What Does The Color Yellow Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as the “Dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (“The American Dream”). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, portrays the corruption of the American Dream during the 1920’s. People were controlled by what others thought of them, and everyone’s strong desire to have money killed the morals of their society. Fitzgerald shows the corruption of society and the decline of the American Dream through his character’s personalities and countless symbols.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896, to Edward and Mollie Fitzgerald. For the first decade of his life,

Fitzgerald mostly lived in Syracuse & Buffalo, New York (The Great Gatsby). In the Fall of 1913, he enrolled at Princeton University. This helped to develop his career in literature (“F. Scott Fitzgerald”). While at Princeton, Fitzgerald wrote for numerous productions and theatrical societies as his grades fell. He also composed lyrics for Princeton’s Triangle Club productions (The Great Gatsby). His extensive commitment to literature caused him to drop out of college. In 1917, Fitzgerald, enlisted in the Army (“F. Scott Fitzgerald”). He married Zelda Sayre, whom he met at the training camp in Alabama. The couple lived in Long Island for most of their lives (The Great Gatsby). Zelda had be diagnosed with schizophrenia, which caused their marriage to fail. Fitzgerald began drinking more as his wife’s condition became worse. He began to thrive on money more and more. This is part of where he got some of his ideas for The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald lost most of his popularity during the depression, causing him to struggle to provide for himself. He finally got sober and gained back some of his popularity by writing short stories that were published in the Saturday Evening Post. Fitzgerald died at age 44 from a heart attack on December 21, 1940 in Hollywood, California (“F. Scott Fitzgerald”)..
As discussed in the “Interview: James L. W. West discusses the early versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby”, the first version of this novel was called Trimalchio, which was named after a character in ancient Roman literature. For a long time, Fitzgerald wanted to call his story Under the Red, White, and Blue. After multitudinous revisions, he came up with The Great Gatsby. He was not overly fond of this title, but his publisher said it was already too late to change. Throughout his revisions, the persona of Nick Carraway changed dramatically (“Interview”).
‘He was only a little older than me. Somehow I’d expected a florid and corpulent person in his
middle years. Yet, he was somehow not a young man at all. There was a stiff dignity about him
And a formality of speech that just missed being absurd that always trembled on the verge of
absurdity until you wondered why you didn’t laugh. I got a distinct impression that he was picking
his words with care.’
This was Fitzgerald’s first description of Nick Carraway for his book, Trimalchio. The reader is not given very much information about Nick’s personality and characteristics. His revised version of this description shows more sympathy and allows the reader to gain a better idea of who Niclk is. It becomes clear that Nick is not the character he is believed to be in The Great Gatsby, for he is much more of a snob (“Interview”).
‘He smiled, understandingly--much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles
with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or five times in life. It
faced , or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you
with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be
understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had
precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point, it
vanished, and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over 30, whose
elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Sometime before he introduced himself, I
got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care.’
Seeking fortune, the narrator, Nick Carraway, moved from the midwest to West Egg, Long Island. Shortly after he arrives, he travels to East Egg to visit his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom. While he is there he meets Jordan Baker, a professional golfer, who is very attractive and lives a privileged lifestyle just like Tom and Daisy. Nick is the exact opposite, and lives more of a modest lifestyle. After returning home, Nick notices his neighbor, Gatsby, standing outside with his arms outstretched toward the green light across the bay. Tom, an adulterer, invites Nick to join him to meet his mistress, Myrtle, who later gets her nose broken by Tom. After attending one of Gatsby’s parties, Nick and Jordan begin to see each other on a daily basis. Nick is offended by her dishonesty because of the fact that he is “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 64).
Nick later learns that Gatsby told Jordan about his love for Daisy, whom he met while he was in the army. He wrongfully gained his fortune in hopes of getting her back. This is why he bought the house across the sound, and hosted his elaborate parties. Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a meeting for he and Daisy, where he would unexpectedly show up. Their meeting was awkward at first, but their love was reestablished. On the hottest day of summer Nick and Gatsby go to have lunch with the Buchanan’s. Daisy suggests they take a trip to town, where she and Gatsby drive in Tom’s car. Tom stops for gas at Wilson’s garage where he sees Wilson is not well. He recently found out about Myrtle’s affair, as Tom just learned about Daisy’s life too. Tom decided to confront Gatsby about his feelings and intentions with Daisy. As Tom goes from Wilson’s garage, he sees that his mistress, Myrtle, had been hit and killed. It appeared to be Gatsby’s car who had hit her. Nick finds out that it was Daisy who was driving and not Gatsby. In search for his wife’s murderer, Wilson comes to Gatsby and kills him before turning the gun on himself. The last night before Nick returned to the midwest he stated how we are all a little like Gatsby, “we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 189).
The Great Gatsby illustrates the corruption of the American Dream through its characters, symbols, and geographical locations. Fitzgerald related his characters and the story’s events to those similar to his own life. Through the different themes, symbols, and locations used in the novel, Nick tells the story of how the American society has become corrupt. “The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest day of the summer” (Fitzgerald 120). The heat in this scene is used to foreshadow Tom confronting Gatsby, and represent the strong emotion and tension that is building. Heat is often used to symbolize strong passion and emotion, where in this scene the heat played a role in Tom’s growing temper. The conversation between Tom and Gatsby was “like the fatal encounter between Mercutio and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.” Despite the chill in the air, on the first day of autumn, Gatsby was floating in his pool. Wilson, in seek of his wife’s killer, comes over and shoots Gatsby. The chill in the air and the timing are symbolic to Gatsby’s attempt to stop time and fix his relationship with Daisy (“Sparknote on The Great Gatsby”). The weather also symbolizes Gatsby’s moods, because the weather changed as his moods changed. Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion starts in the rain which is very melancholy, but the sun comes out as their love is rediscovered (“Sparknote on The Great Gatsby”).
“Over the ashheaps the giant eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg kept their vigil but I perceived after a moment, that other eyes were regarding us with peculiar intensity from less than twenty feet away” (Fitzgerald 131). The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, located in the valley of ashes, symbolized the eyes of God who oversees everything. This home to the old billboard of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg also symbolized those who are stuck between new and old money (“The Great Gatsby Symbols”). Those of old money came from a family of riches, and those of new money are the people who have recently gained their fortune.
Fitzgerald uses color symbolism throughout his novel to help the reader to gain a better idea of who the characters are and the situations they face.

