Green Light Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most known and talked about novels. Since this novel was published in 1925 about the boisterous youth and excessive partying of the 1920s, the people of the 1920s could really relate to this book in a way that people now cannot. This novel, along with other novels Fitzgerald has written, is full of different symbols. A few of the most prominent symbols in The Great Gatsby are the green light, the valley of ashes, and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. At the beginning of the novel, it seems that Jay Gatsby is obsessed with the green light on Daisy Buchanan’s dock, and he very well may be, but for Gatsby, the green light symbolizes his hopes, his past with Daisy and his expectations for their …show more content…
Banach defines the American dream in her article: “The American Dream shifted from a concept centered on personal fulfillment, accomplishment, and happiness to one driven by the more hollow desire for financial achievement and celebrity” (Banach 21). Gatsby has a considerably large amount of money, and he throws the most elaborate, lavish parties, all to get the attention of a woman who lives just across the bay from him. No matter how bright the green light shines or how much he hopes of Daisy leaving her husband and running away with him, Gatsby will still be on the losing side of this twisted love …show more content…
Adam Meehan’s description of the eyes sums up the symbolism perfectly: “Spectral and uncanny, the eyes surveil and judge those living beneath” (Meehan 86). The people who refer to the pair of eyes on the billboard as “the eyes of God” believe that God is always watching, and they believe they can always feel God’s judgement and omnipresence. Even though it is just an advertisement for an eye doctor, the pair of brooding eyes on the towering billboard are believed by some people to be “the eyes of God” because the inhabitants of the valley of ashes need something to have hope for in their lives.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a beautifully written novel about the life and livelihood of one young man named Jay Gatsby. The readers of this novel can find many symbols throughout the story. Some of the most eye-catching and pronounced symbols are the green light, the valley of ashes, and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. Each of these three symbols have drastically different and multiple meanings; however, some meanings are tied together. By the end of the novel, readers have a strong understanding of Gatsby’s life pertaining to these