The Green Light of a Dream

Every person in world has their own view of success. Not only do they have their own view of success, but they also have their own view on how to achieve it. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is an example of someone who worked hard for what they wanted, and achieved it. For some the American Dream is having a good family, and for some other people it is getting a significant amount of money. For Gatsby it was a bit different. His American Dream was not a family or money it was just one girl, this girl being Daisy Buchanan. In the novel the American Dream is symbolized by the color green, or more specifically a green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Gatsby is chasing that green light, as hard as he possibly can to achieve his American Dream, but when he believes he achieves his dream, the green light at the end of the dock in his eyes diminishes. Gatsby’s American Dream to some may be viewed as different, but everyone wants different goals, and that is why Gatsby’s life speaks to the American Dream because we are a nation of individuals with the freedom to each pursue his or her American Dream.

Throughout the first half of the novel, Gatsby was a little mysterious. Nick was friends with him, but did not know much about about him;therefore, we as a reader did not know much about him. One of the first times we say Gatsby, Nick described the scene as “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock”(Fitzgerald 20 ). At this point in the novel we have no clue what he was reaching for. But as we try to learn the thing he was looking and reaching towards, was the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. The only thing Gatsby wants is Daisy. So why is he reaching his arms out towards a green light far away? Well, it is because him reaching towards signifies that he knows he is close to what he wants, which is Daisy, yet at the same time he is far away. He is close, because he worked his way up to being the man he think Daisy wants. This man is rich and confident, which is what Gatsby is seen to be according to Nick’s descriptions. The reason he is still far away from his dream is because Gatsby knows for his dream, getting rich and acting confident was the easy part. For him the hard part was getting Daisy to love him, and want to be with him.

The first time Daisy and Gatsby got together was at Nick’s house for tea. This scene shows why getting Daisy to love Gatsby was the hardest part, for him to achieve his American Dream. Gatsby is very awkward around Daisy, especially during this scene even Nick notices it when he describes the situation as how Gatsby “hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs” (Fitzgerald 112). This did not go like Gatsby probably planned his meeting to Daisy to go, but that’s how it went, and he got Daisy to go over to his house. Gatsby is working, and working hard to achieve his American Dream. To achieve your american Dream you are going to have to work hard just as hard as Gatsby did, maybe even harder. But hard work is not the only thing needed in order to achieve your  American Dream. The other thing need is realization.

The realization of what else is needed in order for you to achieve your goal is the most difficult part of achieving your American Dream. Everyone’s steps to achieve their American Dream are going to be different. For Gatsby his steps were getting rich, changing his name, buying a house across the lake from Daisy, then trying to convince her to love him, as well as many little steps and roadblocks along the way. One step that as the novel goes on is not easily noticed is how Gatsby tries to indirectly tell Daisy that she is all he wants. He does it by saying ‘”If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock”’ (Fitzgerald 92). By saying this it shows, that Gatsby is indirectly telling Daisy that every night he looks out and hopes that they will meet so he can finally achieve his American Dream. This also signifies that the green light burning at the end of the dock is the symbol to him that Daisy is still there, which means there is hope that he can achieve his American Dream.

The foundation of achieving you American Dream is based solely on two things. These things being hard work, but also realization of what steps you may have to overcome, and the path you are going to have to take in order to achieve your American Dream. Gatsby is a perfect example of this for multiple reasons. Gatsby worked his tail off get rich, in order to become the man he believed Daisy wanted. He also worked to set up a meeting with Daisy so he could try to win her over. This is an example of recognizing what he needs to do in order to achieve his goal. These reasons, are why Gatsby embodies the american Dream and why what he did is an example of achieving ones American Dream. He worked hard to set himself up for success, and recognized what he had to do. In the end he did not get what he wanted, which is fine because he still worked hard and recognized what he had to do to achieve his dream, which is why he embodies it. Nick realizes, at the end of the novel by telling us how 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–to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—–” (Fitzgerald 180).

CitationsFitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Books, 1950.