisy to meet at his house. Gatsby not only sends green flowers to impress
Daisy, but he has a "greenhouse" shipped in. Having convinced Daisy to meet
with him, Gatsby wants her surrounded with fresh green flowers to symbolize
them renewing their love. Later on in the book Gatsby tells Daisy that he has
been watching the light at the end of the dock. He has Daisy is his hands, literally
and he reconsiders his attachment to the light. From here on the color green
begins to take on a different cast as Fitzgerald shows us the negative side of
love, money and renewal. Possibly it has occoured to him that this green light is
gone forever. “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 farther.... And then one fine morning—So we beat
on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (chapter 9).
Gatsby’s dream died along with him. He went from having all the hope in the
world that Daisy was in love with know to knowing for a fact that she just wanted
his money.
Fitzgerald’s use of the color green in The Great Gatsby reflects the arc of
Gatsbys dream. In the beginning it is fresh and bombing but as reality sets in the
green fades. Gatsby’s green hopr restes at the end of Daisy’s dock more than
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the reality of Daisy. Gatsby dies pursuing that light, blinding himself of the other
colors that existed around him.
Work Cited
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http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
LitCharts Editors. "LitChart on The Great Gatsby." LitCharts.com. LitCharts LLC.
2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
September 29, 2004 | Jeff Benedict, Tim Brown and Steve Henson, Special to The
Times
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The Great Gatsby