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The Use of Color Symbolism in "The Great Gatsby"

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Color Symbolism

Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, is one of the greatest pieces of literature out there. But, perhaps, it is best remembered and spoken about for its color symbolism.

For example, at the end of the novel, green color symbolism is used to depict the limitless promises of an unachievable dream that the main character, Gatsby, pursues until the very end.

The main reason why color symbolism in The Great Gatsby is a highly studied topic is due to the fact that the writer also happens to be a painter. Naturally, he has used various colors to make this literary work extremely visual .

Let us study some of the most symbolic representations of different colors in The Great Gatsby.

Almost every chapter of Fitzgerald’s novel uses colors in their purest shades to give readers an insight into the different characters’ lives. Naturally, to fully fathom these colors mentioned, readers must also first understand the situations within which they are used.

Green has been mentioned around 18 times in the novel. Traditionally, green is associated with wealth, growth, and spring. It is also used to convey envy. Thus, Gatsby is shown to be an envious character as he is jealous that Daisy belongs to another man (Tom).

Green is also used to represent the power of money which Gatsby has plenty of. Until the end, Gatsby is hopeful that he can win Daisy with this power of money.

Another area depicting green color symbolism in The Great Gatsby is the  green car  which is called the “death car’. Michaelis describes the car that kills Myrtle as light green, though it’s yellow. The witness of the tragic accident towards the end of the novel is actually not even sure whether the ‘death car is indeed green or yellow in color’ – so experts believe this to be representative of the fact that only  money brings death .

Perhaps the greatest and most important representation of green color in The Great Gatsby is the green light mentioned at the end of the novel, which is used to depict that Gatsby remains a dreamer throughout. This color represents an orgastic future or  romantic reunion  which Gatsby continues to believe in. Sentences such as ‘tomorrow we will run faster and stretch our arms wider’ also reinforce this belief.

Golden, brass, or gold is used nearly 15 times in the novel. Traditionally, these colors symbolize wealth and riches, particularly old wealth. So gold and green used in the book contrastingly symbolize  old wealth and new riches  (gold for Daisy and her husband Tom’s old wealth and green for newly acquired Gatsby’s wealth). Tom himself is also believed to be gold, while Gatsby is green.

Jordan, another character in the story, is also represented with gold (‘I rested my arm on Jordan’s golden shoulder’ or ‘with Jordan’s golden arm’). The color is again used to represent old money.

In chapter 7, golden tea is served at the grey tea hour, which indicates the turning light. Gold turning to yellow is often used through sentences like yellow press or yellow cocktail music to symbolize beauty, old money, and sometimes, negativity .

Daisy is, of course, the golden girl, but the author has also used white (49 times) to show the  fairness and innocence  of her character. In fact, Fitzgerald used white color symbolism very effectively to portray Daisy‘s character.

Experts who have studied the novel in depth use the example of an egg (white on the outside, yellow inside) to explain the Daisy character. She seems pure and innocent on the outside, but inside, she is yellow and corrupt.

White is also vital to the novel as it is used to portray beauty, cleanliness, wealth, laziness, purity, and virginity .

Red color symbolism is also to be found in The Great Gatsby.

Red and gold books, a wine-colored rug, a crimson room, a pink suit, a red circle on water, etc., are used to depict richness, elegance, danger, tastelessness, and death , respectively.

In The Great Gatsby, black wheels represent mourning , black wreaths show nervousness , and black rivulets mean sorrow .

Black is also used to symbolize injury and gloomy settings.  Words like black  morning and black beach show gloominess or impending doom , and Tom’s black eyes are used to represent hostility and anger .

In Conclusion

The Great Gatsby is one of the most visual pieces of literature , and many different colors are used repeatedly for its different characters. For example, white is used for Daisy as Gatsby continues to think of her as his innocent bride, whereas she is actually yellow or corrupted. Gatsby, on the other hand, is mostly linked with green, representing envy and money, but there is also blue, representing Gatsby’s hopes and illusions.

