Many authors use color to symbolize personality and emotion. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby uses many descriptive phrases to clearly paint a picture of the characters and setting. Many of these descriptions tell the reader about feeling and personalities of the characters through color. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses color to portray personality. Daisy Buchanan is often depicted wearing the color white to show her innocence and purity. Her friend, Jordan Baker describes her as a teenager to Daisy’s cousin, Nick. Jordan says, “She was dressed in white and had a little white roadster..” (80). This quote shows the color white has been Daisy’s standby for a long time. White isn’t just a fashion choice, though. Fitzgerald uses white to make Daisy appear innocent. She is also a small person who speaks quietly, which makes people treat her kindly and adds to her youthfulness. When the narrator, Nick, describes her, Daisy’s description is light and gentle, much like the color …show more content…
Although Tom Buchanan regards himself as a manly-man, he is still quite jealous of Jay Gatsby and picks on his clothing to make himself feel better. “‘An Oxford man!’ He is incredulous. ‘Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit’” (129)! The quote shows that Gatsby wears some some strange ensembles that cause him to stand out, so people pay attention to him. These color choices aren’t random. Gatsby has clothes shipped in from other countries specifically to flaunt his wealth. His life had changed as he climbed the social ladder and so did his clothing. He went from ratty jeans to tailored suits made of the most expensive fabric and in the richest colors. As he adopted the phrase “old sport,”(97) he also wears fine clothing to make him seem refined. Throughout the book, Gatsby wears silver shirts and pink suits because they flaunt his wealth and cause him to stand
Apparently, green is the most prominently used color in the novel. The reason for this may be that green is the color used to describe the main character of the novel, Jay Gatsby. One of the possible meanings of green in this story is envy. Gatsby can be seen as an envious man for a few reasons. For one, he is extremely envious of Tom Buchanan because of the fact that he has the one thing he can’t buy, Daisy. Also, Gatsby is extremely envious of the people that he invites to his house. He knows that he is not old money like the people he invites to his parties. This makes him a man of who, is “Green with envy.”
Nick describes daisy's beautiful dress in the sense of "[Their inconsequential conversation]... was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of desire" (Fitzgerald 12). The use of white is to portray class, leisure, and haughtiness. The color itself shows purity or being clean in the world, though it also shows selflessness or even the power of sophistication. Such as daisy’s dress as well as her car, both showing the beauty of her as well as her sophisticated personality. The significance and symbolism of an individual color can vary greatly depending on the culture and traditions of a particular person. The color white is beyond one meaning, yet it is the purest of them
Soon after Gatsby befriended Dan Cody, Cody bought him a blue coat (Fitzgerald 100). Gatsby was his personal assistant, a young, poor man working on a grand yacht. He wore blue when he had meager finances, but as soon as he made his money, he switched to more grandiose colors. The chauffeur wore robin’s-egg blue when he went to invite Nick to Gatsby’s party (Fitzgerald 41). This illustrates that the man is a blue-collar worker; Gatsby is superior to him. Once Gatsby became prosperous, he never wore blue again, suggesting that he would like to negate his previous lower class status. From this characterization, the reader can infer how much pride Gatsby has in his financial state and how utterly he wants to throw off his old identity of destitution. In other ways, blue stood for Gatsby’s dedication to becoming an elite, well-mannered man, his attempt to avoid being discomfited by his social ineptitudes. He buys a party guest an expensive, gas blue evening gown after she negligently rips one of hers at a prior party (Fitzgerald 43). He had no obligation to do so; he just thought it was the polite, correct response to her peccadillo. Gatsby tries in earnest to conform with social norms of the upper crust in fear that someone will denigrate him. In this case, his edification has lead him to believe that it was merely proper etiquette to replace the gown and that it would prevent any pejoratives from coming his way. It is doubtful that Fitzgerald solely wanted to make Gatsby appear generous; he also had to show how eagerly Gatsby endeavored to integrate with high society. Gatsby’s motives can indirectly be linked back to his obsession with Daisy since he works so hard to be elegant in hopes of winning her favor. Nick candidly elaborates on Gatsby’s rise, saying, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (Fitzgerald 180). Nick did
Scott Fitzgerald used colors in the The Great Gatsby to portray more than just imagery. Fitzgerald used colors to convey emotions, the setting, and underlying tones for motives. The character Daisy can be interpreted as a metaphor. One can connect the colors used to describe Daisy in the book to interpret her motives and emotions through the dichotomy of a daisy flower. One way to interpret Daisy is the green of the stem describes the structure of her character, the white of the flower describes what others see of her, and the yellow inner of the flower describes what is really on the inside of her
The use of a green light at the end of a landing stage to signal a romantic
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 relate to confidence, seduction, secrecy, and elegance as well. People exhibiting this behavior are naturally conservative and usually fear things beyond their control. An example of this type of person would be Tom Buchanan. Tom Buchanan’s demonstration of authority, fear of inferiority, and ability and willingness to keep himself and the ones he love hidden from others, all symbolize how the color black is represented within the novel.
