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The Color White In The Great Gatsby Analysis

860 Words4 Pages

Fitzgerald uses the colors yellow and gold as a symbol for both wealth, falsehoods, and death. Throughout the novel many objects are singled out and emphasized for their yellow color. From the golden yellow turkeys at Gatsby’s party and Gatsby’s yellow tie to more importantly his bright yellow car and the spectacles of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg, the emphasis on the color yellow makes its symbolic use unquestionable. Traditionally yellow and gold have been symbols of money and the upper-class. The novel maintains a connection between the color gold and affluence through Daisy; Gatsby says “‘[Daisy’s] voice is full of money,’” and Nick adds that “the inexhaustible charm that [rises] and [falls] … high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden …show more content…

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. She is a counter to the dark, poor, and corrupt Valley of the Ashes. Even though white has been used to convey holiness and sanctitude, the color 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. It is hollow and lacking of any true value. 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” (). The Buchanans and the ultra-rich live their lives without any meaning or care. They simply drift through the world spending their endless amounts of money without contributing anything to

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