The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses many symbols in his book, The Great Gatsby, to express his thoughts and views on the society of his time. During his life, there were two great divisions of people; the wealthy, and the working class. Fitzgerald describes the extremely wealthy lifestyle in his book, and uses symbols to create a colorful story full of meaning. The colors green and gold are among the most important of these symbols. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent hope and achievement; and uses the color gold to represent wealth and the recklessness that it can bring.

The color green is immediately seen as a goal, or beckoning call to the character of Jay Gatsby. "...he stretched his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I...