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Gatsby Color Symbolism

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The Color Symbolism in “The Great Gatsby” A literary masterpiece such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, creates a vision of the typical American prosperous lifestyle through color and images. Fitzgerald cleverly uses colors to paint a picture of the privileged and twisted life of Jay Gatsby. In the novel the narrator Nick tells the story of Jay Gatsby, who throws elaborate parties to try to catch the attention of his true love Daisy. Nick also tells of the affairs and the misfortunes between the characters that would eventually led to Gatsby’s death. The prominent colors used in the novel (gold/ yellow, blue, white/ silver) help to create the image of wealth and old money, intricateness, and the multilayered personalities of the …show more content…
Fitzgerald uses yellow to connect to Daisy. Yellow can mean happiness or youth. The color yellow can also mean death. In the novel the car that Daisy was driving that killed Myrtle was yellow. Fitzgerald uses gold to depict the image of the old rich. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are considered old rich. Another color Fitzgerald uses to symbolize in the book is blue. He uses the color blue to describe the loneliness of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is lonely because he is in love with Daisy, who is a married woman. Fitzgerald talks about how Gatsby longs for Daisy across his “blue lawn”. The “blue lawn” is the water separating Gatsby's house from Daisy’s house. This connection between the color blue and Gatsby helps to show the loneliness in Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald utilizes the color white and silver to show the value associated with the characters. He primarily uses the color white to create the image of innocence which is closely related to Daisy. This is ironic because Daisy is not as innocent as you would think. She has an affair in the book which tarnishes the idea of innocence. Fitzgerald primarily uses the color silver to create the idea that something is sought after because it is considered precious. The characters or objects described using the color silver are those that are of value to all and desired by

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