The Green Light

The Green Light belongs to Daisy Buchanan. It sits at the edge of her pier across the lake in plain sight of Gatsby. He purposely bought his mansion directly in way of the light, so that he could always see her and feel close to her. The light symbolizes the hope and dream of Daisy and Jay's romance blossoming together.


The light symbolizes a great deal throughout the book. Just as in the beginning it seems somewhat distant but still visible, shows the desperate yearning of Gatsby is still alive. He has yet to make his attempt at her, so the dream of her is just as as full as ever. He associates it obviously with Daisy, as in the first chapter he reaches out to it as if to her.

"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." (pg.180)

Yet here at the end of the book, we can see that the green light represented more than just Daisy. It symbolized the American Dream, or simply the dreams that others yearn for. Day after day, just like Gatsby, people work endlessly to attain a dream that gets further and further away from them, trying to recreate and live a different way that will never become reality.