Color Interpretations in The Great Gatsby

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Discovering hidden messages in a novel compares to solving a puzzle or finding hidden treasure. Underlying symbols appear in many works of literature and lead the reader forward to discover the deeper substance of a character. In The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses subtle tones and clues to tell readers more about a character. These signs aid the reader in revealing the meaning of certain situations and clearing up any confusion. Colors contribute much to explain the unconscious thoughts of characters and explain the characters’ essences.

The color green often shows up in The Great Gatsby, mostly as the color of Daisy Buchanan’s dock light. From the location of Jay Gatsby’s house, this light is visible. Readers probably know that the color green symbolizes envy or plant life, but also being the color of money, green stands for wealth. Traffic lights, invented around the 1920’s, introduced the usage of the color green to mean “go”. In association with Gatsby, the color green shows many things, including his envy of Tom Buchanan, and the dock light signaling him to go after Daisy and begin a new life with her. On the contrary, with Daisy, the green light represents the money that she has with Tom and stands as a firm skeleton for their relationship.

While the Buchanans continue to live together, Daisy benefits from the money. With the description of their house, a white palace with windows reflecting gold, it seems that Tom and Daisy want to fool people into thinking that their relationship epitomizes perfection and purity, but in reality, the only support of their relationship develops from the money. The money acts as a frame, holding everything together because Daisy acknowledges Tom’s affair but does not want to ...

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...ferent meanings, The Great Gatsby shows us that when all of the colors blend with each other, it gives us black, commonly known as the color of death.

Works Cited

Bradstreet, Sarah. "Literary analysis: Color symbolism in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott

Fitzgerald." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. 09 Feb. 2010 .

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Paperback ed. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.

Smith, Kate. "Color: Meaning, Symbolism and Psychology." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. 09

Feb. 2010 .

Vault Design Group. "Traffic Light History - Invention of the Traffic Light." The Great Idea

Finder - Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation. 09 Feb. 2010 .

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