Color Red In The Great Gatsby

The addition of vibrant colors can improve almost any piece of art. But while a splash of red or blue can very easily be introduced onto a canvas, creating the presence of color in literature can prove to be much more of a challenge to the average author. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, is of a different breed. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses colors show his characters’ motivations and emotions. Tom Buchanan, the rich and arrogant muscular beast of a man, is no exception. While other characters may have a greater abundance of colors, Tom’s certainly shine the brightest. Above all others, Tom Buchanan’s actions are represented most accurately by the colors red, green, and gold. The color red represents Tom’s passion, as well

as his greed. Green portrays Tom’s rotten character traits and his wealth. Finally, gold represents Tom’s great success in life and his underlying corruption. Red, green, and gold paint an image that represents Tom Buchanan’s actions and motivations throughout the entirety of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
To begin with, the color red symbolizes Tom’s overflowing passion and unparalleled greed. Passion is defined as any compelling emotion or feeling. In Tom’s case his passion is the combination of two polar opposite states: love and hate. His dangerous cocktail of emotions with blatant disregard for the feelings of others is Tom’s greatest weakness. His love, or lust in this case, for Myrtle in an extramarital affair is the greatest example of Tom being ruled by his emotions. This affair is very conspicuous despite Tom’s best efforts, and it is common knowledge throughout the house that he is seeing someone besides his own wife. “You mean to say you don’t know?’ said Miss Baker, honestly surprised. ‘I thought everybody knew’” (Fitzgerald 15). Red symbolizes his lust for someone that he cannot have. Red also describes Tom’s ethical love for Daisy. His love for her stems from when they first met and everything was perfect. By the time Gatsby arrives into the mix, the relationship between Daisy and Tom is an illusion dependant on the feelings they had in the beginning. The red of Tom’s love pales in comparison to that of his lust. On the flip side of passion is Tom’s anger. Overall, Tom is a very angry man. His unpredictable temper makes him a very volatile character whose actions are frequently very rash and without proper consideration of others. For example, when Myrtle pestered Tom over his wife while they were out, Tom’s temper flared hotly. “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). Clearly, Tom’s temper is a wild animal--easy to provoke and hard to manage. Besides passion, red symbolizes Tom’s greed. Tom is a rich man. He has a staggeringly large amount of money in his bank account, and he absolutely does not care who knows. “He’d brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest. It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that” (Fitzgerald 6). Even Tom’s grand Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay is painted red as if to say “I have more money than you do.” Other amenities include the “new red gas-pumps” found in the West Egg (Fitzgerald 24). Overall, red represents Tom and his most recognizable traits. Red symbolizes his passion and his greed, and although these traits may not be good, the are critical parts of Tom’s character.
Next, green represents Tom’s rotten characteristics, as well as his money. As for Tom’s rottenness, when people think of colors that mean “disgusting” or “rotten,” green tends to be one of the first colors stated. His actions are repulsive, and while they do not make anyone physically sick, they do make the reader wonder just how messed up in the head Tom actually is. When reading The Great Gatsby, it does not take long to establish a strong dislike for Tom. His arrogance, violent tendencies, and casual racism make him an all-around unlikable character. ‘Well, these books are all scientific,’ insisted Tom, glancing at her impatiently. “‘This fellow has worked out the whole thing. It’s up to us who are the dominant race to watch out or these other races will have control of things. ...And we’ve produced all the things that go to make civilization—oh, science and art and all that. Do you see’” (Fitzgerald 13). Racism is merely part of what makes Tom disgustingly unlikable. He cheats on his wife and does not try to hide it. He tries to justify his running-around to himself and everyone else, but according to Daisy, “you’re revolting” (Fitzgerald 131). It is clear that even though cheating is commonly considered to be a scummy thing to do, Tom feels no remorse. He is also a very jealous man. Tom will not tolerate the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, even if it were not anything romantic. Green also symbolizes Tom’s money, of which he has plenty. Even in college, seeing as how his money was not earned by himself, Tom spent his money without caution (Fitzgerald 6). Being able to buy whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it helped turn him into the spoiled and arrogant man that he is. His rudeness stems from his impatience with those less fortunate. When Tom and Myrtle are out and see dogs for sale, Myrtle naturally wants one to take home. Apparently out of his own pride and arrogance, Tom gives her the money for a dog plus ten (Fitzgerald 28). Green is a color of multiple interpretations, but for Tom Buchanan, green is a color that represents almost exclusively negative traits.
Finally, Tom is represented by the color gold.

Gold is Tom’s incredible success in life and his underlying corruption. On the success side stands Tom with his enormous cache of money and his beautiful wife and kid. He is truly living the “American dream.” His home is perhaps the greatest evidence of just how well-off Tom is. “The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold, and wide open to the warm windy afternoon” (Fitzgerald 6). His house reflecting gold shows how good life is for Tom. His success also comes from him being “old money.” Unlike Gatsby, who only recently acquired his fortune, Tom had been rich for as long as he could remember. Gold describes the lifestyle that he has grown accustomed to and how he feels about the “new money.” For example, when Tom found out how Gatsby had truly made his fortune, he did not hide his contempt (Fitzgerald 133). Gold also symbolizes Tom’s corruption. The yellow car is a symbol of what lengths Tom would go to to get what he wants. He used Myrtle’s death as a tool in his plan to get rid of Gatsby. Tom knew that Myrtle would want to be with him, so he made sure that she thought he was in the yellow car. Tom tricked Wilson into believing that Gatsby was the driver of the yellow car. “He believed that Mrs. Wilson had been running away from her husband, rather than trying to stop any particular car” (Fitzgerald 159). Tom was corrupted enough to set up Myrtle’s murder, blame Gatsby, and have Wilson shoot Gatsby. Tom consistently makes poor decisions for temporary happiness without contemplating how they would affect him or his wife in the future. His reasons for leaving Chicago are never made clear, but it can be inferred that it was due to one of Tom’s indiscretions (Fitzgerald

131).
The skill that F. Scott Fitzgerald has to “paint” his novels with color is an anomaly. He uses several colors in order to abstractly portray his characters’ actions and motivations. Tom Buchanan, the rich and arrogant hulk, has perhaps best described by his colors rather than words. The colors red, green, and gold represent nearly all that motivates Tom, and while he may not be the most colorful character, he is certainly the brightest.