Green Light In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the symbolic nature of the green light conveys the message that love and hope inflate expectations and lead to disappointing outcomes. When Nick Carraway returns home from meeting with Daisy and Tom Buchanan, he sees Jay Gatsby with his arms “stretched out… towards the dark water” and staring at “a single green light” that was “minute and far away” (Fitzgerald 25-26). Gatsby’s deep desire for the distant light became his equally distant goal and unrealistic dream. Gatsby connects the green light to his longing for Daisy that continued to grow until he expected her to reach the unattainable and imaginative. After five years of longing, Daisy and Gatsby reconnect in Nick’s home where Gatsby’s “colossal