Significance Of Color In The Great Gatsby

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In society color has many meanings such as red and blue symbolizing hot and cold. Also, in society colors represent many different things, yellow represents warmth but also represent caution. The meanings of colors throughout history have changed too, today in society blue portrays sadness but in the Middle Ages it portrayed devotion. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the luxurious 1920s are precisely depicted. During this prosperous age there were many key factors that shaped America such as bootlegging. Also in the Roaring Twenties money was an indication of success. It persuaded the new American generation to buy enormous homes, more sumptuous clothing, and lavish cars. A very wealthy man by the name of Jay Gatsby tries to regain the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, by impressing her with his success. She is married and hasn 't seen Jay for a long time, but with the help of the narrator, Nick Carraway, they meet once again. Once this forbidden love is discovered things end terribly. Within The Great Gatsby, color symbolism plays an essential role in the novel. Green is a color that represents many inanimate objects such as keeping the world clean or even wealth, which makes it so intriguing. …show more content…
This color is very popular for authors to use and seen an extensive amount of times throughout centuries. One of these authors is F. Scott Fitzgerald who uses this color to represent Gatsby and Daisy’s polluted and orgastic relationship. Fitzgerald declared, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180). In this use of color symbolism Fitzgerald uses the green light to represent Gatsby’s love for Daisy and an affirmation for becoming a higher social standing that he had always craved. Fitzgerald complicates matters further when he writes, “On the green sound, stagnant in the heat…” (Fitzgerald 118). In this case Fitzgerald uses color symbolism through the algae filled body of water in between Daisy and Gatsby 's house to portray the polluted relationship between them that get worse as time goes on. The color green in The Great Gatsby, doesn 't only represent tangible objects, but also represents desire. Marius Bewley states, “This green light that is visible at night across the bay from the windows and lawn of Gatsby’s house is the central symbol in the book” (Bewley). Marius Bewley is insisting that the green light to Gatsby is his symbol of Daisy, which is so close yet so far away. Marius Bewley complicates matters further when she declares, “The green light is successful because, apart from its visual effectiveness as it gleams across the bay, it embodies the profound naiveté of Gatsby’s sense of the future, while simultaneously suggesting the historicity of his hope ” (Bewley). Basically, Marius Bewley is saying that the green light to Gatsby represents desire because he hadn’t seen Daisy for a long period of time and after they met it built up his naïve hopes of being with her. According to Marius Bewley, “She is the green light that signals him into the heart of his ultimate vision” (Bewley). The color green in this case is used to represent the light as Daisy, which symbolizes the forbidden love with her that Gatsby believes would work out, but in reality it wouldn’t. Additionally, it also portrays that without Daisy Gatsby’s life, to him at least, has no meaning because she is the only thing that he really cares for. Furthermore Fitzgerald’s focus on in tangible aspects of the novel can be highlighted by the use of symbolism of the color green. Gray is a dull and static color that usually symbolizes anything as gloomy or depressing. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses it to describe Jay and Daisy’s relationship and the rich people’s true problems. According to Heather pagelkopf, “Standing in stark contrast against the vibrancy of white and yellow, the gray color of the valley shows that, in spite of their wealth and prosperity, Gatsby and Daisy aren 't truly happy”(Pagelkopf). Basically, Heather is saying that despite their richness, Daisy and Gatsby are still not happy because they aren 't with each other. The color gray

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