Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, colors are used to represent each character or character's possessions. In the beginning of the novel Gatsby sees a light, and the light's color is green. The green light represents Gatsby's past, his love for Daisy, and his unattainable goal to get Daisy.
In the novel, it is revealed that Gatsby's desire for Daisy is also his desire for the past. Without Gatsby meeting Daisy five years from the start of the novel, and falling in love with her, he would have no goals to obtain and he would not be the man he is today. Daisy is the representation of elegance and wealth. She is desired by all the young men, and for Gatsby to win Daisy over means that he is the worthiest man out there. Gatsby was stationed nearby in Louisville, Kentucky and met Daisy at her parent's house. From the beginning Gatsby was attracted to Daisy. He knew that Daisy would not give him a chance if she knew that he was poor, so he decides to lie about his past and his current circumstances of being deployed in war. As the time comes closer for Gatsby to go to war, Daisy promises to wait for him; however, she breaks that promise and ends up marrying Tom. When Gatsby comes back, there is no way for him to get Daisy instantly, so he must work his way up to appease her. He buys a house right across from hers just so he can have a sense of hope that one day he will be with his one true love again. Until then, Gatsby must settle with feeling the presence of the green light.
"Gatsby believed in the green light" (Fitzgerald 180). The green light is Gatsby's closest way of being with Daisy until he can physically be with her. Obtaining Daisy would satisfy Gatsby's whole dream. The narrator of The Great Gatsby Nick, who is also Gatsby's neighbor, notices in chapter one how smitten Gatsby is with the green light. "He stretched out his arms toward the dark in a curious wayInvoluntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.