Great Gatsby Essay, Research Paper

The Hidden Story in Green and White Color symbolism is really 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

fa?ade that every character is hiding behind. The color green, as it is used in

the novel, symbolizes different choices the character, Gatsby, can make during

his life. The green element in this novel is taken from the green light at the

end of the dock near Daisy?s house. The color itself represents serenity, as

in everything is perfect. This warns Gatsby that he should not pursue his dream

for getting Daisy back, because his chance has passed and everything is as it

should be. This is shown with Nick?s insight, ??His dream must have seemed

so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was

already behind him? (Pg.189)? Another symbolization of the color green,

which contradicts the first, is the meaning ?go.? As in a traffic light

signal, most people associate green with the word and action ?go.? This can

be interpreted as meaning Gatsby should go for his dream without hesitation. It

implies that Gatsby and Daisy are meant to be together and nothing should stop

Gatsby from his destined happiness and love with Daisy. It inspires hope for

Gatsby that he is on the right path, heading towards the best years of his life.

He believes that things will soon be as they once were, only better. ??I?m

going to fix everything just the way they were before,? he said nodding

determinedly. ?She?ll see.?(Pg. 117.)? The last symbolization the color

green has in this novel is an urge to strive ahead in life, to do better in life

and succeed. Gatsby changes his entire persona for a better, more sociable,

image and status. He is constantly striving to be a more successful figure in

society. Ever since he was a boy he put himself on a schedule with hopes for

becoming a highly respected, well-known person. ?He knew he had a big future

in front of him. (Pg. 181),? his dad says about him. ?Jimmy was bound to get

ahead. He always had some resolves like this?(Pg. 182).? White is the other

color symbolism interlaced into this novel. Where green only influenced one

character, white has a wider range of influence on the characters. This color

symbolizes one thing, a fa?ade, but it appears in every character. For example,

Daisy is always seen wearing white, which gives her and innocent naive

appearance. It is as though she uses that as an excuse for when she does

something ridiculous or childish, making it seem like she does not know any

better. In reality, she knows exactly what she does but just doesn?t care. She

uses this little princess image and her money to hide her biased, snobbish, and

conceited view of herself and her lifestyle. ?They were careless people, Tom

and Daisy–they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into

their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them

together?(Pg. 187-188).? Another character that hides behind the white

symbolic fa?ade is Jordan Baker. She also wears white quite often. She acts as

though she is superior to everyone around her. Her posture, her attitude, and

even the things she says imply this arrogance. ?She was extended full length

at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little

as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she

saw me she me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it?indeed I

was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by

coming in. (Pg.13).? She portrays a bored and apathetic attitude about

everything, which is part of her ?I am too good for you? appearance. In

reality, she just wants to be as respected and socially accepted as Gatsby. She

is not willing to take responsibility for her actions and uses her image as a

guard implying that she could not have possibly done anything immoral, much like

Daisy. However, ?She was incurably dishonest. She wasn?t able to endure

being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness I suppose she had begun

dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep the cool

insolent smile turned towards the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard

jaunty body. (Pg. 63).? Color symbolism is not very noticeable, yet it can

tell a great deal about a story. In this case, the colors give the reader a look

at the character?s choices and the paths he or she could have chosen compared

to the ones the character chose, which adds dimension to the story. The green

the different choices Gatsby can make, whether it serves as a warning, an

inspiration, or an urge to get ahead. The white symbolizes a mask, or a fa?ade.

It allows the characters to portray themselves as a whole other person and hide

who they really are. This puts a piece of reality into the story, as everyone

wears a white mask of some kind to hide his or her true self from the world. It

is the unsubtle clues given to the reader that are fascinating and allow a

person to relate to the characters.