Fitzgerald has used color symbolism in The Great Gatsby to literally paint a vivid canvas that will be discussed, appreciated, and remembered for centuries.

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The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby Symbolism

Symbolism means an artistic and poetic expression or style using figurative images and indirect ideas to express mystical concepts, emotions, and states of mind.  It also refers to symbols writers use to convey specific meanings, and they vary depending on the circumstances. Symbolism in The Great Gatsby carries different meanings to different readers based on their perceptions. Some of the significant symbols used in The Great Gatsby are discussed below.

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

Gatsby’s Mansion

Gatsby’s grand and lavish mansion symbolizes his high lifestyle. It also shows the inner conflict of Gatsby and foreshadows his loneliness hidden behind his lavish estate. It also symbolizes his unbound love for Daisy. Gatsby uses his new money to buy the grand house, thinking it is similar to the house of the old money taken away from him. Though he progresses a lot in life, ironically his luxurious lifestyle does not bring satisfaction to him. It rather seems a falsifying dream. In fact, he struggles to reach at this position to win Daisy back.

The Green Light

The green light pops up many times in the novel and represents Gatsby’s dream and hope. It also represents everything that haunts him and takes him to the past. It also signifies the green stuff (money), his memories with Daisy and the gap between his past and his present. He deliberately chooses the house in a direction from where he can have the enchanting sight of green light. He loves to stand at the dock to stare at that green light which represents his innermost desire to revive his past. He is hopeful that one day he will win the lost moments. The artificial green light also stands for his artificial and unrealistic aims in life.

The Eyes of T. J. Eckleberg

Another symbol we see in the novel is the eyes of T. J Eckleberg. These are faded bespectacled eyes printed on the billboard over the ‘valley of ashes’.  The eyes represent the commercialism which is the backbone of the American dream. It is clear from the fact of how Gatsby earns a lot of wealth to get Daisy back in life. These eyes also represent the hollowness and solidity in Gatsby’s eyes, for despite having all the glitters in life, his eyes reflect emptiness. To George Wilson, they are the eyes of God that watch over every segment of the society. To Nick, they represent the waste of past which sticks around, though, vanished.

The Valley of Ashes

The valley of ashes is a symbolic place in the novel that first appears in chapter two. Nick goes there to search for his mistress. It is a place between East and West Egg created by dumping the industrial waste. It represents how morality and social code of conduct are dropped out of the industrial society. It also depicts the miserable plight of people like George Wilson who live among the ashes without ambition. This is a highly effective symbol that represents the divide between the poor and the rich class in the society of that time and even the present.

East and West Eggs

East and West Eggs are two fictional villages Fitzgerald has created to represent the different ideas of the new rich and the old rich. East Egg represents the old rich. Tom and Daisy belong to East Egg. It represents the people, who are born rich and are considered classy, with an arrogant stance toward West Egg. West Egg stands for newly rich people like Gatsby. It is the world of those who make their own fortune and are not rich by birth. East symbolizes corruption, whereas West symbolizes goodness.

The name Daisy is also symbolic. A daisy is a flower with white petals and a yellow center. Universally of white color represents purity, chastity, and innocence whereas yellow stands for corruption. Similarly, Daisy appears to be innocent and pure, but her heart is filled with lust, carelessness, and corruption. She lets Gatsby believe that she will leave Tom for him, but later it is found that money is the most important thing for her.

Green Color

Just like the Green Light, Green color runs throughout the novel. It universally represents vitality, wealth and growth. In the novel, green stands for Gatsby’s hope and short life. It symbolizes the bulk of wealth which Gatsby earns to win Daisy back in life. It is the symbol of death too, as Michalis describes the car that kills Myrtle as a green light, though, it is a yellow car. The green light thus represents the false status of dream and hope that win nothing for Gatsby.

