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Color In The Great Gatsby Essay

783 Words4 Pages

Gold and money, a light in the dark, or a warning on the road; the color yellow has many diverse meanings in society and these are just a few. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald colors represent several aspects of the characters as they are swept through rollicking emotions powered by the mystery shrouding the enigmatic Jay Gatsby in the height of the Roaring Twenties. Yellow gives insight into Gatsby’s character, who he wants to be, who he is in truth, and who others think he is. The color yellow is often associated with money because it reminds people of gold. In Fitzgerald’s book, the colors gold and yellow are used interchangeably and often to connotate class or wealth. The mansion of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, rich residents of East Egg, is described, “The front was broken by a line of french windows glowing with reflected …show more content…

He throws lavish parties, but rarely shows his face. He became incredibly wealthy in a such short amount of time, it threw suspicion towards him, especially in a time of bootlegging and gangsters. “It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who felt little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world.” (44). Rumors about Gatsby float around his parties, whispered from ear to ear by people who normally have no qualms about judging people to their face. The secrecy gives a sense of aloofness to those who see him. “He was a son of God-” Nick describes him, “a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that-and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty.”(98) Gatsby appears to be above everyone else. Just as the eyes of T.J Eckleburg, the metaphorical god, a higher power, gaze at the world through yellow spectacles, Gatsby peers across the water from his golden palace in search of the very meretricious beauty for which he has given his life

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