Color In The Great Gatsby Essay
Color is a drive behind the world. A thing that helps people describe what something is, who a person, and what kind of person they may be. Color is more than just a look or a style, it can describe who a person is beneath the color coat they may wear. Color determines who a person is in many stories and goes deeper than thought. The extensive use of Color is key in The Great Gatsby and helps find out who people really are.
Gray is a color used in The Great Gatsby that describes hopelessness. The Valley of Ashes “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already …show more content…
crumbling through the powdery air”(23), is the threshold of this color it signifies lowness and despair. The people who live in the Valley of Ashes are the lowest in class. There is no escape from the low class and the gray air around them symbolizes hopelessness and pain. Gray also appears when George Wilson is introduced in the story. Nick notices he is wearing “an ashen dust veiled suit”(25), this represents that Mr. Wilson is hopeless, he has no hope for the future and lives in despair. The color gray oppresses him and makes him have a gloomy aura. This is fitting for the end being that Myrtle Wilson, Mr. WIlson’s wife, dies in the gloomy setting of the Valley of Ashes. Mr. Wilsons gloomy self in the beginning of the book foretells the ending, his wifes death. He is in pain and has no hope or betterment in his future. He is suppressed and loses the love of his life. Gray is the color of death, despair and hopelessness.
A major and popular color in The Great Gatsby is green.
The light at the end of the dock is a major focus in the book and it represents an envy for Gatsby’s love of his life; Daisy Buchannon. It is an envy for things of the past, bring youth, hope and spring. He is green with envy as Nick Carraway describes “In the sunlight his face was green”(123). This shows that Gatsby was full of envy, actually green with envy. Green is used through money showing that Gatsby need to have money to enjoy himself. He enjoys himself by throwing parties quite often. The reason for these parties are to try and attract Daisy to them. Green in this instance represents a hope and envy for a bright future. He is so envious that he always looks at the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock dreaming with envy that he could have her back. The green light is so far away but with his hope he believe he still can get Daisy.This shows that he longs for her, “Now it was again a green light on a dock”. Every time he looks at the light he hope it will bring a better day bringing him closer to finding Daisy. Gatsby is living in the dark and the green light brings hope to him. Green is the color of hopeful envy for a better future. For Gatsby it is a hope for
Daisy.
White color is the most significant in The Great Gatsby. It symbolizes purity, innocence, and royalty. but Fitzgerald uses this color to define the inside of the wealthy people. This innocence is just a surface, they cover their dark side behind it, like Daisy. Her name symbolizes a flower, its petals are white, but its inside is yellow, not as pure as white. Daisy is fragile like a flower, but deep inside her, she is evil. She even kills an innocent person, who is her husband’s mistress. Daisy, Tom, and Jordan wear white clothes, live in white houses, but they are immoral inside, they have no conscience. Daisy always wears white, or does quite often. She is in a way all white on the surface "High in a white palace the king 's daughter, the golden girl"(115). This refers to Daisy as she is all white. Everything she is has white as Nick describes “Even the windows at Daisy 's house are white. The windows were ajar and gleaming white”(13). White is a symbol that no matter how pure one may be it might only be a cover to their dark side. It is as now how many brides wear a white wedding dress, which use to symbolize purity before marriage. Now they wear it regardless purity. This is how Daisy is she wears her white and hides behind it even though deep down she is not as pure as her outer appearance may seem.
White hides the darkest in somebody and Fitzgerald illustrates this so that he can show the impurity of many in the 1920’s.
Color illustrates so much in The Great Gatsby and hides so much as well. It is the drive behind the story, and sets up who people are going to be like and what their fortunes are most likely will be. Color explains The Great Gatsby and exposes who everyone is. Color drives the story.
Works Cited Page
Scott Fitzgerald, F. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: A Division of Simeon Schuster, Inc., 2013. Print
Gray is a color used in The Great Gatsby that describes hopelessness. The Valley of Ashes “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already …show more content…
crumbling through the powdery air”(23), is the threshold of this color it signifies lowness and despair. The people who live in the Valley of Ashes are the lowest in class. There is no escape from the low class and the gray air around them symbolizes hopelessness and pain. Gray also appears when George Wilson is introduced in the story. Nick notices he is wearing “an ashen dust veiled suit”(25), this represents that Mr. Wilson is hopeless, he has no hope for the future and lives in despair. The color gray oppresses him and makes him have a gloomy aura. This is fitting for the end being that Myrtle Wilson, Mr. WIlson’s wife, dies in the gloomy setting of the Valley of Ashes. Mr. Wilsons gloomy self in the beginning of the book foretells the ending, his wifes death. He is in pain and has no hope or betterment in his future. He is suppressed and loses the love of his life. Gray is the color of death, despair and hopelessness.
A major and popular color in The Great Gatsby is green.
The light at the end of the dock is a major focus in the book and it represents an envy for Gatsby’s love of his life; Daisy Buchannon. It is an envy for things of the past, bring youth, hope and spring. He is green with envy as Nick Carraway describes “In the sunlight his face was green”(123). This shows that Gatsby was full of envy, actually green with envy. Green is used through money showing that Gatsby need to have money to enjoy himself. He enjoys himself by throwing parties quite often. The reason for these parties are to try and attract Daisy to them. Green in this instance represents a hope and envy for a bright future. He is so envious that he always looks at the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock dreaming with envy that he could have her back. The green light is so far away but with his hope he believe he still can get Daisy.This shows that he longs for her, “Now it was again a green light on a dock”. Every time he looks at the light he hope it will bring a better day bringing him closer to finding Daisy. Gatsby is living in the dark and the green light brings hope to him. Green is the color of hopeful envy for a better future. For Gatsby it is a hope for
Daisy.
White color is the most significant in The Great Gatsby. It symbolizes purity, innocence, and royalty. but Fitzgerald uses this color to define the inside of the wealthy people. This innocence is just a surface, they cover their dark side behind it, like Daisy. Her name symbolizes a flower, its petals are white, but its inside is yellow, not as pure as white. Daisy is fragile like a flower, but deep inside her, she is evil. She even kills an innocent person, who is her husband’s mistress. Daisy, Tom, and Jordan wear white clothes, live in white houses, but they are immoral inside, they have no conscience. Daisy always wears white, or does quite often. She is in a way all white on the surface "High in a white palace the king 's daughter, the golden girl"(115). This refers to Daisy as she is all white. Everything she is has white as Nick describes “Even the windows at Daisy 's house are white. The windows were ajar and gleaming white”(13). White is a symbol that no matter how pure one may be it might only be a cover to their dark side. It is as now how many brides wear a white wedding dress, which use to symbolize purity before marriage. Now they wear it regardless purity. This is how Daisy is she wears her white and hides behind it even though deep down she is not as pure as her outer appearance may seem.
White hides the darkest in somebody and Fitzgerald illustrates this so that he can show the impurity of many in the 1920’s.
Color illustrates so much in The Great Gatsby and hides so much as well. It is the drive behind the story, and sets up who people are going to be like and what their fortunes are most likely will be. Color explains The Great Gatsby and exposes who everyone is. Color drives the story.
Works Cited Page
Scott Fitzgerald, F. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: A Division of Simeon Schuster, Inc., 2013. Print