Other Colors

Colors are widely used in the novel having deeper meanings. For example, Gatsby’s car and T. J. Eckleberg’s glasses are yellow. It represents the corrupt and false standards of Gatsby and the society of that time. Blue color stands for illusions and falsifying dreams ; Gatsby’s garden is blue, Eckleberg’s eyes are blue, and chauffer’s uniform is also blue. While white color is a symbol of purity, in the novel it symbolizes immorality. Gatsby, Daisy, and Jordan wear white, but none of them is a morally ideal character . The valley of ashes is grey symbolizing hopelessness, or filthy side of the society.

Cars in the novel symbolize the display of vanity. The rich and complex description of Gatsby’s car is an epitome of ostentation and excess. It describes the dominance of commercialism how wealth is the center of attraction for the society.  The car of the drunk man is also symbolic, as he runs his car off the road and breaks the wheel. It represents the careless attitude and ignorance of the rich society.

Clock / Time

The clock in the novel symbolizes the passage of time that has passed and the moments Gatsby wants back. He wins the high living standards to rewind the clock to the times, change what happened between him and Daisy. In chapter five “the defunct masterpiece clock” represents that Gatsby is still living in the past with Daisy, while Daisy has moved on. The end of the novel also signifies the value of time and the dilemma faced by humans; the more we try to escape from the past, the more we get close to it.

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The Grapes of Wrath

The use of color throughout the great gatsby and the grapes of wrath anonymous college.

In both The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, color is used in order to reflect the atmosphere or mood. This allows Fitzgerald and Steinbeck to illustrate the events in a more sophisticated style and intensify the clarity of actions; therefore allowing the audience to envisage the episodes in a very refined manner. Whilst the use color is equally effective in both novels, it’s function in ‘The Great Gatsby’ tends to be mainly for materialistic features - in order to reinforce the theme of conspicuous consumption throughout the book, yet in ‘The Grapes Of Wrath’ color is used more to describe the atmosphere or the time of day, rather than objects. Nevertheless, certain colors (notably white and grey) still have alike connotations and create a similar mood in both of the novels.

The purpose of color in ‘The Great Gatsby’ is often for describing objects and highlighting certain aspects of their appearance. The use of color in this way strengthens the theme of materialism and highlights the shallow nature of the characters and particularly Nick - as it is he who narrates the tale and constantly uses color in his descriptions. One of the key examples is the use of the colors gold and silver, which often represent wealth and...

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The Use of Color Symbolism in the Great Gatsby

This essay will explore the use of color symbolism in “The Great Gatsby.” It will discuss how Fitzgerald uses colors like green, yellow, and white to represent themes such as wealth, envy, innocence, and moral decay, and how this symbolism contributes to the overall narrative. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Daisy Buchanan.

How it works

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, one of the main characters of the novel, Gatsby, tries to win back the already married Daisy Buchanan’s love. After fighting in World War One, a determined Gatsby earns a fortune through illegal channels and purchases a mansion in West Egg, across from East Egg where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live. The novel takes place through the perspective of Nick Carraway, who recently moved to New York as a stockbroker after World War One.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald uses vivid symbolism by associating colors to certain characters. He uses the color white to describe Jordan Baker, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby. For the duration of the novel, the color white represents purity, elegance, and innocence; however, as the novel progresses, the meaning of the color white morphs into inequality, unfairness, and disproportionate wealth. In the beginning of the novel, the color white symbolizes both saintliness and purity.

