F. Scott Fitzgerald is famous for his use of color symbolism in his critically acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby. Some of the most prominent symbols throughout the novel are the shades of red, which symbolize richness, tastelessness, and death. Fitzgerald strategically places the color red in books, rugs, and rooms in Jay Gatsby’s house in order to symbolize a stain on his moral compass, while simultaneously foreshadowing his inevitable death. To begin with, in the novel, Fitzgerald surrounds Gatsby and his mansion with many different shades of red, such as scarlet, crimson, and pink, each with their respective symbolic meanings. The shade crimson, which is arguably the most significant, is used to symbolize a “crimson stain” existing in Gatsby’s