Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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Color is everywhere. Although color may not seem important, they might have a greater, deeper meaning. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is set back in the Roaring 20’s, when the economy was booming. A newly rich man named Jay Gatsby is one of the richer people in this time that enjoys his money. He throws overgenerous parties, hoping that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, attends. Gatsby’s life is filled with various colors which signify the messages Fitzgerald is trying to convey. Color symbolism plays an important role through the novel, The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the color green detonates Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, but in other characters it represents envy, jealously, and money. When Nick returns home from his cousins house, he spotted Gatsby outside on his dock: “—he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing but a green light, that might have been at the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 21). In the beginning of the book, we do not know what this green light means, but by the end of the story it goes to show it signifies Gatsby longing for Daisy’s love. Gatsby and Daisy used to date before he left for the war. Now that he is back and has found her, he wants her back. His arm being reached out represents his trying to reach his dreams. In Schneider’s essay on The Great Gatsby, he states: “…green, as the mixture of yellow and blue is once again tragic commingling of dream and reality. Gatsby, seeking