Preview

Gatsby Character Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
378 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gatsby Character Analysis
Salamatin 1
Matthew Salamatin
Ms. Watkins
Junior English
12/12/12
Gatsby Character Analysis Essay Outline The color yellow can be interpreted in both positive and negative ways. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby is described by the color yellow multiple times to portray how he is rich and corrupt. Gatsby is also described as “new rich” and near the end of the book we find out how he came to become rich. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby is often associated with the color yellow which indicates his wealth and corruptness. Gatsby is represented by the color yellow to show his wealth. An example of his wealth is when his house is described in the beginning of the book at the first party that Nick is personally invited to be Gatsby’s chauffeur. “On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.” (44) Having multiple buffet tables that are garnished and sparkling with harlequin designs definitely shows how wealthy Gatsby is. Another positive connotation that Gatsby has with the color yellow is his glamorous and attractive style. At the first party that Nick attends, guests were talking about how charming and handsome Gatsby’s style and smile were. “The scene has changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental and profound.” (51) Since many party guests were talking about Gatsby’s outstanding style and smile, this means that he was well dressed and groomed which leads back to showing how wealthy he is. The color yellow can also represent negative attributes. For example, yellow can portray how Gatsby was corrupt. “ “ This shows how Gatsby came to be rich which is through bootlegging and drug selling. Another example of Gatsby’s corruptness is when Scott Fitzgerald gives a hint of Gatsby’s business. Near the beginning of Chapter 6, Nick gets the impression that Gatsby was involved with a business that his father headed. “ He was son

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Colors are a powerful form of communication used to convey what words cannot. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism in the form of color is on display in nearly every chapter of The Great Gatsby. To understand his use of color as a symbol, a reader must recognize the situations in which they are used. Fitzgerald applies colors to his characters to hint at their personalities. The colors are intentionally repeated multiple times to establish a significance between them and the characters personality they are used to symbolize. Therefore, to understand each character entirely, colors must be considered. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses color symbolism to show how people mask their personalities to hide from the truth which results in negative…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism in The Great Gatsby is the significance of colors. The colors in the novel are used to show things and people for what they truly are, not what they appear to be. One example of this would be how the East and West Eggs are each compared with the color of the inside of an egg. The East Egg is often used with the color white, while the West Egg is used with the colors yellow or gold. The symbolism of colors also connects with people in the novel, such as Daisy. “Daisy is still the ‘nice’ girl...She remains ‘spotless,’ still immaculately dressed in white and capable of a hundred whimsical, vaporous enthusiasms” (Ornstein 142). This quote suggests that Daisy’s soul is “spotless” meaning her innocent soul, but that is actually the opposite of who she is. Daisy is revealed to be mischievous, selfish girl who’s only concern is to stay as rich and powerful as she is. Daisy possibly loves one more thing than money and what it can buy, and that is attention. Daisy is often compared to the color white which usually represents innocence and purity, but further into the novel she shows her true…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby there were countless areas in the book that had emotions, feelings, and many other characteristics represented by various colors. Gatsby was one of the characters that had some of these colors representing his different characteristics. Gatsby was referenced to many colors, but a couple that stood out more than the others were yellow, green, and pink/red. Yellow has a lot of possible meanings, however, the ones pertaining to Gatsby include his moments of criticality, and corruptness. Another color that has some significance to Gatsby is Green. Green can show both Gatsby’s wealth and corruptness. The last color pertaining to Gatsby is pink/red which can illustrate lust as well as danger. The colors yellow, green,…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “A lie has many colours, while white is the only faithful color of truth” (Khan). In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald used primary symbols in his novel that would interest the reader. When Fitzgerald used colors as primary symbols he used primary colors in the novel so that the reader can shape the novel’s theme for the reader. When he used colors in his novel he used colors as symbols to mean something different. The colors that he used in this novel speaks a different language to the reader such as the quote in the beginning of this paragraph. The use of colors used in Fitzgerald’s novel symbolizes happiness, greef, purity and guilt. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the novel’s everlasting optimism theme through the use…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The color green also generally stands for the future, life, and exploration, which Fitzgerald proves in this quote. Nick portrays an indifferent melancholy tone on Gatsby’s life when he states “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald 180). The word “recedes” signifies how Gatsby’s feelings never go away and always reoccur. This shows significance because Gatsby reveals his incapability to move one from Daisy and his past. He ends up only battling himself and chasing his own lonely sad fate. The incapability to move on shows Gatsby’s hardships and the American dream…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The repeated use of gold and yellow reveal more about the characters and attempts at the American Dream. Nicks observation that Daisy was Gatsby's "golden girl" illustrates the use of gold to represent Daisy's old wealth and how she's Gatsby's living dream (120). Gold is authentic and traditional old money of the East Egg and the vivaciousness of their lifestyle. Yellow, on the other hand, is fake gold and is used for show. Yellow is especially connected to Gatsby, as his parties play "yellow cocktail music" illustrating his illusion of wealth and success at the same level of the East Egg (40). Gatsby's car is also yellow which stands as a big symbol of his desire to be accepted into the high society of the old money in East Egg, and his failure to do so because of his "fake" lifestyle of wealth that is tainted yellow and not thriving in gold. Also, the use of white reveals more about the personality of the characters, specifically Daisy. The description of Daisy's house as "windows ajar and gleaming white..." and even her own appearance as "Daisy's white face came up to meet his own" present her as morally unblemished and innocent. However as the story plays out it is evident the use of white to describe Daisy is not the best choice. While Daisy is often associated with white, it masks the true moral sins she possesses and is a symbol of false purity in her own pursuits of her money-hungry American Dream. The colors used all reveal the underlying traits that led to the downfall of the…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The color green describes Jay Gatsby by associating him with money. “We both looked at the grass-there was a sharp line where my ragged lawn ended and the darker, well-kept expanse of his began” (Fitzgerald 82). Gatsby flaunts his wealth and associates himself with so much money and success because he wants everyone to know that he is not…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character Jay Gatsby always has an air of mystery surrounding him. Is Jay his real name? How did he get all of his money? What is he doing in New York? No one knows, that’s what makes him mysterious. Being ambiguous is a big trait of the color orange. However, that is not the only trait of the color orange. Optimistic attitudes, Impulsiveness, and Risk taking are also common traits of the color orange. After analyzing the story, it becomes blatantly obvious that Jay Gatsby displays every last one of these characteristics.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No one thinks to highly of him, but his circumstances, when tangled with the themes of the novel is what will lead to the climax of the novel. George Wilson’s purpose in The Great Gatsby is to show a contrast between corruption and innocence. He is the only passive character in this story and similar to Nick, has moral dilemmas. He is the opposite of the American dream shown through his low wealth and social status. However, as he does show to not gain anything significantly, he is not corrupted by the pursuit of the dream. George is an honest and hardworking man, but is naive and quickly intimidated and manipulated by Tom Buchanan. George defers to Tom out of necessity as he needs Tom's business. Although he believes that Tom will sell the…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gold In The Great Gatsby

