Journal 20

All throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses imagery and symbolism as a device to help the reader understand ideas such as superficiality or life spent living in the past.  For example, Nick Carraway reflects on the Dutch sailors that had formerly discovered the island and draws a  connection between the history of the island and Gatsby's lack of understanding about the past.  The green light most likely symbolized a dream of which Gatsby could not achieve, that dream being reliving the past with Daisy. The light is a valid symbol because it is distant and unattainable like his relationship with Daisy.