The Colors of Gatsby
John Brown
Mr. Quintis
Honors English III
21 September 2011
The Colors of Gatsby
In the novel The Great Gatsby there are many forms of symbolism that are well used. Symbolism can be interpreted in many different ways. Authors use symbols to try and get the reader to connect and think more about what they are reading. Symbolism is a very good technique when writing because it helps make a book more interesting and adds depth. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses symbolism to help the book be more intriguing and thought provoking.
One form of symbolism is use of colors in the book. Gray is the color for dreariness and sadness, like a common place of death and depression. Such as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; Where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). There is one place in the novel that symbolizes the lack of life or spirit; it is the place where there is no hope and no future for those who live there. This place is called the valley of ashes where everything is covered in gray dust; even the people are covered in a grey dreary dust. It is a place full of depression and sadness and it’s definitely not a place where most people would want to be.
Another color that is used symbolically throughout the novel is white. White is the color that has the meaning of purity or goodness. Daisy and Jordan, the two main females of the novel, are always seen in white clothes. When Nick meets up with Daisy and Jordan for the first time he noticed that “they were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house” (8). Also when Gatsby wanted to meet Daisy for the first time in years, he wore a white suit. It was like he wore this is to show that he is
Mr. Quintis
Honors English III
21 September 2011
The Colors of Gatsby
In the novel The Great Gatsby there are many forms of symbolism that are well used. Symbolism can be interpreted in many different ways. Authors use symbols to try and get the reader to connect and think more about what they are reading. Symbolism is a very good technique when writing because it helps make a book more interesting and adds depth. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses symbolism to help the book be more intriguing and thought provoking.
One form of symbolism is use of colors in the book. Gray is the color for dreariness and sadness, like a common place of death and depression. Such as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; Where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). There is one place in the novel that symbolizes the lack of life or spirit; it is the place where there is no hope and no future for those who live there. This place is called the valley of ashes where everything is covered in gray dust; even the people are covered in a grey dreary dust. It is a place full of depression and sadness and it’s definitely not a place where most people would want to be.
Another color that is used symbolically throughout the novel is white. White is the color that has the meaning of purity or goodness. Daisy and Jordan, the two main females of the novel, are always seen in white clothes. When Nick meets up with Daisy and Jordan for the first time he noticed that “they were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house” (8). Also when Gatsby wanted to meet Daisy for the first time in years, he wore a white suit. It was like he wore this is to show that he is