Hidden Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is synonymous with hidden symbolism in everyday life such as colors. The Great Gatsby is an intriguing novel that provides a historical fiction glimpse into the past. The story begins with the narrator, Nick Carroway, explaining an important piece of advice his father once gave him which helped set the tone for the rest of the book. The Great Gatsby is centered around Jay Gatsby, a mysterious wealthy man, who is in love with Daisy Buchanan and is willing to do anything to earn her love once again. Metallic colors, gray, and blue are all recognizable colors that F. Scott. Fitzgerald uses as symbols throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby. Metallic colors, like gold, silver, and white, represent wealth and new money.

The Valley of Ashes is one of the most explicit examples of the use of the color gray. It is described as ashy, dark gray, bleak, and grim. The text states “This is the valley of ashes…where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke..the ash-gray men…powdery air…gray land…spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly” (Fitzgerald 13). This shows that the color gray was connected to the bleakness of living in poverty, and being unable to live a “clean” life. Maya Samkanashvili wrote that she believes the “grey color…symbolizes facelessness, melancholy and low class” (Samkanashvili). The narrator says “It is an old timetable…I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby’s hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him” (Fitzgerald 35). After reading this, it was clearer that gray was representing the lower class and poverty because the “gray names” were accepting any help that Gatsby was giving out even though they did not know him or know anything about him. Living in poverty is something that many people live through and in The Great Gatsby it is represented by the color