Color is an important symbol used in literature that helps us get a better understanding of the setting and characters in the novel. The color helps the reader grasp a deeper and more controlled comprehension of the characters that are in the novel. It applies to their thoughts, feelings, and actions; therefore, this makes color a small, yet important role in describing connotations in the story. The Great Gatsby is a great example, as its use of color shines throughout the novel in its settings and characters. Jay Gatsby, the title character in the novel, has many colors that helps describe who the character really is and explores how Gatsby really feels as the story progresses.
Jay Gatsby is a peculiar man that is arguably best described
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by his appearance than his actual character. The few colors that are associated with Gatsby in the novel are yellow, green, and blue. These colors have specific connotations to Gatsby’s character and each one serves as a purposeful one too. Blue is used to show his depression over Daisy, his main love interest throughout the story, as his house has a blue garden that perfectly sums up his loneliness from wanting to be with Daisy. Yellow is used for his wealth as Gatsby presents himself with yellow clothing, a yellow house, and a yellow car as he tries to appeal to the rich society of the Roaring 20’s. It is also, “fake gold,” as it he does not actually want to do this for himself, but for Daisy in hopes to reunite with her in the future. Green, probably the most personal regarding Gatsby’s true character, as it is used to his envy over wanting to be with Daisy with him seeing her house over the water with a only a green light in sight. The hope is killing him as he wants to be with Daisy, but she is still married with Tom so a future between them in the world would be bleak at best. Without these colors it would be harder to understand who Gatsby really is as a person because his character in the novel is very secretive over many things about his life to the point where he is almost an anomaly. This gives us readers a better glimpse into why color imagery is a very important thing throughout the progressing story that captures us. Color imagery is very important to us, the readers, in order to grasp a better connection with the story and characters.
Without color, it would be very hard to really know what certain characters are really thinking or what the mood of the story is. Gatsby is a hard man to understand and the colors that are associated with him give us more detail about him than the man himself ever does in the story. His character is really a mystery for most of the novel and anything about him is really told by, the story’s narrator, Nick Carraway instead of Gatsby. However, that does not mean we can not infer on how he really feels and what his true thoughts are by using the color imagery. Each color serves a purpose in understanding who the man really is; they are not just placeholders to make the novel’s aesthetic more appealing to the readers. That is what makes Jay Gatsby the most interesting character because what surrounds the man is more interesting than the man himself. That is fascinating to think, if you consider that there is nothing concrete about him at all; Gatsby’s character is really carried by the colors in giving us the best description of who he is and what he wants. His actions are also connected with the colors and the similarities between them are truly staggering to …show more content…
see. The character of Jay Gatsby is reflected by his words, thoughts, and actions throughout the course of the novel that gives colors a common theme with the man himself.
Color is a desperate thing when it is used in novels, but with the right touch it can be masterfully done like it is in The Great Gatsby. In chapter 6, on pages 128 to 131, a quote of Gatsby’s can best be described by the color green when he says, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he said nodding determinedly. “She’ll see.” Green could be the color that best describes this quote as his hope for a future with Daisy is wanting to be with her and will do anything he can to get it. His envy for wanting Daisy’s love and admiration is strong, passionate to the point where he will do anything to make it right with his one true love, even if it means he has to stand up to Tom. The other two colors do not have a specific quote that you can try to pinpoint with its relationship to Gatsby’s feelings, but the setting at which they are included in is able to still answer that question. Yellow surrounds Gatsby with his clothes, his house, his car, all of these things are brilliantly used to show his optimism. The optimism is for Daisy; however, not for him showing of his wealth for everyone to see. One day he is hoping she will casually stroll into his house where they can reunite and capture their old romance. Blue is used very briefly, yet it describes his depression and isolation towards everyone
as he helpless to watch as Daisy is across the shore of his house. Even though these colors do not have a big of a role as green did; they still are able to connect to Gatsby’s emotions and feelings just as effectively as green was. Gatsby is the greatest character that is best used for color symbolism in The Great Gatsby and is truly shown his true motivations as a character with the use of colors. In conclusion, Jay Gatsby is the best character who is described by the color symbolism to show his true feelings and desires. A very interesting man who is best summed up by his surroundings than his actual character, with color imagery being the best to describe his true intentions throughout the story. Color imagery is an important tool that is used to help us understand a character’s thoughts and emotions, which is certainly used quite well for Jay Gatsby as the story progressed after reading each page. There is a common theme developed between Gatsby and the colors that can be compared with his actions that he partakes in during the story which gives it a extra dimension that is not described to the readers outright. Jay Gatsby is one of the most suspicious characters put into literature that will most be remembered by his mysterious aura and the colors that will always surround him for the rest of time.
