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Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald made use of color to symbolize important themes in the novel. Some of the themes represented in the story are money, life, and hope. Fitzgerald uses color to show different parts of characters and how they change from the beginning of the story to the end. Gold represents old money, East Egg, and superiority. Gold is what what used to be used to by the wealthy to pay for things and it is a symbol of wealth. Nick Carraway uses gold as an adjective for some characters in the story too, especially people who live in East Egg like Jordan. “With Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine”, is from when Nick was with Jordan at Gatsby's party. When Gatsby goes to Nick’s house to see Daisy he wears a golden …show more content…

There are many instances in the novel where white is used to describe Daisy. Daisy was wearing white when Nick first came to her house and the Buchanan house is described as white too; “the windows were ajar and gleaming white.”High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl” is about Daisy as well. This also describes Daisy’s “palace” as being white and again shows Daisy being the golden girl in the Great Gatsby. Before Daisy was married she had a white car. By the end of the novel though, Daisy is beginning to be described as careless and is acting more impulsively. This can either mean she was never innocent in the first place or that even the most innocent people can become corrupt. Blue represents Gatsby's and Daisy’s relationship and the misconceptions and illusions that Gatsby has about. Many things in Gatsby’s life are blue. "In his blue gardens men and girls came and went" and in his garden, “ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves”. The blue water is what separates Gatsby from Daisy. Near the water is wear he spends a lot of his time, watching the light on Daisy’s dock. Lastly, when Dan Cody is helping him become Jay Gatsby, he gives him a blue coat and sets him up with a woman who is wearing a blue

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Color is an essential part of everyday life and the world around us. Colors convey meaning when words cannot. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses color as a literary device to progress the story, create setting, mood, and develop and develop characters. Fitzgerald’s use of color shows the differences in class by describing the character, their surroundings, and their possessions with color.

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The color blue could also represent Gatsby's dreams that are unrealistic, such as being with Daisy and her run back and only loving him forever and always. Most things that Gatsby owns or even sends to others tend to be blue, such as said in the book by a woman talking about getting a dress sent by Gatsby, “... It was gas blue with lavender beads,”(43). Gatsby has a lot of illusions about how his life is going to go, albeit he did end up with the fortune and sophistication that he planned for from his childhood, he did not end up with Daisy, his one true love, in the end. The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are “blue and ginormous,” so blue could also represent the immensity of God looking over everyone.

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The typical colors of a daisy are white and yellow- white petals with a yellow center. Similarly, Daisy is portrayed as “the white flower- with a golden center” (Color Symbolism 248). She appears to be innocent and pure, such as in Gatsby’s fantasy world, yet deep inside is corrupted and influenced by money. Gatsby is unaware of her golden center, only seeing her pure facade. However, Nick is fully aware of her superficial nature, noting that her voice is “full of money” (127) and that she is “the king’s daughter, the golden girl”

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1311 Words | 6 Pages

The color white means freshness and innocence but in the article Symbolic Meanings of Colors in The Great Gatsby, it says something different. It states that the color, “white actually symbolizes empty, vacuity, superficiality, ruthlessness and selfish to a great extent in the novel” (Zhang 1). Daisy is a sweet and innocent on the outside but deep down she has a cold and selfish heart that does not care for love, only the money. She reveals her selfishness when Gatsby dies and she does not show any sadness and leaves to go and travel with her

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The most common color accompanying Gatsby was gold, even his parties were known for being decorated fully with gold this showed off his wealth and happiness, for example “At Gatsby's parties even the turkeys turn to a bewitched to a dark gold" (p. 41). Gatsby chooses to expresses his life in the color gold his golden hair, his yellow car, golden tie, golden house and astonishing parties. After owning enough money to become a member of the rich he surrounds himself in a golden world to show his wealth to Daisy. Although gold can symbolize happiness it can also symbolize greed, Daisy displays greediness when, "Daisy's voice is full of money," Gatsby said suddenly. That was it.

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The symbolism of the color white appear several times in the book. But, there was one scene that stood out. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the color of white in the scene where Nick is visiting Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald described what happens when Nick was going on a trip with Gatsby in his car, “-only half, for as we twisted among the pillars of the elevated I heard the familiar “jug-jug-spat!” of a motor cycle, and a frantic policeman rode alongside. “All right, old sport,” called Gatsby.

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