Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Literary Analysis: Gatsby Color Symbolism In the novel called The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, he wrote it with multiple instances of color symbolism. He used the symbolism very well in the novel by demonstrating the characters characteristics and also in depth meaning of certain objects. He used the colors white, green, gray, and silver for the symbolism he used in the novel. The first color Fitzgerald symbolized is white. White means pure, perfection, and clean. Nick describes Daisy multiple times wearing white. Nick says, “They were both dressed in white.” Nick is talking about Jordan and Daisy wearing white dresses when he first met them. People could infer that Daisy and Jordan are perfect and pure just because they were wearing white dresses. Nick also describes East Egg filled with white “palaces”. The white in that sentence could mean that the place is clean and perfect.

At the beginning of the novel Fitzgerald writes about Gatsby holding his hand out at a green light. The reader knows that he is reaching for something but they do not know what it is. Then, later in the novel the reader realizes that Daisy lives right across from Gatsby and that he longs to be by her side, which resembles hope. At the end of the novel Nick describes how “Gatsby believed in the green light… the future.” Nick is meaning that Gatsby has always hoped for a better future with Daisy. Later in the novel Fitzgerald has Gatsby and Tom confronting each other in the hotel room fighting over Daisy’s love. Gatsby forces Daisy to say that she has never loved Tom but she eventually says that she can’t say it because she loves both Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby gets jealous because she loves Tom also. Green symbolizes