In some cases, a single light can be a source of hope. Hope that there is something ahead, waiting for us, and we must try a little bit harder in order to catch that small piece of clarity. Scott Fitzgerald employs the use of a green light in order to express the most found desires of the main protagonist in "The Great Gatsby." The green light relevance can be derived from Gatsby's desire and quest for greatness and fortune and the reality of the light location.
The first association that the reader is able to made in relationship with the light is that it symbolizes hope. In Gatsby's case is the hope that one day he will be able to "catch" Daisy's love. Daisy is the apparent reason for Gatsby's drive for wealth. After all, he waited for her all this time and throws parties every weekend hoping that one day she will attend one of them. To him, Daisy is the physical incarnation of the green light. But, why Fitzgerald will take something as pure as a light and turn it green? In reality, this particular color can be linked with hope, virtue, and wealth and to our main protagonist, this dynamic trio and Daisy are equated.
Then moving on to the idea of wealth, as the novel progresses, the reader is able to perceive how the idea of the green light changes before their eyes. In several occasions, details, and comments made by and about Gatsby reveal a different reality about the real meaning behind the light. As more information about Gatsby's past is revealed the idea that Daisy is the motive behind Gatsby's drive is everytime more questionable.
First, we learn that Gatsby's real name is James Gatz and because Daisy refers to him as Gatsby we know that she met him after he changed his name. Name that he created as a way to distance himself from his humble beginnings. Then, his father shares the content of his son's old journal with Nick. In there Gatsby used to keep track of activities like practicing his posture and saving money when he was just a kid. Finally, the reader is able to connect Daisy with wealth when Gatsby himself solved the mystery behind Daisy's voice: "It sounds like money." This affirmation confirms the idea that Daisy is the only thing separating Gatsby from his dreams of greatness. With Daisy by his side will be finally accepted by the society that is constantly rejecting him. In a nutshell, Daisy is money and money is green.
One of the biggest ironies lies in the fact that Gatsby's source of hope is unattainable. At the end, the light's proximity is just an illusion and he will never be able to catch it. He was used by Daisy as a form of retaliation for her husband's infidelity and even though he believed that he was close to archive all his dreams, he died without having possessed the real light.
Therefore, Gatsby's hunt after an unobtainable light resulted in his own death because Gatsby failed at realizing that light can never be possessed.