For example, “It’s a nice yellow one” is used to describe Gatsby’s car. The color yellow is usually symbolic for wealth, money, and luxury. Gatsby wants to believe that Daisy has only ever loved him and win her back. He tries doing this by surrounding himself with the color yellow. His mansion symbolizes “the grandness and emptiness” of the 1920’s. Its also represented his love for Daisy because he used his “new” money to create a place that competed with those of “old” money (“The Great Gatsby Symbols”). “ ‘Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly. That was is. I’d never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it...High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl... “ (Fitzgerald 127). Daisy was referred to as the golden girl because of her wealth and materialistic personality. She was often associated with the color white, which symbolizes purity. “Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous couch, like silver idols, weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans” (Fitzgerald 122). Just like an actual daisy is white on the outside and yellow in the inside, Daisy herself was seen to be pure and innocent, while on the inside she was very materialistic and thrived on money and luxury (Haibing

41-42).
The color red is often associated with blood, so it becomes the symbol of rage, death, and violence. “Already it was deep summer on the roadhouse roofs and in front of wayside garages where new red gas-pumps sat out in pools of light…” (Fitzgerald 25). The red color of the gas-pumps was symbolic to Myrtle’s death that would later take place in front of the gas station. Fitzgerald uses the word “pool” in this description which is where Gatsby will later meet his death. The color blue is used to represent Gatsby on the inside. He is golden on the outside, which is the riches that everyone sees. On the inside he is very lonely and depressed. A lot of Gatsby’s things are described as blue, such as his Garden (Haibing 42-43).
Green is another popular color used in The Great Gatsby, used to symbolize Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for a life with Daisy. “Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby always stood outside and stared at the green light on Daisy’s dock. He had hope that maybe one day their love would be reestablished. In “The Use of Colors in The Great Gatsby,” it states that the color green can also be used to symbolize envy or jealousy. This is used to describe Wilson once he learns about Myrtle’s affair with Tom (“The Use of Colors”).
While at Gatsby’s mansion he decides to show Daisy his large collection of shirts. They symbolize his newly accumulated wealth and the effort he has put into regaining her love. Although his way of becoming wealthy was wrong, he did it for the girl he truly loved. Daisy begins to cry when she sees Gatsby’s luxurious shirts because she now realizes that she could have had both love and wealth.
“He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one before us, shirts of sheer
linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table
in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap
mounted higher--shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and
lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound
Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily” (Fitzgerald 97-98).
Fitzgerald also shows the corruption of the American Dream with the different themes throughout his novel. There is a cultural clash during this time period and it is shown by the locations of “West Egg” and “East Egg”, which represent the moral differences. West Egg is the home to the people of new money who are “fair, relatively innocent and unsophisticated, “ where East Egg is the home to those of old money and are “unfair, corrupt, and materialistic.” The American Dream was also defined to be “self made wealth and happiness, the spirit of youth and resourcefulness, and the ability to make something of one’s self despite one’s origins.” Daisy and Tom represent success in achieving the American Dream.
The American Dream became corrupt and is shown through all of Fitzgerald’s characters. “ ‘Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he’s a gambler.’ ”Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: ‘He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919’” (Fitzgerald 78). His fortune symbolizes the rise of organized crime and bootlegging (“Sparknote on The Great Gatsby”). Wolfshiem’s ways to make money were corrupt along with Jordan’s attempt at fame, and the Buchanan’s strong desire for a good life, which led to murder. Moral corruption is another big problem with the decline of the American Dream. The wealthy class is morally corrupt by their strong desire for money and a perfect life. Nobody has any spiritual values anymore which leads to its corruption. This society is no place for a person like Nick who is honest and has values (“The Great Gatsby”). The decay in social and moral values are shown through Gatsby’s parties every Saturday evening. The speculators at the parties represent the “greedy scramble for wealth” (“Sparknote on The Great Gatsby”).
The themes and symbols in The Great Gatsby show the corruption of the American Dream from different perspectives. Everyone wanted to live this so called “perfect” life and just be happy, but with the desire to do so, everyone became morally corrupt. F. Scott Fitzgerald was an outstanding author who wrote this novel based on the events in his own life. This helped its readers to relate and understand its content and purpose for being written. People all across the nation read this novel because it is a great representation of how you and society can become corrupt if you do not have good morals. Today, The Great Gatsby is still considered one of the best American novels (“Interview”).