Green Light

• Gatsby - "Stretched out his arms toward the dark water, trembling, nothing except a single green light "
• It is shown from the beginning of the novel that Gatsby had a deep desire to gain the love of Daisy. At the end of chapter one we are told that Gatsby had " stretched out his arms toward the dark water... trembling… nothing except a single green light". We learn that this light is situated on Daisy’s dock, therefore showing that Gatsby is yearning for her.
• The fact he was ‘trembling’ suggests he was petrified of what the future holds; showing just how desperate he is for Daisy’s approval. The colour ‘green’ has connotations of hope and renewal as well as money and wealth, highlighting what life was like in the Jazz Age; an era of extravagance and optimism.
• Furthermore it is reminiscent of the “fresh green breast of the new world.” which is when the first European settlers arrived, and the ‘American Dream’ was born, therefore, suggesting that the light symbolises just how unattainable the ‘American Dream’ is due to its placement across the bay, so far away that Gatsby can only ‘reach’ towards it. This longing for Daisy shows us that the ‘American Dream’ is a futile and corrupt ideology and Gatsby was only a victim to it.