When Nick first arrives in New York, he is invited by the Buchanans to visit their elegant house and eat dinner. Once he sees Daisy and Jordan, he describes them dressed, in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had been blown back in after a short flight around the house, illustrating the pureness of the two women (Fitzgerald 8). Both Daisy and Jordan come from wealth and can afford any lavish clothes. White, a color difficult to keep clean, demonstrates both the elegance and effeminate qualities of the two women, free from any impurities. The purity and royalty of the two women is also shown when Nick is, almost surprised into murmuring an apology by having disturbed her by coming in(Fitzgerald 8). Later on in the novel, Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a meeting between Daisy and him. Gatsby, nervous about the meeting, decides to dress in all white with a gold tie. Nick recounts, the door open[ing] nervously, and Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie, hurried in, revealing Gatsby’s innocence as he foolishly attempts to recreate the past. Although Daisy left Gatsby when he went to war, Gatsby tries to recreate old times as he attempts to rekindle their previous relationship. Inside Nick’s home, Gatsby accidentally knocks over a clock while sitting with Daisy and Nick. The clock represents the lost time Gatsby missed with Daisy and how he tries to make it up as he attempts to rewind his past. Gatsby’s childish innocence shown by his belief that he can repeat the past is demonstrated by the symbolism of Gatsby’s white shirt while Jordan and Daisy’s innocence and beauty is shown through their expensive and elegant dresses.

As the novel progresses, the meaning of the color white evolves into unfairness and injustice. In chapter 4 of the novel, Gatsby invites Nick over for a car ride in order to discuss his past and show his war insignias. Along the way to lunch with Meyer Wolfsheim, Gatsby gets pulled over for speeding. When the officer pulls over the car, Gatsby, [took] a white card from his wallet [and] waved it before the man’s eyes, revealing Gatsby’s influence over others due to his wealth and status (Fitzgerald 68). The white card represents corruption as Gatsby can use the card to get away with crimes ordinary people could not have, revealing the criminal side of Gatsby’s life in contrast to his undying love for Daisy. After meeting Meyer Wolfsheim, Nick goes to tea with Jordan. While talking to Nick, Jordan describes Daisy as, dressed in white, and [she] had a little white roadster, and all day long the telephone rang in her house and excited young officers demanded the privilege of monopolizing her that night, illustrating Daisy’s desire for attention as she displays her wealth through her white clothes and car. Daisy dressing up in white represents unfairness as she falls in love with the materialism of money rather than the personality of men. Once Daisy sees all of Gatsby’s expensive clothes, she weeps into them, demonstrating her excitement over money; however, once Daisy realizes the origin of Gatsby’s money, she quickly withdraws with him, leaving Gatsby’s crushed dreams behind. Daisy leaving Gatsby for money represents both unfairness and disproportionate wealth as well as Daisy’s cruel nature through the symbolism of the color white.

To conclude, the color white represented guiltlessness and saintliness; however, these two meanings are shown to be a facade as the true representation of corruption and unfairness is unveiled. Throughout the novel, almost all the characters keep secrets from others to conceal undesirable qualities. Gatsby has his criminality, Tom his infidelity, and Jordan her mendacious personality. The only character who swears to be honest is Nick Carraway. After talking with Jordan, Nick describes himself as, one of the few honest people that [he] has ever known, setting him apart from other characters in the novel. Nick also often wears white, such as when he wore white flannels when he first visited one of Gatsby’s parties. Although the meaning of white changes throughout the novel, white represents Nick’s honesty, which will always remain the same.

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Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Essay

Introduction.

Color symbolism plays an important role in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925). The author uses various colors to accentuate different aspects of life in the United States in the 1920s. In particular, a great deal of attention is paid to representing differences in social status while emphasizing richness and prosperity with the help of gold and silver. Although the color palette presented in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is rich, the problem of differing social status is most vividly described in the novel through the use of golden and silver colors that stand for wealth, success, the Golden Age, and the American Dream.

Symbols of Wealth in The Great Gatsby

From his first days in the city, Nick Carraway begins to associate life in New York with gold and money. Carraway plans to spend his time reading on “banking and credit and investment securities,” and these books stand on his shelf “in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets” (Fitzgerald 4).

