Colors and the Great Gatsby certainly walk hand in hand. In order to fully comprehend the novel, one must first understand the colors and symbolism Fitzgerald hid within the pages. Gatsby himself has plenty of colors surrounding him, mainly the colors yellow, green, and red. Yellow is a color representing instability, cowardice, honor, and empty wealth. Green represents hope, endurance, safety, and growth. Red, as well as pink, represents romance, friendship, passion, and anger. These colors all play an important role in the life of Jay Gatsby, whether it be in his own actions or somebody else’s.
One of the most famous symbols in all of the novel is Gatsby’s yellow car. Yellow is a color representing empty wealth and instability. Gatsby shows great instability in letting Daisy drive his car that night (Fitzgerald 147). Gatsby knows Daisy is capable of doing damage that night, what with her being all upset about Tom’s affair. He also allows Daisy to show cowardice, another trait associated with the color yellow. Daisy does not tell the truth, though she has every opportunity to. She lets Gatsby get killed because she is too afraid to confess about killing Myrtle (Fitzgerald 170). Daisy constantly changes his life with her instability.
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He throws extravagant parties constantly, and he could very well get him in trouble due to the prohibition laws. It all earns him great honor amongst the rich community of the East and West Eggs. More importantly, all of it is for Daisy. He throws amazingly massive parties hoping Daisy will show up (Fitzgerald 79). His big house is full of yellow everywhere, even including a sort of “yellow cocktail music” (Fitzgerald 40). One detail that is often overlooked is the sheer size of Gatsby’s mansion. Vast rooms can feel extremely lonely, and nobody knows that better than Gatsby himself. His empty house is most likely a contributing factor to his