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.
The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism. Colours, for example, are used to represent many different things; some even represent a theme of the novel. White, yellow, grey, green are just some of the colours which Fitzgerald uses in a special way, because each of these colours has a special meaning, different from the ones we regularly know or use.
In literature, colors are often purposefully chosen for different characters to represent the character’s personalities. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the colors green, yellow/gold, and gray are used to represent the attributes of the colored person or place.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald 171). Whenever Gatsby looks at Daisy’s green light, he thinks of a bright future with his love of his life. The color green symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for a future with Daisy. Green also symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for great wealth. Nick describes Gatsby’s car as a “green leather conservatory” because the interior is green (Fitzgerald 64).
One possible meaning of the color green is envy. Gatsby can be seen as an envious, jealous character. He once had the love of his life, Daisy, but now she is married to another man. He spends all of his time and effort into getting back with Daisy. He is also envious of many of the wealthy around his home. He throws these huge parties and extravagant get-togethers so he can relate with the wealthy. This leads one to believe that Gatsby is indeed "green with envy."
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.
The characters of “The Great Gatsby” were blinded by the materialistic wealth in the flashiness of the 1920’s. Daisy is amazed at how beautiful Gatsby’s shirts are and how many he has. she is so astounded that she starts to crying. “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such — such beautiful shirts before.”(Fitzgerald 92). Another way the characters were materialistic is Gatsby’s proclamation that Daisy never loved Tom and the only reason she married Tom was because Gatsby was poor. “She never loved you, do you hear?” he cried. “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!” (Fitzgerald 130). This shows that Gatsby knows that Daisy is materialistic but he still wants her and having Daisy in his life will complete his picturesque lifestyle of wealth. It also shows how they only perceive themselves as wealthy or poor but not with depth. While materialism is one of the important themes in “The Great Gatsby” Fitzgerald’s use of colors ,such as green,blue and yellow, g...
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
F. Scott Fitzgerald used the imagery of colors in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. The colors are used very frequently as symbols, and the hues create atmosphere in different scenes of the book. White is a clean and fresh color, but the author shows how it can be tainted as well. Next, yellow illustrates the downfall of moral standards of the people of West Egg. Lastly, green, the most dominant color in the book, symbolizes wealth and Gatsby's unattainable dream.
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.
In the book The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a vast amount of colors to represent characters in the book. For instance, Gatsby is one of, if not, the main character in the book. Every single color in the book has to do with Gatsby. The three main colors in this book or most used colors are red, yellow, and black. These three colors seem to have the most meaning. When it comes to Gatsby, these colors represent him in many ways.
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
“Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected” (Robert Frank). Color means a variety of many things to us. It can affect our mood, tells us things in a way we can not physically say, and can give us different feelings. In The Great Gatsby, it uses all the colors that we know, but F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the colors as a way for us to understand his characters in a deeper way of just giving a description. To us, yellow means earning a lot of money, and high social power. Gold can be considered the color of a lot of luxury. Green can symbolize hope, confidence, wealth, and envy. The way he uses the colors to symbolize his characters brings us into