Such is his determination to rekindle this relationship that he becomes oblivious to the reality that five years have passed. The symbolism of the green light represents Gatsby's dream, his hope to be with Daisy and more importantly, the past that he shared with her. Very similar to Latika's yellow dress, the green light (situated at the end of Daisy's dock) is the 'sole light' – the illusion – that Gatsby strives for. Through the use of first-person narrative, Nick states, "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-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And then one fine morning- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." In a metaphorical sense, Nick conveys how Gatsby's illusion will never be obtained, as the current is always bringing him backward. While Gatsby optimistically tries to transform his dream into reality (by running faster and stretching his arms farther), he expends all his energy in the quest for an illusion that continually moves farther away. .
While this metaphor represents Gatsby's tale, it's meaning extends more broadly to American society of that time. According to the American Dream of the 1920s, anything is possible with hard work and perseverance. Shown through Gatsby's dialogue, "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!" his insistence to relive the past is an extreme version of American self-determination. The societal view that anyone could succeed resulted in the corruption of a once pure dream. This led to a society with deluded ideas on what love is really about. To Daisy and Tom, love is bounded by wealth and materialism. Like many 'new-money' people of the time, Gatsby attained wealth and power through illegal purposes, in an attempt to impress 'old-money' Daisy and satisfy his love illusion.
