How Does Daisy Buchanan Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is a classic piece of literature known for its ability to indulge readers in the lives of its characters. Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses a variety of literary devices to bring the novel to life; however, his use of color imagery in particular allows for a more thorough understanding of the characters. Daisy Buchanan is one of the most intriguing yet loathed characters of the novel. Throughout the chapters we learn through color imagery more about her and why she does certain things. Daisy’s character is often linked to purity and innocence through the color white; however, throughout the novel we see she is the antithesis of it, repeatedly being associated with the colors yellow and gold, which symbolize wealth, dishonesty and betrayal. …show more content…

Fitzgerald cleverly associates her with the color white in order for readers to obtain a “clean” image of her. Her mansion is described as a “cheerful red-and-white Georgian colonial mansion” with windows “ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside…” (Pg. 6-7) Furthermore, when first introduced to Daisy she is found wearing a white dress. “They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.”(Pg. 7) This angelic description allows for readers to automatically associate Daisy with purity. In Christianity, the color white is symbolic of the greatest form of purity, the body of Christ. Similar to how Jesus is pure in a world full of sin, Daisy appears innocent and moral in a society filled with impurity and dishonesty. Thus, why does Fitzgerald place Daisy on a pedestal only to have her crush our expectations? Perhaps making her seem pure would allow us to view Daisy how she wants others to view her, innocent and

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