The Great Gatsby as well as the Handmaid’s Tale are full of color symbolism. Throughout the books, the authors use color to represent various themes of the novels. In the two texts, the eminent colors are white, red, green, and black. There are some symbols filled with mixed conceptions as the color red in the modern society. For example, red in most societies represents violence as well as surging emotions, blood and fire. However, in other societies such as ancient Arabian and Roman societies, red is symbolic of divine favor and light, or revolution and war. Therefore, it is evident that various societies possess different perceptions and interpretations to the usage of colors. In their texts, Atwood and Fitzgerald use colors to depict oppression, …show more content…
discrimination, as well as emotions in their societies. However, colors in The Great Gatsby also are also used to depict affluence where as in Handmaid’s Tale some colors portray extreme poverty. Oppression entails prolonged and unjust treatment subjected to an individual’s life. In The Handmaid’s Tale, men are permitted to work, drive, as well as govern the land. On the other hand, women are enshrined to domestic life and producing children. Moreover, women in Margret Atwood’s society are also not allowed to participate in any form of written word. The Handmaid’s Tale depicts several instances in which women are oppressed in the society Atwood created. The oppressed handmaids wear red veils so that they are easily recognized. Offred, in The Handmaid’s Tale, states “Everything except for the wings around our face is red: blood color, which defines us”(Atwood 8). Handmaids in The Handmaid’s Tale were supposed to sleep with men to bear children their wives could not. Offred stipulates that, ‘there are no such thing as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are the only women who are fruitful and who are barren, that’s the law’(61). On the other hand, The Great Gatsby also entails some aspects of oppression. Fitzgerald uses the color grey to reveal the poverty level of persons living in the villages. When Fitzgerald states, “grey little villages in France”(Fitzgerald 47) he is trying to reveal the hardships and atrocities experienced by the persons living in the shanties. Moreover, Fitzgerald stipulates that persons living in the shanties had have little significance as portrayed in the book. For example, he refers to a “grey, florid man with a hard empty face” (21). This shows that people living in the shanties could no air views concerning their hunger-stricken life. Additionally, The Great Gatsby also reveals the oppression and the hardships the elderly endure. He does this by talking about a portrait in his house. The color grey explains the nature of the portrait that it was dull and of no much significance. “A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity-except his wife who moved close to Tom.”(26) The white ashen dust is the grey color, which depicts in the hair of old people. Moreover, color symbolism is also eminent in both texts as it talks about the aspect of discrimination. According to The Handmaid’s Tale, “wives of poor men wore blue as well as green stripped dresses whereas the daughters of commanders wore white or khaki dresses/ handmaids wore red” (Atwood 24). This highlight that color was used to alienate women in Atwood’s society. Moreover, the Handmaid Tale stipulates that within the totalitarian regime of Gilead in the tale, there were complex social caste mechanisms that enhanced the working of the government. The Handmaid’s Tale states, “men were divided into soldierly levels with uniforms whereas women were grouped by their social statuses” (50). These alienations among people in Atwood’s society were revealed through color. On the other hand, The Great Gatsby reveals the color of the moonlight and the stars as silver, which alienates the poor from the rich society. “The silver pepper of the stars” (Fitzgerald 46), represents the jewels used and the affluence of persons in the book. The phrase reveals much about richness as compared to the expensive value of silver. The Great Gatsby states, “the moon has raised higher, and floating in the sound was a triangle of silver scales/ A silver curve of the moon has hovered already in the western sky.”(114). This refers to the vast extent to which the rich community has dominated society. The book also depicts the color yellow whereby it refers to the gold at Gatsby’s house turning to yellow. Yellow in the phrase also portrays the amount of wealth within that household. In this case, the intense richness is great as compared to the previous one referred to as silver. Moreover, the golden color also reveals the excitement, although the excitement does not last for long because it states, “the yellow press for the more offensively sensational press”(42). Moreover, both texts symbolize the color white.