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Buchanan’s wealth is depicted by the color gold since it is old money that has been in their family for generations. Gold is a well-known symbol of wealth. Anything gold or glittery grabs attention, which is something very important to the characters in The Great Gatsby. Most of the characters' actions in the novel are to make themselves look good and give themselves the image that they want people to have of them. It would only make sense that they would wear and own things that are gold because it makes them appear wealthy on the outside, whether they actually are or are not. However, yellow is fake gold; it is veneer and show rather than substance. We see that with the "yellow cocktail music" at Gatsby's party and the "two girls in twin yellow dresses" who aren't as alluring as the golden Jordan (40 and 42). Another time we see yellow in the novel is Gatsby's car, which is a symbol of his desire—and failure—to enter New York's high society. And if that weren't enough, T. J. Eckleburg's glasses, looking over the wasteland of America, are yellow. Gold and yellow was the color of Myrtle's death. It honestly is kind of the way she wanted to go. She wanted to be rich and live with the wealthy, which is why she had her affair with Tom. George was not wealthy in any way shape or form, so he was unable to appease to her desired lifestyle. Dying around the color of the riches shows how Myrtle never truly got what she wanted out of life, and the riches ended up killing…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses color as a symbol throughout the novel. Colors can be used as foreshadowing in stories, commonly used to depict feelings of a character. These colors are used to create several settings throughout the book, along with several moods and are most definitely significant throughout the entire novel. Firstly, the discussion of the color gold and how it exemplifies wealth, happiness, and the attractive odds of attaining success will take place. Secondly, the color white will be discussed, pertaining how it describes perfection along with the value of honor. Lastly, the color green will be discussed, pertaining how the color depicts a better time along with the value of hope. Thus, because of the usage of the colors in the novel; gold, white, and green exemplify certain themes, moods, and symbols throughout the novel.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby introduced life during the 1920s where color was represented to serve ideal purposes of expressions and ideas. Fitgerald added symbolism to the novel by introducing symbolic values to the colors green and white. Fitzgerald uses green to allude to Gatsby's choices, attitudes, and thoughts; while white represented a social facade behind every character's action.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald is an excellent writer who uses color in the most creative way. Green; life, vitality, the future, and envy. Grey; lifelessness. White; innocence. Yellow/Gold/Silver; wealth. As for what is next for the characters, Gatsby, George, and myrtle are dead, Tom and Daisy fled back to west, and Nick is left pondering life and every decision that has lead him to that moment. At the end of it all Gatsby’s legacy was nothing more than a memory. He threw the best parties, did anything for the love of his life, yet went from a nobody, to becoming someone, back into a nobody, that everyone had forgotten and could care less about. Gatsby worked so hard to become someone Daisy could love and be with, but along the way he made some wrong decisions that left him with no one to even attend his funeral. Fitzgerald was setting a moral in The Great Gatsby, that no matter what we do, we will never be content, and life goes on, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gold, representing this happy, upbeat, spring of life is used quite frequently throughout the novel. “At Gatsby’s parties even the turkeys turn to gold “..turkeys bewitched a dark gold”” (Fitzgerald 41). Parties that Gatsby throws are decorated in gold, giving his guests an opportunity to escape their past and live in the present. “While Gatsby is a "mystery" for those who attend his parties, he is even more, as Nick Carraway notes, "an elusive rhythm, a fragment of lost words" (The Great Gatsby and the obscene word). Although, Gatsby was marked as a mystery, people all over would still attend his parties. Gatsby’s parties give a promising appeal to people that it will be a night to never forget. These grand events taken place at Gatsby’s home, are something to look forward to. His guest developed an attachment to Gatsby’s gold riches. The color gold makes a mark, when representing happiness and new riches also known as wealth, to people’s…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The vast different colors provided in The Great Gatsby show the characteristic and social class of…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays