ipl-logo

Great Gatsby Symbols

668 Words3 Pages

Symbolism transfers deeper and more vivid meaning in literature. Symbols show the underlying connections between ideas and qualities. As a novel depicting the 1920s era, The Great Gatsby includes many symbols that emphasizes the attitudes of the time. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he uses different colors as symbols to strengthen imagery, emotion, and depth to descriptions. Visual enhancement of wealth and gloom are displayed through symbolic colors. The color gold depicts the wealth and success of Jay Gatsby. In Nick’s description of Gatsby’s parties, he noticed “On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched …show more content…

Most evidently, the green light was the dominant symbol for hope. In a literary analysis, Uses of symbols and colors in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author gathered seventeen examples of green symbolism; nine of which are symbols for hope (Saakashvili). The green light was mentioned five times, and holds the theme of the book in place. At the end of the novel, Nick shares that “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180). Gatsby held optimism and hope for his desire for Daisy, but was cut off by the reality of death. In relation, the concept of death holds power in the color yellow. Moments before the shooting of Jay Gatsby, Nick explains that Gatsby was asked “if he needed help, but he shook his head and in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees” (Fitzgerald 161). The disappearance of chauffeur foreshadowed the death of Jay Gatsby, and symbolized the inevitability of death. Overall, the depth of hope and death were captured with the colors green and yellow. Colors in The Great Gatsby give the story a more symbolic and stronger purpose. Gold and gray sharpen the ideas of wealth and gloom. Emotions were strengthened by the symbolic colors of blue and red. Finally, the colors green and yellow represented a more deep meaning to the concepts of hope and death. In the novel, the symbolic colors are a key factor in adding meaning towards the

Show More
Related

  • White Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

    854 Words  | 4 Pages

    The color of white symbolizes corruption as in the example of Gatsby showing the policeman a white card to not get in trouble. The color of yellow symbolizing wealth as represented with Gatsby’s luxurious car which shows how wealthy he is. And, the color green symbolizes the future as it symbolizes the future and dream because of Gatsby’s wanted dream/future he wanted with Daisy as the green light is at her house. So in conclusion, the symbolism of color in the book is a major part of the novel and there are many other colors in the novel that have symbolism like gray, silver or gold, but these colors stood out the most in The Great

    Read More

  • What Does The Color Green Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    813 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices Used In The Great Gatsby

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Color Grey In The Great Gatsby

    1081 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Yellow Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

    507 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yellow surrounds Gatsby enormously; his car at the beginning of the novel is described as “a rich cream color”, but it is not white, which is a sign that it’s already impure (64). Later, after killing Myrtle, Gatsby’s car is described as “a big yellow car”, completing its corruption (139). The color of Gatsby’s car was also unusual for that time period, making the car stand out and helping the trail of death lead to Gatsby. The last time readers see yellow attached to Gatsby is at the near end of the novel, right before he dies when he “disappeared among the yellowing trees” representing his own coming death (161). An area surrounding loss of life is The Valley of Ashes; The Wilson home “was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of a waste land” where the Wilsons have a terrible life (24).

    Read More

  • Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1240 Words  | 5 Pages

    Eli Jensen 3/23/23 Ap lit In "The Great Gatsby," colors play a massive role in representing different themes and symbols throughout the novel. The colors white, yellow, green, and grey all hold significant meanings in the story, representing ideas such as purity, materialism, the American Dream, and moral decay. These colors are used to convey deeper messages about the characters and foreshadow who they truly are. highlighting the societal norms, old versus new money and values of the era.

    Read More

  • What Do Clothes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whether it be through colors, clothes, names, or even houses, authors use symbolism to express complex ideas while giving the reader a visual, sensory experience. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the symbolism of Daisy, Myrtle, Gatsby and Nick’s clothes

    Read More

  • What Does The Yellow Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    1311 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    725 Words  | 3 Pages

    A symbol in a novel is a concrete object that represents an idea or a set of ideas. Choose 3 symbols in the book and explain what they mean and how they function together to support a central theme. The Great Gatsby novel has various numbers of symbols that are descried and each symbolise very different things. Three symbols that this essay is going to further investigate are the green light, Gatsby’s gold and silver suit and the Valley of Ashes.

    Read More

  • Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

    1148 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gatsby’s life is filled with various colors which signify the messages Fitzgerald is trying to convey. Color symbolism plays an important role through the novel, The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the color green detonates Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, but in other characters it represents envy, jealously, and money. When Nick returns home from his cousins house, he spotted Gatsby outside on his dock: “—he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing but a green light, that might have been at the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 21).

    Read More

  • The Color Gray In The Great Gatsby

    497 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Grey In The Great Gatsby

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    In everyday life and works of literature, color can symbolizes a wide variety of emotions from moods to political views. When someone is feeling upset one often says “I’m feeling blue” or when someone is mad their face turns red giving that color the association with anger. Political status even uses color to represent each party, one is usually either a blue Democrat or red Republican. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby color plays a significant role throughout the story symbolizing emotions and social rankings. Colors such as green representing hope and money, grey portraying hopelessness, discontent, and low social class, and yellow exemplifies destruction and desire.

    Read More

  • How Is Imagery Used In The Great Gatsby

    751 Words  | 4 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and "The Roaring '20s" by Kenn Allan both utilize imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing to depict what living in 1920's America was like. All of these devices are used to set mood, tone, pace, and setting within their stories. The Roaring '20s is always less wordy than the Great Gatsby, but gets the point across just as well. Imagery is a literary device that is used in both the Great Gatsby and the Roaring '20s to portray mood and setting, as well as create an idea of what living in the '20s was like. In The Great Gatsby's case, the imagery creates an elaborate description of the scene, so the reader knows exactly what they are to be imagining.

    Read More

  • What Does The Water Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    809 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout many brilliant works of literature, a common item is placed amongst them: symbols. Symbols are often a key to further understanding a point the author is trying to convey to their readers. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, he utilizes the literary tool of symbols to illustrate a larger picture for his themes and characters within the novel. For example, the color green plays a prominent role in The Great Gatsby throughout the duration of the novel. However, the color has can have various interpretations.

    Read More

  • What Does The Blue Lawn Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    437 Words  | 2 Pages

    This shows the deep desire to have a better life. In comparing the use of green in “The Great Gatsby” and the description of how green appears to most humans it’s obvious to see how Fitzgerald uses this color for envy and

    Read More

More about Great Gatsby Symbols

Open Document