As a reader becomes immersed in a novel, there is a sense of captivation within a fantasy world where characters come to life, vivid images of setting fill the mind, and skin tingles with emotion. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, readers are taken from the poverty stricken times of the 1920s to a world at which point there is a capsulated moment of escape. Fitzgerald’s inclusion of imagery through color helps to exemplify the characteristics and symbols throughout the novel. The use of color in literature can foreshadow an event, personify a feeling, and convey a character’s traits.
These ways are by the use of the colors at his parties, in his house, and in his belongings. Gatsby shows a lot of grief in this book; the black sand on his beach at one of his parties shows the grief he has from Daisy not liking the party he just had (Fitzgerald 117). Gatsby is a very mysterious man, and nobody in this book would say anything different. He hides a lot about his life from almost everybody in this book, and he keeps a lot of secrets, especially about himself and his past. Gatsby finally comes true to his dark and mysterious past, his real name is James Gatz (Fitzgerald 106).
Fitzgerald also refers to the steps to Gatsby’s house as being white. Even the windows at Daisy’s house are white. “The windows were ajar and gleaming white.” (Pg.13) this tells us that Daisy and Gatsby look innocent from the outside but not from the inside, instead they are corrupted people. This thought is also expressed when Gatsby takes Nick for a ride in his car. When he is stopped by a policeman, Gatsby shows the officer a white card, which symbolizes corruption. When the commissioner sees this, he lets Gatsby go. Nick thought it was a Christmas card sent to him by the officer, but later on we learn that Gatsby had bribed the police officer.
Gatsby, however, does not embody this color and constantly strives to be such as Tom in a way. Red expresses the true elite society, and Gatsby wishes he could embody the color like Tom in order to have a likeness of “old money”. This is seen through the imagery in the story when “Gatsby stood in the center of the crimson carpet and gazed around with fascinated eyes while Daisy watched him and laughed” (123). Since Gatsby does not have this ora of red, he stands out against its vivid vibes whenever he encounters or is around the people that do possess these. This society gives off a dreamy “rose” color, giving hope to those less fortunate that they can achieve the american dream, although, this is false. Gatsby refers to himself as a collector of jewels, "chiefly rubies" (71), in order to forget his past and obtain what he believes will give him this red energy. He is noted as the main character that has achieved this American dream, and has compromised much to do so, but is still not accepted as part of the higher society. Nick says that he “saw him opening a chest of rubies, with their crimson-lighted depths, the gnawings of his broken heart,” (72) in order to reveal the truth that with all the hard work and commitment Gatsby has gone through to acquire a position in the aristocracy, he has still failed in his attempt. In the
Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby & nbsp; Colors can symbolize many different things. Artists use colors in their paintings when they want you to see what they are trying to express. Like if an artist is trying to express sorrow or death. he often uses blacks, blues, and. grays. Basically he uses dreary colors. You automatically feel what the artist is trying to express. When the artist uses bright colors you feel warm and you feel happiness. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald is like an artist. He uses colors to symbolize the many different intangible ideas in the book. He uses the color yellow to symbolize moral decay, decadence, and death. Then he uses the color white to symbolize innocence. He also uses the color green to express hope. Fitzgerald's use of the color green the strongest.
Colors do not simply differentiate objects, or to make them stand out from one another. They often emit a tone, a tone that develops as differently as the color spectrum itself. In literature, color symbolism is a strong device that readers can pick up with repetition and ease. By tracing colors in literature, the reader can develop ideas and themes. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different colors in many different ways to make the imagery stand out and allow the reader to connect concepts in the novel to one another. Fitzgerald attributes the color green to the green light to express Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for Daisy, as well as the color gray to the Valley Of Ashes to show the lack of life and decay of the American dream.
Fitzgerald describes Daisy as wearing a “three-cornered lavender hat” (85) and Gatsby as wearing a sports coat looking “pale as death” (86). This can be seen in the film exactly how it is portrayed in the novel. Daisy is wearing a lavender three-cornered hat that matches her lavender dress and is wearing a pearl necklace. This shows Daisy’s wealth and attractiveness. In the book Costume and Cinema: Dress Codes in Popular Film, it says, “In classical Hollywood cinema, great emphasis was placed on female costuming as intimately related to sexual attractiveness” (Street, 3). This is apparent from the film because Daisy is absolutely stunning. Her hair is styled and makeup is done, dress is pressed, fancy jewelry, and a stylish hat. She was styled to meet the male eye. Gatsby is also shown in the film as he is described in the novel. We can see how pale he is and the water dripping from his face. His hands are snug in his coat pockets showing how nervous he is to finally be meeting up with Daisy after all these years. Costume is about more than just appearance. It is a key component when it comes to telling the
Unfortunately, Daisy is married to Tom. As the plot unravels, the reader notices the connection between certain colours and their importance to the novel. The use of colours within The Great Gatsby symbolizes actual themes, as grey symbolizes corruption, blue symbolizes reality, and green symbolizes jealousy and envy. Grey is a dull colour to begin with, so naturally it would make sense if Fitzgerald utilized that colour to symbolize corruption. In The Great Gatsby is a place called The Valley of Ashes.
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