Essay On Black In The Great Gatsby

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The color black is often thought of as being sophisticated. When thinking of the color, people often relate it to death, intimidation, unfriendliness, and authority; however, it can also relate to confidence, seduction, secrecy, and elegance as well. People exhibiting this behavior are naturally conservative and usually fear things beyond their control. There is a saying that through the eyes of a being, you can see into a person’s soul. Therefore, if a person’s eyes are black, they naturally create a negative environment. The same thing applies when thinking about the black eyes of Tom Buchanan. Tom is indirectly responsible for both of the deaths that occurred in The Great Gatsby. His being, in itself, intimidated Gatsby to the point where …show more content…

Because it is beyond his control, he fears that he may lose his authority and power. It explains a little bit further into why he hit Myrtle in the nose. If she became too much or too full of herself, he would have lost his authority over her. He couldn’t let her have the upper hand, which is why he hit her. However, when thinking about Tom as a person, he is fairly sophisticated. He exhibits this black nature by his wealth and elegance. He attends black tie events, where black suits are most often worn. He is extremely conservative in his beliefs and dealing with what his fears are. He wants to keep the traditional patriarchal society, He wants Daisy to complement him, which is why his wife wears white, to balance out what his black nature represents. Tom and Daisy are polar opposites being that his black nature absorbs all color and shows an absence of light in any way. With Daisy being the exact opposite, it demonstrates how Tom’s black soul keeps him and Daisy hidden from everyone else in a …show more content…

Black is demonstrated strongly here since it shows how he wants to keep her bottled up and hidden from the world. It also shows how he created a barrier to separate them from the rest of the world. They retreated back into themselves after everything had happened. They made the mess and with Tom’s authority, went back into hiding, keeping that air of black mystery that surrounded them. Tom isn’t an optimist and black pretty much encourages one to look at the more negative side of life. When you have this visuality, it creates a fear for the future. Tom definitely has a fear for the future. He is constantly scared of what might happen if he loses sight or loses power over the ones he thinks he

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