How effective is the ending to The Great Gatsby?

The conclusion of Nick’s account of his experiences ends in chapter 9. The final section, on pages 148-9 is a very effective and evocative ending to the novel. It is rich with metaphorical representations which Fitzgerald deliberately implements in order to create emotion and an intricately intimate aura in order for the reader (back in the time of publication) to identify and understand the ‘big picture’ behind the plot. The green light that has been mentioned further emphasises Gatsby’s greatest attribute – his ability to dream and hope.
It symbolises his obsessive limerence with his beloved Daisy, but Nick points out that Gatsby ‘did not know that it was already behind him… ‘, in that his visions and aspirations (as well as the symbolism of the green light), go far beyond only Daisy. This possibly indicates the fact that Gatsby hasn’t realised the extent of his progression to be as close to Daisy as possible (until she takes a tour of his house), which is referred to by Nick (“He had come a long way to this blue lawn… ”). Nick relates the green light, with all its connotations, to the first Dutch sailors who visited America for the first time.
He pictured the ‘fresh, green breast of the New World’ (and how it must have looked like to the Dutch sailors who stumbled upon it, without any industrial pollution or buildings (as it used to be called New Amsterdam before NYC)) as the green light, and muses that Gatsby – whose wealth and success so closely echoes the American Dream – failed to realise that the dream had already ended; that his goals had become hollow and empty. The Dutch envisioned it as a land of freedom and equality, where no one is judged and everyone can have a fresh new start; a place for dreamers such as Gatsby. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us… ‘ conclude the novel and find Nick returning to the theme of the importance of the past to the dreams of the future (represented as the green light). He focuses on the struggle of humans to achieve their goals by both transcending and re-creating the past (as observed in Gatsby, “can’t repeat the past?… why of course you can! ” and it is Gatsby’s mindset which makes it one of the reasons Nick calls him The ‘Great’ Gatsby).

Just as Americans have given American meaning through their dreams for their own lives (i. e. the American Dream), Gatsby instills Daisy with a kind of idealised perfection (i. e. he built her up to be this perfect ‘goddess’ over the years… ) that she neither deserves nor possesses (… which crumbles the climax as she isn’t all he perceived). Gatsby’s dream is ‘already behind him somewhere’ as it is ruined by the unworthiness of its object (i. e. Daisy), against contrasted with the American dream and its mythical presence in the 1920s also ruined by the unworthiness of its objects (i. . money, pleasure, etc. ). In the final sentence of the novel, it is metaphorically conveyed that humans are not able to move beyond the past, as the ‘current’ draws them backwards, making their efforts of rowing towards the metaphorical representations of the green light futile.
The past I describe functions as the source of their ideas fuelling their future (epitomised by Gatsby’s affair with Daisy pre-war) and they can’t escape it as they continue to struggle to transform their dreams into reality. While they never lose their optimism (“tomorrow we will run faster… ), their energy is expended in pursuit of a goal that moves ever farther away. This metaphor characterises both Gatsby’s struggle and the American dream as well. Nick’s words register neither blind approval nor cynical disillusionment but rather the respectful melancholy that he ultimately bring to his study of Gatsby’s life. The umpteen frequency of Gatsby’s party also relate to the connotations of the green light in some ways. Most of the guests that attended his parties weren’t invited, as they came ‘for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission’.
The taxi driver that passed Gatsby’s domain may have had a story of his own to explain events. This is in fact the procedure that most of the characters in the novel are involved in (including Nick). They’re spreading around rumours and stories around the objects and events in their world in order to make a sense of them, as he cultivated mystery, Gatsby provided a singularly rich focus for speculation, scrutiny and invention (he continues to do so after his death, too).
His engagement with the past is vividly rendered in this passage through the strength of his imagination summoning up the parties, in both visual and auditory terms. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music—epitomized in the novel by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night—resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals.
Gatsby’s motives for throwing the parties is not to be passed unnoticed however. He used to throw the parties in hope of Daisy, people who know Daisy might attend. It is a proven fact because after their ‘affair’ ‘Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house’, afraid of news of their meetings spreading (as he is aware how much gossip is spread about him already). This is what makes Gatsby’s parties relate to the green light. It conveys Gatsby’s constant desire and hope that someday Daisy will visit, and he shall not cease trying until he achieves his paramount ambition.
The fact that Nick dubs him the ‘Great’ Gatsby is also because he resembles a magician, in that he thinks he can bring back the past (quotation mentioned earlier). The fact that Daisy never shows up to his parties (until after they’re familiar with each other) is also a metaphorical representation of how most people are denied the American dream, no matter how hard they push themselves. Gatsby changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby (god’s boy) and his his domain is built upon the basis of a facade as he wishes to please Daisy and give a good impression.
But in the end he dies due to several factors, such as the fact of his failure to realise that ideals differ from reality and that the past is almost impossible to re-enact. The ‘party’ is over in a literal and metaphorical sense, and Nick prepares to leave the East for the Midwest. The people visiting his parties are aptly described by Nick as being ‘moths’ or parasites, in that they ‘feed off of’ or live off of Gatsby and his wealth. An example of this is Klipspringer, the boarder who visited for a party and never left. The word ‘last’ recurs in this passage, which has an air of finality throughout.
Another example would be the ‘material car’ which Nick saw ‘its lights stop at his front steps’. Mention of the ‘material car’ picks up on the recurrent thematic distinction between ‘materialism’ and ‘idealism’ as being two distinct versions of reality. In finality, we notice how and why the conclusions in this passage are justified as being famous in the literary world. The theme of this book, the ‘American Dream’, is proven rightly to be a mere government-implemented myth, spread by the mass media, in order for people to not lose hope in a time of corruption and social decay.
Characters and intimate objects represent more than their physical bodies throughout the plot, and it is difficult to spot a reference without a vivid or meticulous connotation behind it. Gatsby’s death could be blamed on a lot of people for example, and not only the obvious Wilson (e. g. Tom for telling falsely telling him that Gatsby killed his wife, or himself as he failed to realise the fabrication that is the American dream). It is highly effective an intriguing as it basically sums up the messages and meanings behind the references in the novel Fitzgerald wants the reader to apprehend; which he delivers in a tantalisingly ornate format.