Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

What’s your favorite color? Does that color define who your are, and your success in life because in the Great Gatsby, green and gold is all that matters and the more you have the more important you are. Symbolism plays a major role in The Great Gatsby, it is the most powerful way to gain an understanding of a characters feelings and hidden messages the author is trying to reveal. The most significant symbolism in this novel is color symbolism, the author chooses to express the characters lives in many different colors such as green and gold. Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many recurring images are present in the novel to highlight symbolic messages such as the color gold and green. These two

The most common color accompanying Gatsby was gold, even his parties were known for being decorated fully with gold this showed off his wealth and happiness, for example “At Gatsby's parties even the turkeys turn to a bewitched to a dark gold" (p. 41). Gatsby chooses to expresses his life in the color gold his golden hair, his yellow car, golden tie, golden house and astonishing parties. After owning enough money to become a member of the rich he surrounds himself in a golden world to show his wealth to Daisy. Although gold can symbolize happiness it can also symbolize greed, Daisy displays greediness when, "Daisy's voice is full of money," Gatsby said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was 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.” (pg 120). This shows the audience daisy is a golden girl not meaning she is full of light and happiness, gold as in greed she loves only the money and wealth Gatsby has. Daisy has always been a girl that enjoys herself greedily in the wealth and happy lifestyle finding any man to fulfill a golden women like her. This time period money and gold indicated everything to the people and if you

This green light gave Gatsby something to reach for, a goal that was so close yet so far it almost seemed unrealistic to reach for, for example “he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away” (pg 21). The light is described as minute and far away which makes it appear difficult to make the dream happen and that dream was to regain Daisy’s love. Towards the end of the novel we learn that in the past Gatsby didn't live up to Daisy’s expectations now he's trying to emulate a character that would be worthy of Daisy’s love. This green light meant everything to Gatsby he believed this light was his whole future for example, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us" (p. 171). Gatsby viewed this light as hope for his orgastic future with Daisy, if he continued to reach for it he would soon reach the goal. Gatsby chose to place his life towards this light and continued to believe in something he knew he could never