Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Generally, most authors use colors as symbols to create a deeper meaning to enhance their work. Most colors come with associations in everyday life. Robert Frank once said, “Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, a rich man named Jay Gatsby tries to get his love back but faces many obstacles while trying to do so. Color symbolism plays an essential role in the novel. He uses the colors white, green, blue, gold/yellow, grey, and red to create deeper meanings to some objects throughout the novel. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the color white symbolizes of “purity” throughout East and West Egg.

“You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock” (Fitzgerald 94). This quotation is said to Daisy by Gatsby showing the deep meaning of the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. The green light gives Gatsby hope because he wants to win back his teenage lover and he thinks it’s a sign that they will one day be together again. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180). Once again, the green light was Gatsby’s hope and somehow his connection with Daisy. “Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 16). This symbolizes Gatsby’s hope of his dream and life. In conclusion, the color green throughout the novel connects Gatsby to Daisy, giving him

“Golden stands for richness but also successful and extremely valuable”(Huber). This generally states how gold is used to symbolize throughout the story. As you can consider new money as being green, old money is gold. This depicts Gatsby from Tom and Daisy Buchanan, who represent gold. “High in the white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl”(Fitzgerald 120). This is revealing Daisy as golden. “With Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine”(Fitzgerald 43). Besides all Jordan’s flaws, this reveals her beauty with golf and her glowing golden arms. “I put around Jordan’s golden shoulder”(Fitzgerald 77). This is also symbolizing Jordan’s beauty ignoring her flaws and mistakes. The color gold then transforms to the color yellow. “Sometimes the gold at Gatsby’s house turns to yellow”(Huber). This quotation explains the richness of Gatsby’s gold turning yellow, which represents a small sensation of happiness. “Now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music” (Fitzgerald 42). Gatsby’s car is also coincidentally yellow which shows how Gatsby is associated with yellow. Therefore, the color gold represents richness and then becomes yellow, which represents a short