ELA Post #24
Elliott Conely
Kim Harrison
ELA
5/3/2017
Kim Harrison
ELA
5/3/2017
Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
Color symbolism is prominent in The Great Gatsby. Green, white, and red are prominent throughout. Green is often used to symbolize Gatsby's desire and the American dream. A prominent green symbol is the green light near daisy's dock. Fitzgerald describes the green light as, “a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.” The green light symbolizes Daisy who is forever out of Gatsby's reach. White is used to symbolize purity and Daisy. Fitzgerald describes the beauty of Daisy and Jordan Baker as "They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house." Color symbolism is very prominent and impact-full in The Great Gatsby.
Another interesting color correlation is found in the eyes of T.J Eckleberg, one eye is yellow and one eye is blue, the yellow eye possibly symbolizing death (Gatsby's car) and the blue possibly symbolizing betrayal (the car Tom is in before he indirectly kills Gatsby). Good post!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about that. Really interesting.
DeleteInteresting. I never picked up on that.
DeleteColor symbolism in the book is really prominent throughout. Another interesting color, that was also featured in the movie, was the color that is often used alongside Tom: Red. Its an interesting combination as it depicts Tom's internal corruption as well as his wild emotions such as anger. Do you think that red symbolizes anything else in Tom, how about Gatsby? Good Analysis of color symbolism.
ReplyDeleteColor symbolism in The Great Gatsby is definitely one of the most memorable things for me. I also thought it was really cool to see how the color symbolism came to life in the movie. It was just an interesting contrast between how the colors were represented in the book and then seeing it come to life.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the color red? You mentioned it but never elaborated. I agree with what you say the color represents, and the evidence you choose works well with your statements. Yellow/ Gold was also a color that was often used. I think that it was meant to symbolize the characters life style. The characters lived flamboyantly and dew a lot of attention to themselves. Yellow tends to make people look.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I would say that red is symbolic for selfishness, arrogance, barbarous, and cruel. It closely remains to be symbolic for Tom, in my opinion.
DeleteColor was very prominent in the Great Gatsby and helped amplify the world that F. Scott Fitzgerald created in this book. I thought the colors were very well placed and aggree with you on their importance.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised nobody has really mentioned yellow. Yellow makes so many apperances, and most times it involves death. Gatsby's Yellow Sportscar, the Yellow Spectacles of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, the Yellow-ish glow of Gatsby's house at night and the city. (That last one may be a bit of a stretch, but the point stands.)
ReplyDeleteVery nice, Elliot. What do you think about the significance of Gatsby's pink suit? Do you think it could represent anything that our class has not already discussed prominently?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well thought out post, and these were the two colors I picked up on the most too. Were there any other colors you noticed that seemed to symbolize something important?
ReplyDelete