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Heath Allen

Bays

English 3 CP

May 22, 2017

Fitzgeralds Use of Color in The Great Gatsby

Color has often been a prominent aspect in literature and serves various purposes. In F.

Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, the author provides a series of varying moods and tones.

The variety of color to show multiple points of view gives off a wide range of emotion.

Fitzgerald uses color to illustrate these different moods throughout the story.

To begin, the color red is used to convey a dark tone of anger and hate. Found on page

six, Toms home is described as being a cheerful red-and-white (Fitzgerald 6). However,

considering how red is seen as a color of anger, and Toms history of violence, it can safely be

assumed that it is meant to represent the conflict between Tom and Daisy. Tom represents the

red, violent color, while Daisy represents the pure, innocent color.

Next, the color green represents the wealth which Gatsby and other characters had. Found

on page 64, it is seen that Gatsby pulls up in a fine, beautiful car. It is noted that the leather is a

sort of green, (Fitzgerald 64). The car, and its interior leather, resembles Gatsby - a wealthy,

new-money man, trying to be like the classier old-money people. Likewise, the color gold was

seen as a symbol of high-class living, which only the wealthiest people could afford. Seen on

page on six, Nick notes the windows on Toms house are open and glowing from the suns

reflection (Fitzgerald 6). Tom and Daisy are old money, extremely wealthy, and very high-class.

The gold lining their French windows merely solidifies that point to anyone who passes their

house.
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Additionally, white is a color which represents purity, and innocence throughout the

book. As previously noted it is seen on page six, as well as page 110. On page 110, it is used to

describe Daisys face as it nears Gatsbys. It is seen that white is the color of Daisy, being that

she is completely innocent through most of the novel. Daisy remains, for the most part,

absolutely harmless, and a sort of polar opposite of Tom, in that she is calm and rational. It is

only as the story nears its end that it is seen she isnt as innocent as she seems.

Finally, blue is used as a color to represent pain and sadness throughout the novel. It is

first used to represent Daisys pain and the bruises she gets from Tom. Mentioned on page 12,

her knuckle is described as black and blue (Fitzgerald 12). The descriptions of her injuries is

meant not only to show the reader that Tom is abusive, but also to hint to Daisys unhappiness

around Tom. Later, without color relation, Daisys face is described as having an expression of

unthoughtful sadness (Fitzgerald 13). Noting this, Daisy is seen as being uncomfortable, in

pain, and hurt when around Tom; all this is simply conveyed by the color blue.

In sum, color in The Great Gatsby is used to present the tone of the text. The variety of

colors progresses the story to give more insight to the reader. The different colors give additional

meaning to the characters, and allow the reader to understand who they are as people before their

true nature is revealed. The variety of color to show multiple points of view gives off a wide

range of emotion to be expressed and seen throughout the story.

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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Penguin, 2000. Print.

Wright, Angela. "Psychological Properties Of Colours." Colour Affects. Angela Wright, n.d.

Web. 22 May 2017.