Essay On The Color Red In The Great Gatsby

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Great Gatsby Essay Authors use colors in their writings to allow the reader to feel real emotions, instead of just reading words on a page. Colors are used to associate feelings with characters, or to better describe moods since the reader can personally relate to them. The color symbolism is used in every chapter by Fitzgerald and is important to fully understand the context of the story. The colors help give the reader a connection to the book. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the colors blue, green, and red are symbols which have hidden meaning and add emotion to the story to help describe the characters in greater detail. The color blue is the universal symbol for peace and trust, but F. Scott Fitzgerald has a different …show more content…

The first time the color is introduced is when Nick is describing the Buchanan’s impressive home, he says that “inside, the crimson room bloomed with light,” (Fitzgerald 22). Tom is described as being dominant and aggressive and color of his house helps to describe him further. Later in the book, on the hot summer day in New York after the lunch, Nick says that Gatsby “stood in the center of the crimson carpet and gazed around with fascinated eyes.” (Fitzgerald 116). This is not only foreshadowing the next event to be dangerous and aggressive but, also Gatsby’s death since he is surrounded by red. Red/Crimson is a very intense color affiliated with emotions of violence, as depicted in The Great Gatsby. The colors blue, green, and red all have a hidden deeper meaning which helps to further describe characters and their personalities. Fantasy is represented by blue and how characters create a false reality for themselves. Green is the symbol for hope, Gatsby’s hope for the future. Red represents violence and passion and how the two both compliment each other to describe Tom’s aggression. Colors are used in literature to add deeper meaning on the page, so that the reader can relate to since everyone experiences color