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Theme Of Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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In literature, color is an important aspect in a story, as it usually symbolizes a deeper meaning. In Fitzgerald’s fictional novel, The Great Gatsby, a mysterious and wealthy Jay Gatsby throws extravagant parties, in hope that Daisy, the love of his life, will make an appearance. As Shakespeare famously said “All that glitters is not gold…” which applies to Daisy, as the real Daisy does not live up to Gatsby’s visions of her. Color symbolism plays an important role throughout the novel, most prominently with the use of green, white, and gold.
The color green plays a very important role in the novel; being one of the most used colors. I believe green symbolizes hope, and jealousy. Green is used as a symbol of hope in chapter 5, when Gatsby is showing Daisy his house. Gatsby looks across the bay from his window and says …show more content…

This shows that gold symbolizes Tom and Daisy’s “old money” and green symbolizes Gatsby’s “new money” (Samkanashvili). Though, Gatsby tries to camouflage himself in the “old money crowd”, through the use of gaudy and flashy objects. In chapter 5 when Gatsby is going to have tea with Daisy, he wore “… a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie…” (Fitzgerald 84). Clearly, this shows that Gatsby pretends to be “old money” in a pathetic attempt to impress Daisy. This shows how the color gold goes hand in hand with white, to portray the characters for their believed and true self. Schneider says that “…the ubiquitous yellow—symbol of the money, the crass materialism that corrupts the dream and ultimately destroys it.”(Schneider). This goes along with Gatsby’s attempts to appear “old money” to Daisy, thus corrupting his plans, leading to his inevitable

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