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What Does The Yellow Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, symbolism is very important all throughout it. Not only does he use objects to show symbolism, but he also uses color symbolism to prove the importance of the theme and development of the characteristics in the Great Gatsby. Color symbolism brings out the visual of the story, so readers can picture it in their mind as they are reading. Fitzgerald took the colors to an advanced level by using key colors to help further deepen the meaning of the book and its characters. Although there are many colors in the novel, Fitzgerald uses the colors green, white, and yellow to symbolize Gatsby’s emotions and riches. First off, Fitzgerald uses the color green to symbolize Gatsby’s money and love …show more content…

Thought out the whole novel the color yellow symbolizes Gatsby’s wealth and has something to do with Daisy. Around the world the color yellow usually means happiness and in “The Great Gatsby” the author stated, "now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music" (Fitzgerald 42). Gatsby was having another party to show his money, while the music had a rich tone and the people there felt that the music was soothing. Also in the novel, Fitzgerald mentions, "two girls in twin yellow dresses" (44), and it is to talking about the happiness. The two girls in the yellow dresses are admiring Jordan, the golden girl, and are jealous of how amazing she looks. Fitzgerald wrote in his novel "Did mother get powder on your old yellowy hair?" (p. 111), talking about Daisy daughter. The only time Daisy’s daughter came into the story Daisy treats her like an object and did not treat her like her daughter. Daisy's life revolves around Daisy, allowing her daughter to come around only when she wanted her to. In this quote the word “old” is not really meaning old it is more of an affection and the word “yellowy” is used as just the color yellow or blond hair. There is so many time yellow is used, like when Fitzgerald talks about Gatsby's yellowish white car and both of them colors together, represent Gatsby and Daisy’s love for each …show more content…

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

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In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the imagery of color throughout the book. Social classes, emotional states,and racial slurs, all reflect back on the many different colors that are used throughout the book. The colors are used repeatedly as symbols, and shades to develop the mood and tone In different scenes of the novel. The color white is a symbol of being clean and fresh, on the contrary it could also be very tainted like the color black. Green is the ruling color in the book which represent confidence and hope.

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Color is an essential part of everyday life and the world around us. Colors convey meaning when words cannot. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses color as a literary device to progress the story, create setting, mood, and develop and develop characters. Fitzgerald’s use of color shows the differences in class by describing the character, their surroundings, and their possessions with color.

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Fitzgerald uses symbolism another time to show his position as well. In the fourth chapter of the book, after Gatsby’s party that Nick was invited to, Gatsby’s car was described as vibrant with a yellow-esque color. As noted by Nick, “ It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns” (Fitzgerald 64). In The Great Gatsby, the color yellow is a symbol that represents wealth and power. Gatsby can be associated with the color yellow because it relates to his quest to gain money and get close to Daisy again.

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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.

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In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald exhausts numerous colors throughout the novel to demonstrate different aspects of the changing times. He associates colors like yellow, white, blue and gray with certain characters as well as specific topics in the novel. The color gray is associated with the character Jordan Baker as well as with the topics of moral and sexual ambiguity. Fitzgerald also demonstrates the use of color psychology in The Great Gatsby, thus causing the audience to acknowledge perceptions of those colors.

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The color green has its own significance in the novel, as it is mainly attached to Gatsby. The color green is usually attached with nature as in rebirth of spring, growth, wealth, hope and envy. Green embodies Gatsby’s dream and the perpetual pursuit of it. The green color is visited by the reader for the very first time through the element of the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.

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Though hiding behind Gatsby’s colorful parties, when the citizens are put together the colorful society is exposed for its true mess of grey. Although the guests of the party plaster wide smiles on their faces to make it seem as though they are happy, the grey names give off the truth of their sad stories from before. In addition, on the way to Myrtle and Tom’s apartment in New York stumble across “the vendor who sells Myrtle her puppy is described as a “grey old man. ”(Brozak). ”

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, color symbolism is used to reveal important character traits and create a variety of moods throughout chapters 1-4. Fitzgerald incorporates the color white to demonstrate the virginal purity and initial innocence of some of the characters. He also uses this symbolism of the color white to differentiate between social classes. Fitzgerald then affiliates the colors gray and yellow with the dismal corruption that engulfs the novel. To tie everything together, he develops a pattern of the color green to portray how Gatsby’s world revolves around a greedy, yet romanticized dream, only attainable through money.

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The color grey often symbolizes dull and lifeless characteristics or a state of depression. During the 1920s people in the working class were described as “grey” as they chased their goals they could never achieve. The Great Gatsby is a story of people who try to gain and reach success in a world where social classes vary significantly. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the color grey in both characters and settings to portray the disillusionment of the American Dream through his characters' corrupt ambitions and amoral behavior.

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Another symbol seen often in the novel is the color green and gold. These colors symbolize wealth and greed. Gatsby is seen standing on his dock staring into a green light, which is coming from Daisy 's house. This green light symbolizes his desire for wealth and an attraction like that of moths to light. Gatsby also creates a false image of himself towards the public.

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Anything yellow is limited to ever becoming more. Daisy is described as “the golden girl”, but a Daisy is yellow at the core (120). Although she is rich and gets everything one could desire, she is flawed. Daisy also runs over Myrtle in Gatsby’s yellow car, which he only ever bought

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