When Carraway comes to Tom Buchanan’s house, he also associates the mansion with prosperity and success while noting that its French windows glow with “reflected gold” (Fitzgerald 6). Thus, Fitzgerald represents Carraway as a person of lower social status than Buchanan but also as someone who wants to achieve success in his life and learn the secrets of the bond business.

When Fitzgerald tells the reader about Jay Gatsby, the use of gold and silver adds to Gatsby’s image as a prosperous man and a person who represents the wealthiest class of the Golden Age in the United States. Indeed, when Carraway sees a silhouette of his neighbor for the first time, Gatsby is “standing with his hands in his pockets regarding the silver pepper of the stars” (Fitzgerald 15).

Silver is also used in the novel to accentuate the unique sparkle of the moon in New York: “A silver curve of the moon hovered already in the western sky” (Fitzgerald 120). The silver shining of the moon and stars is also associated with the sparkling jewelry worn by women from upper classes of society and only dreamt of by poorer people.

Gatsby uses silver and gold in order to emphasize his status and add gloss to his image and appearance. When he prepares for his date with Daisy, he chooses “a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (Fitzgerald 54). He wants to draw Daisy’s and the public’s attention to his wealth. This intention can be observed even in Gatsby’s parties, which are so glamorous and showy that turkeys are “bewitched to a dark gold” (Fitzgerald 26).

Moreover, the author describes Gatsby’s house as a luxurious mansion, and the man’s bedroom, though the “simplest” in the house, is also full of gold. From this point, gold and money help Gatsby distinguish himself from the other people around him. His wealth is accentuated so vividly that no one can doubt Gatsby’s success and status in New York.

However, not only Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are represented as having a high social status; Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan are other characters who have wealth and status in line with these two men. Fitzgerald refers to Jordan as having a “slender golden arm” (28) and a “golden shoulder” (51).

The accentuation of this color is important to demonstrate her status as a rich professional golfer and celebrity in New York social circles. It is significant to note that Fitzgerald uses both silver and gold to present his visions of Jordan and Daisy. In this way, both women are associated with “silver idols” (Fitzgerald 79). At the same time, these rich women seem to shine in their high social circles like gold.

From this perspective, much attention is paid to accentuating the difference between other women and Daisy, who is “the golden girl” with a voice “full of money” (Fitzgerald 84). Thus, Daisy’s high status is presented as an inherited feature that is reflected in her appearance and all of her actions, as well as in her voice. These details are important because they highlight a key difference between Daisy and Gatsby: even though Gatsby has a high social status today, he has no such voice, and his silver shirts are only outer covers that are typical of the Golden Age. The conflict between Daisy’s and Gatsby’s statuses is also observed with reference to Fitzgerald’s representation of Daisy’s memories about the sounds of saxophones.

When the characters return from their thoughts to reality, they observe that the house becomes filled with “gray-turning, gold-turning light” (Fitzgerald 96). This combination of gray and gold, as well as dust and shining, demonstrates the contrast between the glamorous cover of Gatsby’s life and reality.

Despite the fact that Fitzgerald uses many colors in his writing, gold and silver seem to play a unique role in the author’s palette. The distance between the rich and the poor in 1920s America is accentuated with the help of some colorful strokes. Indeed, Fitzgerald uses the expressive combination of colors to demonstrate differences in the characters’ statuses, as gold and silver represent both their real wealth and their attempts to give off an impression of success.

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Wordsworth Publishing, 2013.

• Short Summary
• Summary (Chapter 1)
• Summary (Chapter 2)
• Summary (Chapter 3)
• Summary (Chapter 4)
• Summary (Chapter 5)
• Summary (Chapter 6)
• Summary (Chapter 7)
• Summary (Chapter 8)
• Summary (Chapter 9)
• Symbolism & Style
• Quotes Explained
• Essay Topics
• Essay Samples
• Questions & Answers
• F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Biography
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, March 11). Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby. https://ivypanda.com/essays/silver-gold-color-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby/

"Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby." IvyPanda , 11 Mar. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/silver-gold-color-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby'. 11 March.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby." March 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/silver-gold-color-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby/.

