The Great Gatsby Color Symbolism Essay Sample

Many novelists use symbolism in their works. There are the well-known ones, such as objects, situations, and weather. Another type of symbolism used in literature is color symbolism. Color symbolism’s definition is how, “In literature, certain events represent certain things and the colors that show up in the events can symbolize the meaning of those events,” according to user eae5174, an author from Pennsylvania State University’s website who has a blog called What a Colorful World.  This type of symbolism is used heavily by early 20th century author F. Scott Fitzgerald in his world renowned novel The Great Gatsby, him using the colors yellow, green, and white to convey certain emotions and foreshadow events in the novel. 

The color used most frequently in The Great Gatsby is yellow. This color is thought of as a bad symbol in the book, it usually associated with negativity such as murder and caution. For example, Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, a man on a billboard in the Valley of Ashes and a symbol of God, watched over the town and saw everything unfold, especially the terrible events such as murder. Eckleberg’s spectacles are significant, it being recorded near the beginning of the book how, “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg are blue and gigantic-- their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose.” (Fitzgerald 23) Since yellow is a symbol of negativity, the moods conveyed being caution and dishonesty, it is inferred that Eckleberg can see all of these terrible events that occurred. One of those negative events foreshadowed by yellow was the murder of Myrtle Wilson.Remembering that daisy and Gatsby were riding in Gatsby’s yellow car inclines the reader to connect the color of the car to the fact that something bad is about to happen, which is the death. Some other instances of this color being used were the appearances of it in Gatsby’s parties, symbolizing dishonesty. This is because of the front and fake manner that partygoers put on when they go to these events and how yellow is seen as “fake gold”.  Yellow has a very dark context in the book, but there are other colors that are peaceful, such as green.

Green has a very hopeful and yearning meaning behind it. An example of this symbol is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Gatsby longed for Daisy. The green light is a symbol of how close yet far Daisy is from Gatsby. This is represented in Chapter IV after the two meet when,” Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever . . . It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock.” (Fitzgerald 93) The distance that Gatsby feels with Daisy encourages his hope that she might be with him someday. Now that he has what he wants, his dream has been fulfilled. The green light, once so important to him, is just a light.

White is a color that is a symbol of purity, light, and honesty. It is mentioned in Chapter VI that, “[Daisy] was just eighteen, two years older than me, and by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville. She dressed in white, and had a little white roadster . . . “ (Fitzgerald 74) Daisy is written as a pure, youthful girl in this portion of the chapter. Not only does Daisy wear white, but her name is also a symbol of that color. Daisies are white with a yellow center. The way that Fitzgerald depicts Daisy as pure is ironic. It is revealed in later chapters that Daisy is not an innocent character, her murdering Myrtle and not going to Gatsby’s funeral when he dies. There is more irony that has to do with other characters wearing white. Catherine, Myrtle’s sister, is introduced as,” . . . a slender, worldly girl of about thirty, with a solid, sticky bob of red hair, and a complexion powdered milky white.” (Fitzgerald 30) It can be interpreted that Catherine is perceived as pure and innocent at face value. It is discovered at the end of the novel that Catherine knew about many terrible things that went on between other characters such as cheating. This fact definitely uncovers the irony apparent in the novel.

Many of the colors mentioned by Fitzgerald in this book have deep meanings behind them. Although there are many other colors to uncover the meanings of, yellow, green, and white are the main and most common ones in the novel. Learning what symbolism colors have gives the reader insight into the author’s purpose of their work. It gives the reader something to look for next time they read a novel.