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The great gatsby color ananlysis essay
Historical relevance to the Time Period of The Great Gatsby
Historical relevance to the Time Period of The Great Gatsby
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In The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald develops the themes of corruption and love through symbolism to depict the fall of the American dream. Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses many symbols as an integral part of developing the themes in the novel. One of the numerous symbols Fitzgerald uses is the use of color. Fitzgerald uses real colors to paint a picture for the reader of what life was like during the 1920’s. According to Maia Samkanashvili, different colors are used to represent different themes throughout the novel and give importance to characteristics of the characters (39). Fitzgerald uses the color green as a symbol of hope, wealth, love and corruption. The color green is also used to represent the character of Gatsby. Fitzgerald …show more content…
It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further...”(189). This shows that the light was Gatsby’s motivation throughout the novel to reach his ultimate aspiration of love. Nonetheless, the closer Gatsby got to the “green light” the further he was from attaining his goal. Gatsby was a dreamer hoping to live the American dream, yet his dream was a dream of the past. The love Gatsby wants is an ideal that he has dreamed of, not a reality. Fitzgerald also uses the color green to represent wealth and materialism. The character of Gatsby wants everyone to perceive him as someone with “new wealth.” He throws elaborate parties, has a green car, a lush green lawn and wants the envy of people of “old wealth.” Deitermann states, in Gatsby's case, "Gatsby feels that he needs green money to live and to impress Daisy"(1). Gatsby is green with envy that Tom has Daisy and wants to win her love by making her think he has money. Gatsby knows that material wealth is important to Daisy as he expresses, "Her voice is full of money," and he tries to use money and material possessions to impress Daisy (Fitzgerald 127). Unfortunately, money can not buy love. Fitzgerald shows that money during the 1920’s was the root of all evil. The …show more content…
The various settings depict the differences between the different social classes. Ornstein refers to the East as being characterized by sophistication and corruption of Long Island and the West by boring righteous Minnesota villages (140). East Egg is where Daisy lives and is symbolic of sophistication and old money. In contrast, West Egg is where Gatsby resides. West Egg is where the people did not grow up with money. They have attained new money and tend to be very showy. Gatsby acquired his money on his own and gains attention by being gaudy, flashy and loud with his money. East Egg and West Egg are symbolic of the two different worlds that Daisy and Gatsby come from and that Gatsby will never be equal to Daisy. According to Ornstein, Gatsby is a story of displaced persons in search of a larger experience in life (141). Fitzgerald also uses the description of the setting of The Valley of Ashes to symbolize material corruption and sin. The Valley of Ashes is a barren village at the end of East and West Egg where the poor live and work. Even the valley’s location shows that they are of less worth than the people who live in the East and the West. The upper class passes judgment and look down upon the people who live in the Valley of Ashes. More importantly, the billboard of the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg watch over the valley
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald 171). Whenever Gatsby looks at Daisy’s green light, he thinks of a bright future with his love of his life. The color green symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for a future with Daisy. Green also symbolizes Gatsby’s desire for great wealth. Nick describes Gatsby’s car as a “green leather conservatory” because the interior is green (Fitzgerald 64).
Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses colors to represent symbols and themes throughout The Great Gatsby. The characters in the novel are often associated with a key color and this can help depicate emotions and feelings in certain events. Fitzgerald also uses color to place a deeper and stronger connection to other topics. His use of color imagery and symbolism enhances the novel in ways that only color could describe.
Color imagery in The Great Gatsby is vital to the books storyline. If there was no color imagery then the reader could not associate a certain person or thing with a color or idea. Fitzgerald uses the color so people can remember the person more than just their name. The use of color imagery greatly impacts the story line.
Colors are a major part of literature, used in countless books and movies to help depict symbolism and themes. In The Great Gatsby, colors are used in abundance. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a multitude of colors ranging from grey to pink. However, three colors are used more frequently: green, gold, yellow, and pink. Fitzgerald uses a large amount of green, a color used in literature to represent money and fortune. However, throughout The Great Gatsby, green continuously represents hope and dreams. Fitzgerald also uses a surplus of yellow and gold throughout the book. Yellow typically symbolizes happiness and joy, but in The Great Gatsby yellow represents failure and death. In using gold, Fitzgerald represents fortune and power. The third
Color symbolism is popular in novels written during the 1920’s. One such example is Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. There is much color symbolism in this novel, but there are two main colors that stand out more than the others. The colors green and white influence the story greatly. Green shows many thoughts, ideas, attitudes, and choices that Gatsby has throughout the story. White represents the stereotypical façade that every character is hiding behind.
Throughout history, colors have been used as symbols in literature. When people see or hear certain colors, they automatically associate them with symbols and feelings. For example, red is love, blue is sadness, and purple is royalty. Many of these symbols are universal. You could go anywhere in the world and ask someone how yellow makes them feel, and they would say happy. Some great examples of color symbolism are in the novel The Great Gatsby. Well-known symbols as well as new meanings are used to enrich the story. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, he used the colors gold, white, green and blue to symbolize deeper meanings.
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.
Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism and colors in The Great Gatsby is prominent in every chapter of his novel. To fully understand the meaning of his color use, a reader must recognize the situations in which these colors are used. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald uses the color green. Green has many possible interpretations, and its’ use to reveal insight into Gatsby’s character is probably the most meaningful.
F. Scott Fitzgerald used the imagery of colors in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. The colors are used very frequently as symbols, and the hues create atmosphere in different scenes of the book. White is a clean and fresh color, but the author shows how it can be tainted as well. Next, yellow illustrates the downfall of moral standards of the people of West Egg. Lastly, green, the most dominant color in the book, symbolizes wealth and Gatsby's unattainable dream.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.
The indication of success soon became focused on wealth and luxury. The Great Gatsby is a story focused on the deterioration of the American dream. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby is shown with a desire to achieve his dream by all means. Utilizing the Roaring Twenties as part of his satire, Fitzgerald criticizes the values of the American dream, and the effects of materialism on one’s dream. Gatsby can be characterized as ignorant.
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.