1. IvyPanda . "Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby." March 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/silver-gold-color-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby." March 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/silver-gold-color-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby/.

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The Great Gatsby Color Symbolism

The novel ‘the great gatsby’ takes the tragic love story between the poor young gatsby and the upper-class girl Daisy as the clue, truly records the social style and life aspects of the ‘jazz age’, the hero gatsby’s life has witnessed the realization and disillusionment of the American dream. Symbolism is widely used in his works to express his profound thoughts and themes, accurately depict the degeneration of human morality under the trend of materialism in the 1920s, profoundly clarify the hypocrisy and doomed disillusionment of the American dream in the ‘roaring jazz age’, and show the author’s mature artistic creation skills.

From the color of ‘the great gatsby’, follow the author’s writing, through the author’s depiction of environment and feel the jazz age to different characters of shape human changes in temperature, material, moral and spiritual emptiness, analysis about the symbolism of the color to highlight and deepen the theme plays the role of, analysis of the necessity of the ‘American dream’ shattered, and this is a dull pain and tragedy of The Times.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, 1896-1940), an outstanding novelist, accurately grasp the pulse of The Times, he is called ‘the chronicle writer’ in the United States in the 1920 s, his work is a model of American jazz age, he was regarded as the jazz age ‘poet laureate’, is one of the greatest American writers in the 20th century. Fitzgerald is one of the representative writers of the ‘lost generation’ in the United States. He has completed four novels including paradise on earth, beauty and destruction, the great gatsby, tender night, and the unfinished the last tycoon. Fitzgerald also wrote a lot of short stories about youth and hope, times and confusion. His works have been adapted into films for many times. The great gatsby is Fitzgerald’s most famous work, which has been adapted into many films in the past 100 years.

The great gatsby is Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel about the lives of characters in the fictional town of west egg on bustling long island in the summer of 1922. The story revolves around the mysterious young millionaire jay gatsby and his early understanding of the beautiful upper class miss Daisy buchanan unrealistic infatuation. The great gatsby explores the themes of decadence, idealism, unwillingness to change, social unrest and indulgence, and vividly depicts an alarming American dream and a portrait of the ‘roaring age of jazz’. Fitzgerald was inspired by his many trips to long island’s north shore parties, and in 1923 he began planning the novel to create, in his words, ‘something new — something extraordinary, something beautiful, something simple and polished.’

Symbol is to represent an abstract thing with a specific thing, such as idea, image, belief, behavior or material entity. The former is the carrier of the latter’s meaning, the presentation of the latter’s spirit, and the former is the symbol of the latter. Symbolism is a literary and artistic movement originated in France in the late 19th century. Russia and Belgium are the followers of this movement. Symbolism literature began with the flower of evil by French poet Charles baudelaire in 1857. Edgar Allan POE’s works have a profound influence on the literary world and are the source of many rhetorical devices and images. Baudelaire was deeply influenced and translated them into French. The decades after the first world war were a period of literary popularity known as symbolism.

Symbolism ran through the background, characters, plot and language of some works at that time. It appears in lyric poems (e.g., Yeats’ sailing to Byzantium, hardy’s grey tone), as well as in longer poems (e.g., Eliot’s the waste land), and this technique is widely used in novels (e.g., Joyce’s Ulysses, Faulkner’s uproar and anger. Symbolism is quite common in novels, because the subtle psychology of characters is often difficult to grasp and can only be understood inexpressible.

Especially when the novel seemingly conveys a certain philosophy, the psychological activities and even behaviors of characters are more obscure in the eyes of readers, so the novel chooses symbolism. Bergson once explained the need for symbolism by saying, ‘when we study the purely emotional state of mind… We know by nature that we can hardly count them except by some symbolic representation ‘. Symbolist poet t.s. Eliot also said that thoughts and emotions should be expressed through the symbolic implication of ‘objective counterparts’.

