“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy: they tore things and creatures to pieces and then retreated into their money or their immense carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them put together and let other people clean up the mess they had made. (page 179) Nick realized this late in his efforts. In most cases, a strong desire towards unattainable things will lead to failure, like Gatsby, or corruption, like Daisy, Jordan, and Tom, which ultimately leads to lifelessness and death. Fitzgerald uses green to symbolize unattainable desire and in the book it leads to corruption and false purity. He then uses gray to symbolize lifelessness, it is shown as a repercussion of corruption and hidden impurity. Overall, these symbols highlight the theme and the fact that it can easily be related to today's culture. It all starts with a wish. Throughout the book there are many references to the fact that green symbolizes unattainable desire. James Gatz demonstrated from an early age that he had the drive to achieve his dreams, as demonstrated through his "General Resolves" on page 173. He was able to reach his goal of wealth, which gave him even more drive to move forward. after Margherita. In the book, Gatsby's longing for Daisy was represented by the green light at the end of his dock, "he (Gatsby) stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way... Involuntarily I looked out to sea and distinguished nothing except for a single green light, tiny and far away, which might have been the end of a pier. Later in the book it is confirmed to be the green light from Daisy's pier, "'If it weren't for this fog we could see yours. house across the bay' said Gatsby (to Daisy), "You always have a green light burning all night, at the end of your dock." Jay built h...... middle of paper ......ess. As shown throughout the book, if you desire something that leads to corruption your end result will be a lack of life, whether this is shown through death or simply having a useless life. This book is a timeless novel because all the themes and events will refer to any historical period. The symbolism used in The Great Gatsby is used to emphasize the theme. Green, which symbolizes desire, was shown in the book as Jay longing for Daisy. White, symbolizing false purity, was shown as a repercussion of wealth. Finally, grey, being lifeless, shown as a product of being corrupt or desiring corrupt things. In today's society there are many pure-looking things that are falsely pure. Both fame and wealth today have the same repercussions as the Great Gatsby: ultimately the lack of life. In conclusion, this book reveals that money and desire strongly corrupt human nature.