However, white is used to depict different aspects in each text. The infant daughters of commander’s wear the color white in the Handmaid’s Tale. These daughters wear white to differentiate themselves from the handmaids. Atwood refers handmaids as “sexual soldiers”(Atwood 56) because commanders use them to satisfy their sexual needs. Therefore, in this case color defines the role of an individual in The Handmaid’s Tale society. On the other hand, the color white in The Great Gatsby discriminates those who have innocence from those who lack innocence. There are experiences that Gatsby goes through in his life before the story starts. One of the essential experiences involves a girl called Daisy Fay. “She dresses in white clothes and has a white car” (Fitzgerald 56). In this case, white illustrates the straightness of the girl and her personality as morally untarnished. The Great Gatsby also stipulates that the girl is clean and upright when it states, “High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl.”(120) The statement also illustrates the honor that the king is given by living in house that is different from the other members of the society. Moreover, white also represents the preciousness of the palace in which the king dwells. In the novel, a character by the name Fitzgerald uses the color in describing a place he calls the real West. He states that the place resembles snow. “When we pulled out into the winter night and the real snow, our snow.”(187) “ on the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight, and I erased it”(192). The color is used to explain the opposite nature of the people in the book who were offensive to the current standards of morality in the
region. Additionally, colors are also used to depict the emotions of people living the two societies. Another color that emerges in The Great Gatsby is blue. It stipulates that, “ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves /the blue smoke of the brittle leaves.”(144) Blue in these statements reveal Gatsby’s emotions. He is moody and not happy at all after the events that have happened. Some of the events that the book explains using color blue are such as death whereby it explains that after Myrtle’s death George Wilson and Mr.Michaelis are in a blue mood. This is revealed when Gatsby states that “a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn was not far off. About five o’clock it was blue enough outside to snap off the light.”(151) Generally, people associate blue dullness, darkness, and doom. In other statements in the book, blue helps explain the presence of death and sorrow. “He had come a long way to his blue lawn.”(171) The lawn at Gatsby’s home is one of the places filed with grief. Similarly, the book The Handmaid’s Tale uses the color red to depict various emotions. Red is the color of blood and fire, for surging and painful emotions. In this case, red is associated with death and war especially in the fight for power. Since the society described in the book is revealed to be a caste system, the color red helps in displaying the various emotions of persons in this society. “The handmaids’ red wardrobe” (60), the color red here illustrates the humble nature of the women in this society. They do act as prisoners to the royals whereby they even engage in sexual intercourse with the high ranked officials whose wives cannot bear children. Red is viewed in another angle whereby the book talks about ‘bright red’. This assists in illustrating the courageous and aggressive acts the males preformed during battles. Likewise, blue is also a color that reveals the sad nature of the present as well as the hopeful attitude of the future. In The Great Gatsby, Tom’s car is blue. This represents the unhappy nature of the relationship between Daisy and Tom. This is because the novel stipulates that the relationship between Daisy and Tom is based on material gains not love. Additionally, colors are used to identify one’s socio-economic status. In the Handmaid’s Tale, the red dress of the handmaids marks their socioeconomic status by making them virtually indistinguishable from other women. Offred describes Ofglen, a handmaid, as shape like “nondescript woman wearing red and carrying a basket”, (Atwood 70). In this case, Offred’s lack of socio-economic identity among the handmaids via descriptions of her companion, Ofglen. Handmaids in The Handmaid’s Tale do not own anything in terms of names, wealth, or material possession. This is because they inherit the names of their commanders such as Ofwarren, Offred, or Ofglen. However, unlike The Handmaids Tale The Great Gatsby uses colors to reveal extreme affluence in the society. First, at the parties of Gatsby the turkeys turn to gold, “turkeys turned to dark gold”(Fitzgerald 40). The color silver in The Great Gatsby highlights the richness of Gatsby’s society. Gatsby states that, “A silver curve hovered in the Western Sky,” (86). This shows the rich society in which Gatsby was living. In conclusion, people in various cultures use color to describe different aspects of their society. For example, in certain societies men in blue highlight persons of authority, where as green represents the land. Likewise, colors in The Handmaid’s Tale as well as in The Great Gatsby are used to describe certain aspects that are eminent in the modern society. Oppression is the first aspect wherein the rich are principal owners of raw materials. This aids the rich society in exploiting the poor. The Handmaid’s Tale recognizes this aspect by the use of red and white color. In this case, white represents daughters from the affluent families where as red represents persons that are prone to exploitation. Moreover, discrimination and presence of emotions are also prominent aspects among the persons of the modern society. In this case, the two authors use silver, white, red, green, and yellow to show the disparities among the people in their society. The use of color symbolism by the two authors makes the delivery of themes such as immorality, discrimination, and poverty effective. However, the two texts differ in the way they outline the meaning of various colors. This is evident in The Great Gatsby, which articulates red as a color of extreme jubilation. On the other hand, red in The Handmaid’s Tale articulates red as color of immoral deeds such as sexuality. Therefore, the two authors use color symbolism depending on the aspects surrounding their society.
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.
Daisy Buchanan is the preeminent female character in the story. Her name, Daisy fits her exceptionally, she is bright and sunny like the flower. Daisy is best represented by the color yellow. She’s the story’s golden girl, the wife of wealthy broker, and the love of the mysterious Gatsby’s life. Grok describes the color yellow as “Deities with glowing halos and golden hair…But it also evokes a few negative responses in associations with dishonesty, cowardice, egoism, betrayal, and caution” (Grok). Daisy is described physically as a blonde, and back then the style along women was the flapper headband, like the glowing halo. In the story Daisy is dishonest, she cheats on her husband with Gatsby. Daisy is also a coward, she couldn’t leave Tom, her husband, who treats her like property for Gatsby, who truly loves and idolizes her. Daisy once tells Nick when telling him about her daughter, “I hope she’ll be a fool. That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (1.17). Daisy is immensely obsessed with what people think of her, she likes being the girl who has this beautiful and graceful aura. This quote displays how she want’s her daughter to grow up to be just like her, the image of a weak foolish girl who lets men push her around. Betrayal is the emotion that Nick feels when she skips town instead of attending Gatsby’s funeral. Grok also writes that, “When paired with black, it suggests warning” (Grok). Gatsby is the color black, while Daisy is the color yellow. When the couple reconcile there is a multitude of trouble that eventually leads to the death of Myrtle, George, and Gatsby himself. Daisy isn’t just the bright ray of sunshine; she is also just as troublesome as Grok describes her, which is why th...
