When I first started reading the Great Gatsby, I really was very confused and didn't like the book at all, but as I was reading the book I was able to understand what was going on, and eventually I was able to understand the many symbols used throughout the novel. Out of the three books I've read so far this summer, The Great Gatsby was not my favorite, but I do think Fitzgerald used many more significant symbols that made the book important. Although there were so many symbols to analyze throughout the book, the symbol that most stuck out to me was the green light at the end of Daisy's dock.
When the green light was first mentioned, I didn't think anything of it, but as I read more, I realized that the green light was a continuous symbol. Then, in chapter eight, when Nick tells the readers that he believes that all symbols in life are created in our minds, I had a sudden realization of what the green light meant. After a while of thinking about Nick's suggestion of symbols, I came to the idea that Nick meant that life is whatever we want it to be, and without a want or desire in life, we have no purpose. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby seems to have everything he could ever need or want, but if Gatsby wanted nothing more, what purpose would he have in life? So instead of Gatsby living a great life with no purpose, he finds one thing he wants and makes his life's purpose to get it. That thing is Daisy,Gatsby's greenlight, or desire in life. When Gatsby realizes that Daisy will never want him back, he feels like he has no purpose in life, or even a reason to live, which is symbloized when Wilson kills Gatsby.
Whether you are looking at the relationship of desire to the characters in the novel, or just to people in general it is easy to see that everything a person/character does is based on what they want, and achieving this want is what sets their place in society and who they become as a person. Therefore, I believe that we must all have a green light to search and strive for in our life, or there is no life.
I really like the comparison you made about the green light. I think Daisy's green light was being in a relationship with a man who was wealthy. She was attracted to Gatsby because he was now rich, with a big mansion and expensive shirts, and with that her desire for him grew.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of life? That is one question raised as I read your blog. What was Gatsby's purpose? He did live for Daisy's love, but what kind of life did he live because of that? Each character, save Nick, lived for something, but never looked beyond the pupose they live for. For exampley, why did they live for that purpose? What would happen if they got what they really wanted? These are some questions I often ask myself when I read this book. Would Jay be happy if Daisy finally loved him back? If Tom and Myrtle got married, would they really be happy? I think this is one reason I like this book so much; all of the what if's and false purposes for life. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... your idea of the green light is very interesting. It made me think a lot about this book. I think it was insightful and a good idea.
ReplyDelete-kristen :)