The addition of vibrant colors can improve almost any piece of art. But while a splash of red or blue can very easily be introduced onto a canvas, creating the presence of color in literature can prove to be much more of a challenge to the average author. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, is of a different breed. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses colors show his characters’ motivations and emotions. Tom Buchanan, the rich and arrogant muscular beast of a man, is no exception. While other characters may have a greater abundance of colors, Tom’s certainly shine the brightest. Above all others, Tom Buchanan’s actions are represented most accurately by the colors red, green, and gold. The color red represents Tom’s passion, as well …show more content…
Gold is Tom’s incredible success in life and his underlying corruption. On the success side stands Tom with his enormous cache of money and his beautiful wife and kid. He is truly living the “American dream.” His home is perhaps the greatest evidence of just how well-off Tom is. “The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold, and wide open to the warm windy afternoon” (Fitzgerald 6). His house reflecting gold shows how good life is for Tom. His success also comes from him being “old money.” Unlike Gatsby, who only recently acquired his fortune, Tom had been rich for as long as he could remember. Gold describes the lifestyle that he has grown accustomed to and how he feels about the “new money.” For example, when Tom found out how Gatsby had truly made his fortune, he did not hide his contempt (Fitzgerald 133). Gold also symbolizes Tom’s corruption. The yellow car is a symbol of what lengths Tom would go to to get what he wants. He used Myrtle’s death as a tool in his plan to get rid of Gatsby. Tom knew that Myrtle would want to be with him, so he made sure that she thought he was in the yellow car. Tom tricked Wilson into believing that Gatsby was the driver of the yellow car. “He believed that Mrs. Wilson had been running away from her husband, rather than trying to stop any particular car” (Fitzgerald 159). Tom was corrupted enough to set up Myrtle’s murder, blame Gatsby, and have Wilson shoot Gatsby. Tom consistently makes poor decisions for temporary happiness without contemplating how they would affect him or his wife in the future. His reasons for leaving Chicago are never made clear, but it can be inferred that it was due to one of Tom’s indiscretions (Fitzgerald
In contrast to green, yellow and gold are used to be an example of old money, unlike green that is used to depict the new money of gold. Tom could be seen as a gold person for he has old money. As green and gold contrast, so do Gatsby and Tom. A quotation of new money gold is “… Jordan’s slender golden arm resting on mine…” Gatsby desperately buys “….. a yellow car,” in which he will attempt to be of old money, even though everyone knows that Gatsby is not of old money. Gold and green are as much a contrast of new and old, but they do have a distant connection just as a new and an old car have the same connection. They may look different, but deep down, the two can be seen as the same item. Fitzgerald describes the Valley of Ashes as
Gatsby’s car’s interior reflects Gatsby’s wealth because green is the color of money. The green interior of Gatsby’s car describes his “zealous desire for wealth” to impress Daisy(Pagelkopf 1). Gatsby thinks that Daisy left him for Tom because Tom was rich, so Gatsby believes that to win her back, he must show her that he is rich. Gatsby does this by purchasing car interior the color of money. The color green symbolized Gatsby’s wish for
Gatsby's bright yellow car could be spotted from a mile away showing is great wealth. Nick states in the beginning of the book that “On weekends his rolls- royce became an omnibus bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug meet all trains” (Fitzgerald 39). Cars in The Great Gatsby are status symbols for various characters, but also function as symbols of American society in general. car crashes symbolize ominous signs of socio-economic and moral collapse. The extravagance of Gatsby's yellow car represents his enormous wealth. However, it suggests not the muted elegance of "old money," but instead the lavish, gaudy excess of "new money." Gatsby's car symbolizes his place in society; he has money, but he will never be accepted in Daisy's world of old family names and inherited wealth. The color yellow also is sought out in other things in the story but gatsby's yellow car is truly significance of
Gold is a color often used to describe Gatsby. On the day that Gatsby meets Daisy he wears a "...gold-colored tie..."(84). The gold tie represents his wealth and success. After Gatsby came back from the war he had no money or any place to go, with the help from Wolfsheim he becomes a very wealthy man. He has become very successful in his life and he wants to impress Daisy. Yellow is a different form of gold. Yellow is used to describe Gatsby's car. "...inquiring a yellow car." ( ). Gatsby's yellow car is a symbol of his desire to enter into New York's high society.
