Question

Read the excerpt from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone—he stretched out 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 glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.

Gatsby’s reaching from the darkness toward the light, creates
fear and loathing.
sadness and loss.
sympathy and insight.
mystery and interest.

Answer 1

sympathy and insight.

The image emphasizes Gatsby’s vulnerability and longing—the “trembling,” the solitary reaching toward the distant green light—so the reader feels pity and gains insight into his futile hope. (It’s more about poignant yearning than fear/loathing; while there’s some mystery, the dominant effect is sympathetic understanding.)