In class, we were given the option to redesign the cover of one of a few classic works. I chose F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The novel is a critical look at the American Dream and the corruption that comes with wealth and materialism. It is a classic of the jazz age.

A primary theme within the novel is Gatsby’s inability to move forward with his life beyond his obsession with his unavailable love interest. The green light on her side of the harbor symbolizing that she is ever present, but always out of reach. The cover depicts this green light with welcoming tendrils reaching out to the reader and a champagne coupe to symbolize wealth and excess. The allusion to the green light is also present on the spine’s publisher mark. The back cover features the same coupe broken on the floor bathed in the green light to inform the reader of the tragic ending.