"White" can also be related to Tom, who is the perfect example of a racist man. He believes that black people should disappear, and is very concerned about a book he has recently read called The Rise of the Coloured Empire. He believes that white is the superior race. So, black and white are used to show how racism affected people from the high classes at that time. While riding in Gatsby´s car, Nick sees a limousine driven by a white chauffeur and ridden by black passengers, members of the high society. This shows how strongly black people fought to conquer or fulfil their so-called "American Dream", which at that time was even more difficult for black people (former slaves) than for white ones.
Colors are very important in novels because they help the reader understand the deeper meaning of the topic. The Great Gatsby novel is one of the most well-known books ever to be written. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes a tragic story of a rich man, Jay Gatsby, in search for his true love, Daisy Buchanen. Daisy and Gatsby were previously in love, but Gatsby left for war and Daisy left him for more money. Jay Gatsby constantly throws extravagant parties hoping that his true love will visit one night and they will fall in love again. Instead, Nick Carraway invites Daisy and Gatsby to his house in hope that the old couple will connect again. Daisy and Gatsby finally fall in love again after several years of loneliness. Eventually, their love ends in disaster. In the novel, color symbolism plays an essential role in the novel.
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
Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism and colors in The Great Gatsby is prominent in every chapter of his novel. To fully understand the meaning of his color use, a reader must recognize the situations in which these colors are used. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald uses the color green. Green has many possible interpretations, and its’ use to reveal insight into Gatsby’s character is probably the most meaningful.
Upon first impression, one might believe Jay Gatsby is nothing more than a self-satisfied, well-to-do bachelor living in luxury in West Egg. However, as his story unfolds, the reader finds out that he is an industrious man and a hopeless dreamer. The quintessential colors of yellow, green, and blue are used by F. Scott Fitzgerald to describe Gatsby’s characteristics in his magnum opus, The Great Gatsby. Yellow, an incandescent color, stands for his vivacious outward disposition, the shallow people around him, and his seemingly self-indulgent spending habits, for which he has an ulterior motive. Green represents the extreme lifestyle changes Gatsby has made in adulthood and his staunch hopefulness in finding love. Blue is a symbol of the
For most people, a certain colour may represent something meaningful to them. While in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many of the colours used in the novel are meant to represent something. The novel’s setting is in East and West Egg, two places in New York. Our narrator, Nick Carraway, lives in the West Egg. Along with living in West Egg is a friend of Nick’s, Jay Gatsby; a character that is in love with Daisy Buchanan. 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.
To Gatsby, Daisy represents innocence and purity; however, Fitzgerald uses different shades of white to veil her corruption. Daisy is solely described as "dressed in white", she powders her face white, and she mentions her "white girlhood". The millionaire describes this perfect princess figure to be "high in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl." On the other hand, Fitzgerald portrays the way of life in West Egg as a wretched place when "four solemn men dressed in suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress. Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels. Gravely the men turn it at a house - the wrong house. But no one knows the woman's name, and no one cares."
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.
The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism, colors, for example. Throughout the book the author uses them to represent different themes of the novel. Some of these colors are white, yellow, grey, green, pink, red and blue. However, I picked white and green for my commentary because I think these colors have a special meaning different from the others. White is mainly used to describe the character’s innocence, fakeness, and corruption. While green represents Gatsby’s hopes, ambitions, and dreams. In addition, sometimes green symbolizes the jealousy of certain characters.
The use of a green light at the end of a landing stage to signal a romantic
"... he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, as far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away..." (Fitzgerald 21). In The Great Gatsby, the color green is frequent. It is more than just a color; it symbolizes many things, especially desire and hope. The color green also seems to be connected to Daisy and Gatsby's love for her old self. Indeed, green is used in The Great Gatsby to symbolize hope and desire for the past.
Colors have been used as symbolism for many years. It is easy to remember what each one symbolizes and has a lasting impression on people. These colors and feelings are then remembered throughout daily life, with the color yellow is often connected to happiness and wealth. In the fiction novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses colors to help convey the depth of each character and the truth behind each character. The colors run through the entire novel and often have double or hidden meanings than what it seems. When we are told the meaning to associate with a different color it is sometimes hard to disassociate the exact meaning we already gave it. The colors in the novel don't go against the ideas we have but enhance the background
“High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl”(Fitzgerald 120) The colors in the Great Gatsby have a lot of symbolism to them throughout the whole novel. Like the color white used in that quotation, it portrays a sense of innocence in the novel and also portrays class. Innocence is used in this quotation because it creates a sense that the palace is like a fortification for Daisy, by keeping her far away from the commoners that are below her. The class is illustrated in the quotation because of the virtue that is associated with the castle that Daisy is living in. Daisy relates to the color white because she is pure and innocent just like the color white but towards the end of the novel it shows the color white can be deceiving