Upon first impression, one might believe Jay Gatsby is nothing more than a self-satisfied, well-to-do bachelor living in luxury in West Egg. However, as his story unfolds, the reader finds out that he is an industrious man and a hopeless dreamer. The quintessential colors of yellow, green, and blue are used by F. Scott Fitzgerald to describe Gatsby’s characteristics in his magnum opus, The Great Gatsby. Yellow, an incandescent color, stands for his vivacious outward disposition, the shallow people around him, and his seemingly self-indulgent spending habits, for which he has an ulterior motive. Green represents the extreme lifestyle changes Gatsby has made in adulthood and his staunch hopefulness in finding love. Blue is a symbol of the
The use of a green light at the end of a landing stage to signal a romantic
The color black is often thought of as being sophisticated. When thinking of the color, people often relate it to death, intimidation, unfriendliness, and authority; however, it can relate to confidence, seduction, secrecy, and elegance as well. People exhibiting this behavior are naturally conservative and usually fear things beyond their control. An example of this type of person would be Tom Buchanan. Tom Buchanan’s demonstration of authority, fear of inferiority, and ability and willingness to keep himself and the ones he love hidden from others, all symbolize how the color black is represented within the novel.
The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism, colors, for example. Throughout the book the author uses them to represent different themes of the novel. Some of these colors are white, yellow, grey, green, pink, red and blue. However, I picked white and green for my commentary because I think these colors have a special meaning different from the others. White is mainly used to describe the character’s innocence, fakeness, and corruption. While green represents Gatsby’s hopes, ambitions, and dreams. In addition, sometimes green symbolizes the jealousy of certain characters.
The color green can signify many things in the every day life, people may think of it as “go” or as something positive. F. Scott Fitzgerald is an author known to use a lot of symbolism in his writings. In his famous novel, “the Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent various things. His use of the color green represents mostly what Gatsby desires most in life, but he also includes it to represent little things that need thinking to figure out.
Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby & nbsp; Colors can symbolize many different things. Artists use colors in their paintings when they want you to see what they are trying to express. Like if an artist is trying to express sorrow or death. he often uses blacks, blues, and. grays. Basically he uses dreary colors. You automatically feel what the artist is trying to express. When the artist uses bright colors you feel warm and you feel happiness. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald is like an artist. He uses colors to symbolize the many different intangible ideas in the book. He uses the color yellow to symbolize moral decay, decadence, and death. Then he uses the color white to symbolize innocence. He also uses the color green to express hope. Fitzgerald's use of the color green the strongest.
The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism. Colours, for example, are used to represent many different things; some even represent a theme of the novel. White, yellow, grey, green are just some of the colours which Fitzgerald uses in a special way, because each of these colours has a special meaning, different from the ones we regularly know or use.
The object of his greed shifts from the green light to Daisy, his other “enchanted object.” This phenomenon also occurs with Tom, who, in his greed for more life than he has already, carries out open relationships and alienates Daisy. In fact, almost every character in Gatsby portrays a form of greed, such as dishonesty in Jordan’s case so that she can possess more money, an insatiable desire for attention in Daisy’s case, and a desire to be rich in the case of Myrtle, and each of these characters suffer for it: Jordan loses her best friends, Daisy accidentally kills someone, losing her innocence forever, and Myrtle ends up torn in pieces from the front bumper of a green car, the car of greed.... ... middle of paper ...
For most people, a certain colour may represent something meaningful to them. While in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many of the colours used in the novel are meant to represent something. The novel’s setting is in East and West Egg, two places in New York. Our narrator, Nick Carraway, lives in the West Egg. Along with living in West Egg is a friend of Nick’s, Jay Gatsby; a character that is in love with Daisy Buchanan. Unfortunately, Daisy is married to Tom. As the plot unravels, the reader notices the connection between certain colours and their importance to the novel. The use of colours within The Great Gatsby symbolizes actual themes, as grey symbolizes corruption, blue symbolizes reality, and green symbolizes jealousy and envy.
Yellow stands out as a symbol of corruption and decay. Materialism has corrupted the citizens of East and West Egg because they center everything on money. When Gatsby entertains this wealthy class, the orchestra plays "yellow cocktail music". Even Gatsby believes that he can win Daisy back with his money - thus he is described as wearing a "caramel-colored suit" when he lies about his past to Nick. The most important symbol, however, is Gatsby's car. The car becomes the main topic of conversation among the townspeople after it kills Myrtle and a witness specified this "death car" to be yellow.
Colors are an essential part of the world around us. They can convey messages, expressing that which words do not. Gentle blue tones can calm a person and bright yellows can lift the spirits. If an artist is trying to express sorrow or death he often uses blacks blues, and grays basically he uses dreary colors. Without one word, a driver approaching a red traffic light knows to stop. Colors are representative of many things. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses color symbolism throughout as a major device in thematic and character development. He uses colors to symbolize the many different intangible ideas in the book. Throughout the book characters, places, and objects are given "life" by colors, especially the more prominent ones.