Fitzgerald’s ‘the great gatsby’, although it is a description of the jazz era of the American upper class people indulging in excess of money, partying night and night, luxury and waste, but let the reader feel intriguing artistic taste. The author USES a large number of delicate artistic techniques to manage the story, among which the skillful use of symbolism is most prominent in color symbol. Color words can be found in many places in the book, which effectively conveys the thoughts of different characters in different times and occasions, and at the same time arouses the resonance of readers.

The use of color words in the story is very ironic. While conveying the surface meaning, it reveals the hidden essence and effectively deepens the theme. The symbolism in Fitzgerald’s works is not the mysterious hints or obscure enigmas commonly used by symbolism, but is full of realism style, which expresses the abstract meaning of specific things. This symbolic technique runs through the novel and plays a role in clarifying and sublimating the theme, and makes some seemingly ordinary details interesting and fascinating.

Green means rich, is the youth and hope, is joy and freedom. The word ‘green’ runs through the whole story, and is closely related to gatsby’s short life. It symbolizes gatsby’s vigorous pursuit of dreams in his life, until the dream is finally disillusioned, and the protagonist gatsby himself dies early. Gatsby’s spiritual dream is incompatible with the mainstream society of material desire, and the disillusionment of his dream is inevitable.

The green of the sweatshirt reflects gatsby’s simplicity, youth and vitality. He is full of expectation and confidence for the future. And terminal and night immortal green is a symbol of the pursuit of his life will never can realize the dream, even if he has endless wealth, has the beauty of a woman girl Daisy has always out of reach, is gatsby’s wishful thinking, is an unrealistic fantasy dream, until it pays for the dream life, and even funerals.

Green symbolizes the yearning for dreams and happiness. In the novel, there are three green lights at the wharf that never go out at night. For the first time, at the end of the first chapter of the novel, I decide to greet him. Miss baker mentioned him at dinner, and that was an introduction. I did not, however, call to him, for he made a sudden movement, implying that he was content to be alone — his arms extended out into the dark water, and he looked so strange that I could swear he was trembling, even though I was far from him

I was looking out to sea, too — all but a green light, tiny and distant, perhaps the end of a pier. When I looked back at gatsby, he had disappeared, and I was alone again in the restless darkness. This is gatsby himself for the first time in the book, the author through the observation of ‘I’ (Nick) depicts the night alone in the darkness of gatsby, even at a distance, I can still clearly see that gatsby body shaking, his hands reach out to the sea, into the appearance of such odd and the curiosity of the ‘I’, also let I don’t have the heart to disturb, gatsby in the heart of the ups and downs, emotional suppression, and the direction is only a little green light, the chirp of midsummer night, my heart is not calm, Gatsby’s appearance touched me. Maybe he’s searching, he’s demanding, he’s chasing.

The green light is last seen at the end of the novel. Gatsby was gone, and no one would reach out his trembling hands towards the dark sea and stare at the green light on the wharf which never went out at night, which might be of no importance. At this time, through Nick’s narration, the author once again highlighted the deep image of ‘green’ throughout the whole text, realizing the integrity of the novel and deepening the theme. ‘I remembered gatsby’s surprise when he first recognized the green light at the end of Daisy’s pier. He had come a long way to the blue lawn, and his dream seemed so close that he could hardly hold it. He did not know that he had left the dream behind him, but that he had left it somewhere beyond the city, in the midst of a great blur, where, under the darkness, the dark fields of the republic rose and fell.

The green light is gatsby’s fantasy of a better world in his mind and the epitome of gatsby’s dream, instead of the cheap and empty feelings brought by money. The dream and love symbolized by green light degenerate in reality, and the gap between the dream and reality brings a sense of loss and bewilderment to gatsby in the trance. The gap between the beautiful ideal and the reality reveals the cruel nature of the American dream and lays the foundation for the extinction of gatsby’s love, dream and even his life.

