ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Symbolism Essay

1223 Words5 Pages

The most important way in which people perceive the world is through vision. Humanity’s reliance on vision has lead people to correlate specific colors with specific emotions or concepts. Authors have exploited people’s natural perception of colors to use them as powerful symbols in literary works. These symbols help convey profound ideas in a graceful and easily-interpretable way. Symbols are heavily employed by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the quintessential American novel: The Great Gatsby. This work recounts the experiences of Nick Carraway as he is thrust into the city of New York in the 1920s and into the orbit of the wealthy Jay Gatsby. From the dazzling island of Manhattan through the bleak Valley of Ashes and to the opulent West and East …show more content…

The character most heavily associated with white is Daisy Buchanan. Her white dresses and her home- a white palace- are used by Fitzgerald to create a strong connection between Daisy and the color white. Historically, white has symbolized purity and virtue. It is a moral color entirely above all of the other “messy” shades. In the eyes of Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is a paragon of virtue. She is a counter to the dark, poor, and corrupt Valley of Ashes. Even though white has been used to convey holiness and sanctitude, the hue is also a symbol for the deep emptiness and lack of meaning which plagues the lives of the upper class, especially Daisy. White in one sense is timeless and unblemished, but from Fitzgerald’s perspective white is also devoid of all color. This reflects entirely on the utter careless in which Daisy and Tom live; Nick says that Tom and Daisy are “careless people… they [smash] up things and creatures and then [retreat] back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever… and let other people clean up the mess they [have] made” (Fitzgerald 187). The Buchanans and the ultra-rich live their lives without any purpose or care. They simply drift through the world spending their endless amounts of money without contributing anything to society. Fitzgerald incorporates both the universal and more profound of white to critique the carelessness and hollowness of the

Show More
Related
230 Words | 1 Pages

White represents both innocence and purity, Fitzgerald uses white to highlight the corruption of the word pure. Out of all the characters Daisy portrays white the best, she is innocent and pure on the outside, but soon enough she shows that she isn’t pure nor innocent. White also represents East egg, where Daisy lives, “across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water. ”(Fitzgerald 6) East Egg is far from pure, considering both Daisy and Tom who have a home there are not loyal in their marriage. In the very first chapter when Nick and Daisy reunite in East egg at Tom and Daisy’s home, Daisy is wearing a white dress, the dress shows Daisy’s innocence and purity.

Read More
472 Words | 2 Pages

With the array of different motifs Fitzgerald is conveying the message that appearances are deceiving. Fitzgerald utilizes the motif of white ironically to illustrate how impure the characters are. Daisy walks in “dressed in white” in her den (Fitzgerald 74). By revealing daisy wearing white, Fitzgerald is using the common interpretation of white

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

In a book about a tragic love story, one would not expect to find a deeper meaning behind the dangers of jealousy or peril of lust. However, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a deeper meaning beyond jealousy and love. In The Great Gatsby, the author uses an empathetic storyline as a symbol to unwittingly give a complex depiction of the nuisance that people create that not only destroy our world but our society and gives warning to what will occur if we continue the path of destruction. With this intention, the brilliant opinionated writer, expressed his opinion through symbols such as the characters he uses, the setting the story takes place in, and the objects he uses in the book.

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, deploys color symbolism in order to further develop characters and the plot. Fitzgerald’s use of color symbolism within The Great Gatsby not only defines the characters but adds depth to them. The most recognized color within the novel is “the single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (26). In addition to the green light, there are many other colors within the novel that embody characters, objects, and ideas. The most significant and memorable colors, other than green, are white and yellow, both of which are intertwined in Fitzgerald’s fictional world of materialism and scandal.

Read More
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

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

The color white, associated with Daisy, is described as “[E]mpty, vacuity, superficiality, ruthlessness and selfish to a great extent in the novel” (Haibing 42). The color grey is only ever used when describing real world’s “[D]ecadence, bleakness, corruption and disillusionment…” (Haibing 43). Grey and white are present in the story just to remind the reader that not everything is meaningful or

Read More
860 Words | 4 Pages

The character most heavily associated with white is Daisy Buchanan. From her white dresses to her home- a white palace- Fitzgerald creates a strong connection between Daisy and the color white. Historically, white has symbolized purity and virtue. It is a moral color entirely above all of the other “messy” shades. In the eyes of Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is a paragon of virtue.

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Raised during the time of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby describing those golden years. Depicting things such as the American Dream and those who were harmed by its effects. Fitzgerald’s use of color symbolism in The Great Gatsby enhances the story and themes seen in the novel. Fitzgerald uses white to represent purity and innocence. It is often associated with things such as marriage, or the baptism of a baby: “White is symbolic of innocence and purity” (Magher “Examples of Metaphor”).

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1394 Words | 6 Pages

Each color provides an understanding corresponding to each and every one of the characters true personality, as well as the underlying meaning behind a specific setting, but the most important aspect is how a singular color can have contrasting themes that evolve throughout the novel. Daisy Buchanan is the pure image of “perfection” in the novel and during this time period. The author's use of the color white on Daisy depicts her image of being an idolized wealthy woman. The color white is used to represent purity, innocence, and beauty. The character of Daisy Buchanan is often associated with the color white when she is first introduced wearing a white dress, and her voice is described as "full of money... that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it... high in a white palace, the king's daughter, the golden girl.

Read More
1133 Words | 5 Pages

The use of colors can help people to fully understand what you are trying to convey. In the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott. Fitzgerald, color symbolism is widely used to show the emotions and the downfall of the characters as well as the underlying messages that are being portrayed. For example, the color white beautifully and adequately shows how Daisy was corrupt on the inside, but very lovely on the outside. Also, the color gray shows what happens after the bright green envy takes place within a person.

Read More
1261 Words | 6 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.

Read More
1268 Words | 6 Pages

In everyday life and works of literature, color can symbolizes a wide variety of emotions from moods to political views. When someone is feeling upset one often says “I’m feeling blue” or when someone is mad their face turns red giving that color the association with anger. Political status even uses color to represent each party, one is usually either a blue Democrat or red Republican. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby color plays a significant role throughout the story symbolizing emotions and social rankings. Colors such as green representing hope and money, grey portraying hopelessness, discontent, and low social class, and yellow exemplifies destruction and desire.

Read More
969 Words | 4 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald provides examples of symbolism in The Great Gatsby with automobiles, colors, and the green light which all represent a deeper meaning in the text as a whole.

Read More
1738 Words | 7 Pages

When meeting someone for the first time a large part of an initial impression is their clothing. The color, quality and style of their clothing gives information about them as a person that may or may not be true. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, utilizes clothing as an informer of each character’s lifestyle and their desires. Fitzgerald carefully depicts each character’s clothing using color, material, and quality to expose their insecurities. He uses clothing to show how each character wants to be perceived.

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Symbolism Essay

Open Document