What always annoyed me about The Great Gatsby, which I like a good deal more than most of those harshing on it online, is how it was taught to students as if it was this Hermetic Text with layers upon layers of meaning.
"What does the Green Light mean? Does it stand for Wealth? Envy? Daisy Buchanan?"
How about, "it's a pier light signaling there is room on the pier?" That might suggest a welcome invitation to Daisy, but there are other items that interested me more. For example, Nick notices that Gatsby has only read one of the books in his library. That IS a comment on class and education etc. That the one book Gatsby has read is The Autobiography of Ben Franklin matters even more, given how it parallel's what Gatsby is doing.
How do I know it's important? Is it because the book is some latent symbol? No. It's because it is expressly written about. It never ceases to amaze me how many people who pick up random things that Gatz does, and how they show he is modeling his life after Franklin, miss this moment.
The book has symbolism, but the green light is a green light.
Also, every kid who has to read The Great Gatsby should be allowed to watch Eight Men Out and The Sting.
What always annoyed me about The Great Gatsby, which I like a good deal more than most of those harshing on it online, is how it was taught to students as if it was this Hermetic Text with layers upon layers of meaning.
"What does the Green Light mean? Does it stand for Wealth? Envy? Daisy Buchanan?"
How about, "it's a pier light signaling there is room on the pier?" That might suggest a welcome invitation to Daisy, but there are other items that interested me more. For example, Nick notices that Gatsby has only read one of the books in his library. That IS a comment on class and education etc. That the one book Gatsby has read is The Autobiography of Ben Franklin matters even more, given how it parallel's what Gatsby is doing.
How do I know it's important? Is it because the book is some latent symbol? No. It's because it is expressly written about. It never ceases to amaze me how many people who pick up random things that Gatz does, and how they show he is modeling his life after Franklin, miss this moment.
The book has symbolism, but the green light is a green light.
Also, every kid who has to read The Great Gatsby should be allowed to watch Eight Men Out and The Sting.