Green Light

I like Nick's interpretation of the green light at the end, as a metaphore for the American dream, something that we reach for, but cannot attain. Throughout the book, however, I've come to interpret the green light as a false light, something beautiful, but man made and wholly imperfect, something that attracts us from a distance, but as we get closer to it, we realize it is small, dim, and manufactured. I admire dreamers who look to the future and work towards a goal, but dreamers who sit stagnant in the past find themselves with an empty life.

Comparisons can be easily made to our celebrity culture and all its sorrow and empty glamour, but It could also be focused closer to home, with a comparison to life on the internet. Our computers, smart phones, ipods, they can all be little false lights, distracting us from what matters most, true relationships, meaningful work and worthy goals. I myself have wasted far to much time browsing, chatting, and living in a false reality, only to find that it was just like a dream and though much time was spent, nothing worthwhile was accomplished.