Thursday, June 19, 2008

Metaphors

What had the green light on the dock meant to Gatsby?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

The green light on the dock was a goal for Gatsby, it meant hope. In the first chapter of the book Nick mentions the first time he sees Gatsby which was when Gatsby was reaching for this green light in the darkness. Not until chapter five is one able to understand what the green light really is. The green light was a light of Daisy’s dock. The fact that Gatsby was anxious and nervous at his meeting with Daisy shows that he had been hoping for their meeting all along. To Gatsby the green light was his future desire to meet Daisy.

kristeena said...

I agree with everything Hyun Ah has to say. To Gatsby the meaning of the green light was hope. It meant hope of having Daisy replaced in his life. Not only did the green light mean hope but it also made Gatsby feel closer to Daisy by just knowing that she was across the water. Although he Gatsby knew the distance between him and Daisy wasn't that great he always felt so far away but the green light allowed him to dream and feel closer.

Unknown said...

Green represents promise, hope, and renovation; it fits Gatsby's dream of a future with Daisy be represented physically in the novel by this green light. But, I disagree with Kristeena of her statement "it also made Gatsby feel closer to Daisy". The water split the two. In other words, at one side there was Daisy, the lake in between, and Gatsby at the other end. The water was used as an obstacle to infer that no matter what, the two end could not conjoin.

Da-Re Kim said...

Throughout the book, the green light is not mentioned alot of times but the symbol or idea is always there. The green light on the dock shows Gatsby's desire. The desire to gain back the love that he once had. He plans and plans everyday just so that he can meet Daisy. Later, he gets closer and closer to this green light that he even gets to the point that he is holding the green light.

Unknown said...

I think Gatsby sees the green light on the dock as a sign of reassurance. As long as the light is there, Daisy is there. Gatsby seemed to be always looking forward to seeing the light because he was so sure of seeing Daisy. He knew that one day he wouldn't have to look at the light anymore because he would have Daisy to look at. The green light brought him closer to Daisy, it gave him a secret bond with her that only he felt and knew about.

JinA said...

I agree with everything my classmates above have mentioned. To Gatsby, the green light means his hope and dream. The only reason he decided to become rich and bought the mansion was to feel and be closer to Daisy. That green light was what kept him optimistic. Like Janique had mentioned, he felt closer to Daisy by watching the green light. At the beginning, the green light doesn’t mean anything to the readers, but to Gatsby the green light on the dock was the hope and dream that kept him to live and work hard.

Unknown said...

The green light on the dock was like Gatsby’s hope of rekindling his love with Daisy. Every night, Gatsby would observe the “green light” on the opposite side of him and dream about a future with Daisy. He always threw parties in hope of Daisy catching of sight of it and for her to go to him if she did realize who he was

Maria S. said...

The green light on the dock signified Gatsby’s goal. It was on Daisy’s dock and it called to him reminding him of his destination, Daisy’s heart. As long as he could see the green light every night he knew he was just right across the bay from her, one more step and they could be together again.

Unknown said...

Mr. Gatsby saw the green light on the dock not only as a goal but also as a motivator of his life. The green light represented Daisy, and Mr. Gatsby always aspired to gain her love back since he noticed that she was stolen from him. Therefore, all he wanted was Daisy, and all those things that he did in his life was motivated by the thought of regaining Daisy's love back. Due to this, the green light was not only the goal of Mr. Gatsby but also the motivator of his actions.