How Fitzgerald’s use of colors assists the reader with understanding the underline meaning of the storyline within The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as one of the most renowned writers of the 20th century and in world literature: because of his significant public fascination of his lifestyle. He is understood as a passionate novelist, yet combines these qualities with realism. Fitzgerald expresses life and its problems, trying to give a complete portrait of modern life, yet giving the entire world picture.
He does not just try to give only one view of life, but instead tried to show the different manners of classes, and stratification of life. He uses America’s universal truths and witnessed facts of life, to create accurate components in all his work. For instance, due to personnel changes within his environment, Fitzgerald is able to address society’s issues, by giving his readers a visual respiration of his writing’s. A good example is the Fitzgerald’s development of colorful imagery, added with symbolic designs he portrayals characters and incidents from American history.
An a better example of Fitzgerald colorful imagery is The Great Gatsby, an novel filled with pure colors, each representing different Personality traits that assist the reader with understanding the underline meaning of the storyline within The Great Gatsby. Personality traits can be described as patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. To illustrate, these traits are regular ways of us are reacting to our environment. Thus, examining a person’s environment you are able to determine his or her behavior. Then using such information, we are able to predict the emotions and the thought process that is taking place,
Therefore these emotions tend to motivate us to speak out, and interact with the current situation. Although this may be true, traits differ with each situation, to demonstrate a person may display being aggressive in one situation and nonchalant in another situation. For this reason there are two different types of traits, common traits and individual traits. Common traits are traits that are common seen in a group of people: individual traits are uniquely special to a person also describe his or her character.
Provided this information we can conclude that personality refers to our characteristics that are visible and those that other people can not see. Our personality in other words is determined on the impression we make on others. Fitzgerald places Nick Caraway as the narrator of The Great Gatsby, in effect shaping the personality of characters and to deepen the theme Fitzgerald is an artist who makes his writing very photographic and optimistic. Within The Great Gatsby he uses a unique type of style, which is color symbolism, coupled with many colorful symbols.
A Symbol is different from a metaphor because it provides additional meaning and imitates the basic nature of reality. Symbolism highlights the indirect description of images, yet chooses specific images and symbols that allow the reader to infer emotions and ideas by using the unexplained symbols. This technique is used mainly in every chapter of The Great Gatsby. For instance, he typically uses true colors and not shades, so the picture will be clearer. These colors provide us a great understanding about the characters and their actions, influencing their daily lives.
Individually each color when represented is not always symbolic, even so the majority of them are. To completely cover the meaning of Fitzgerald color use, the reader must distinguish the places where these colors are exposed. The most used colors in The Great Gatsby comprise of white, green, yellow, red, blue and grey. Green is typically associated with Daisy’s, such as green light at the end of the dock. It indicates Gatsby’s unlimited love for Daisy and his American Dream. The color White is closely linked with Daisy, representing pureness and also hollowness.
It signifies emptiness, shallowness, openness and ruthlessness. The color Yellow is the most used color in the novel, it symbolizes money, greediness and high upper class positions. Next, it indicates extravagance and greediness, such as when Nick calls Daisy golden woman. Third, it also represents vicious control and death, for instance, the yellow leaves and yellow car. Red is commonly associated to blood and is connected with Tom in the novel, however characterizes Tom’s character: selfcentered, conceited, cruel, fractious and cruel.
Blue signifies depressed, aloneness, calmness and imagination. Grey suggests corruption, isolation, dishonesty, discouragement and divine emptiness. For instance, The Valley of Ashes best illuminates this color best. These colors used in the novel play an significant outcome in shaping the characters, evolving the plot, and expanding the theme of the novel. The color green is used many times throughout the novel. For example “I decided to call to him. Miss Baker had mentioned him at dinner, and that would do for an introduction.
But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except 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. ” This quiet reflection of Nick’s expresses many details. For example, it’s our first introduction to Gatsby, and he’s reaching out toward Daisy’s house, towards the green light.
Remember, at this point Gatsby hasn’t seen her for over five years. His love for her is overwhelming, and he expresses this by literally reaching out toward a light that he associates with her. For a full explanation of that green light, check out “Symbols, Imagery, Allegory. ” Furthermore we see the color white used more in the novel, with connection to Nick and his strong integrity. Such as “His gorgeous pink rag of a suit made a bright spot of color against the white steps, and I thought of the night when I first came to his ancestral home, three months before.
The lawn and drive had been crowded with the faces of those who guessed at his corruption – and he had stood on those steps, concealing his incorruptible dream, as he waved them good bye”. Nick establishes that wealth and humbleness means absolutely nothing in terms of personality, although Nick is still conscious of how significant class is to personal identity, specifically in high class society. He recognizes that he was born into a life of higher opportunity, due to his significant amount of wealth. The color white shows many strong examples of strong integrity, in connection with Nick.
To demonstrates, “I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more. On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight, and Terased it, drawing my shoe raspingly along the stone. Then I wandered down to the beach and sprawled out on the sand” (Fitzgerald 192). Nick’s sympathy spreads to the house that stood for everything he hated about Gatsby, yet tries to keep it neat, since the house meant greatly to Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses the color blue within the novel to expresses ones wealth or high economic status and their arrogant nonchalance.
For example, “I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it. ” “Did you keep it? ” asked Jordan. “Sure I did. I was going to wear it tonight, but it was too big in the bust and had to be altered. It was gas blue with lavender beads. Two hundred and sixty-five dollars” (Fitzgerald 48). Gatsby is rich enough to easily afford two hundred and sixty-five dollars on a dress. Showing his arrogant nonchalance because Gatsby does not know the woman. No uncertainty he did so to expresses how nice he is capable of being, also how plentiful his fortune is.
Gatsby also performs a similar action in chapter 3 “There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his RollsRoyce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight” (Fitzgerald 43).
The luxury of Gatsby’s parties demonstrates the amount of much money he has to burn. He also paid for all his guests’ drinks and activities, making his wealth all the more comprehensible. Gatsby uses the color green to repersenmt the American dream, and the oncoming future that awaits them. For example, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.
It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning – So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. Nick previously was worried that we were all driving towards death, but he says that we all run forward and run faster. Nick’s attitude was completely changed by Gatsby’s death. After that he recognized, that we are hastening towards death in our futures, yet that we are rather stuck in the dissatisfaction of the past. In conclusion, Fitzgerald’s use of colors assists the reader with understanding the underline meaning of the storyline within The Great Gatsby.