Yellow and gold are elegant colors, especially dazzling, eye-catching, on the one hand is a symbol of wealth, on the other hand is the money supremacy thought under the influence of human nature, the symbol of social decay. Both in reality and in his works, the great gatsby is located in the United States where modernization was carried out in the 1920s. Dust was flying in many places, and people’s hearts were numb. In the work, gatsby firmly believes that money can capture Daisy’s heart. He wore a light yellow suit and lied to Nick about his family history. They held grand parties at home and entertained the rich classes of their neighbors with great hospitality. They indulged themselves in partying night and night, as if gatsby had inexhaustible wealth. The decadent music played by orchestras was yellow cocktail music. Yellow contrasts with the mystery and desolation of the work. Nick and Tom came to the valley of ashes. ‘the only building we could see was a small yellow brick block on the edge of the wasteland’.

Sparsely populated, poorly run and dilapidated, the yellow brick house in a gray haze is a special feature, adding a sense of brokenness and sadness and rendering the tragic color of the novel. In the novel, yellow is also accompanied by death. After the death of mettel, the body is placed in the car shop. ‘in the car shop, there is only one yellow light hanging in the overhead wire cover and shaking’. Wilson, the husband of mettel, vaguely believes that the culprit is the rhubarb car, which also implies and indirectly leads to the tragic ending of gatsby. Wilson plotted revenge for his wife, gatsby insisted on waiting for Daisy’s call, and he relaxed in his swimming pool. ‘the driver asked him if he needed any help, but he shook his head, and after a moment disappeared among the yellowed trees’. This was the end of gatsby’s life and the final disillusionment of the dream he was striving for.

The great gatsby is a great work, vivid portrait of the United States is the jazz age, the reader feel the works of strong modern at the same time, also can strongly feel the author superb writing ability and writing skills, including the author for the use of color is impressive, characters, plot, etc. The author endows the novel with rich symbolic meanings of colors. In the novel, green is gatsby’s dream that he pursues all his life but never realizes. It is the difference between dream and reality.

Yellow and gold are symbols of luxury, luxury, vulgarity and decadence. White symbolizes the moral decay and spiritual emptiness in the age of jazz. These color symbols powerfully deepen the theme. Through the description of the environment by the author and the shaping of different characters, readers can feel the extravagance, warmth and warmth of human relations, moral decay and spiritual emptiness in the jazz era, and convey the inevitable disillusionment of the American dream in the jazz era, which is the hidden pain and tragedy of the era.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Great Gatsby Symbolism — Symbolic meaning of colors in The Great Gatsby

Symbolic Meaning of Colors in The Great Gatsby

• Categories: The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby Symbolism

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Published: Nov 15, 2018

Words: 1033 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. Scribner.
• Beasley, J. (2011). F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A literary reference. Marshall Cavendish.
• Foulkes, J. (2017). Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A Reader's Guide. Cambridge University Press.
• Bruccoli, M. J. (1990). Scott and Ernest: The authority of failure and the authority of success. University of South Carolina Press.
• Millett, F. B. (1992). A Jungian reading of The Great Gatsby. International Journal of Jungian Studies, 4(1), 3-17.
• DeMarr, M. (1982). A comparison of the characters of Tom Buchanan , George Wilson, and Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. Essays in Literature, 9(1), 61-69.
• Hart, D. G. (1991). The great Gatsby and the American dream. Interpretation, 19(1), 37-51.
• The New York Times. (1925, Apr 19). Fitzgerald's Latest A Fascinating Story of Today. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1925/04/19/archives/fitzgeralds-latest-a-fascinating-story-of-today.html
• Reynolds, M. (2003). The Uses of the Exotic: F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Pacific. The Journal of American Culture, 26(1), 25-40.
• Tyson, L. (2006). Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Routledge.

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