e comment Gatsby makes to Daisy combines symbolism with his undying love for her. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock." (Gatsby 147) In Fitzgerald's novel, the green light is a symbol of hope, and Gatsby incorporates this fully. Gatsby had the courage and strength to follow his heart, regardless of circumstances and the opinions of others, and never loses hope that his love will change. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic 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 one fine morning-" (Gatsby 189) Jay Gatsby clearly Fitzgerald stresses the need for hope and dreams to give meaning and purpose to man's efforts. Striving towards some ideal is the way by which man can feel a sense of involvement, a sense of his own identity. Certainly, Gatsby, with 'his extraordinary gift of hope', set against the empty existence of Daisy, seems to achieve a heroic greatness. Fitzgerald goes on to state that the failure of hopes and dreams, the failure of the American Dream itself, is unavoidable, not only because reality cannot keep up with ideals, but also because the ideals are in any case usually too fantastic to be realised. The heroic presentation of Gatsby, therefore, should not be taken at face value, for we cannot overlook the fact that Gatsby is naive, impractical and over sentimental. It is this which makes him attempt the impossible, to repeat the past. There is something pitiful and absurd about the way he refuses to grow up, but also brave and courageous. The way Gatsby refuses to sacrifice his ideals is admirable, although many saw it as foolish. Jay Gatsby died because of these ideals, and can almost be seen as a martyr for his own beliefs and idea of perfection, or the American Dream. Gatsby's good friend, neighbor, and the narrator of this novel thinks very highly of the c...
