Colours are one of the most prominent and powerful uses of symbolism in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A wide array of colours are alluded to, continuously, throughout the novel, holding deep symbolism while being presented at face value. Characters like Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby yearn to be those whom are the elite of society, The Elect, reflected in colours. Other characters such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s socioeconomic status consistently manifests itself in the colours that follow them. The colours that surround characters in The Great Gatsby reflect the differences between the socioeconomic classes of the time. White and gold are the two most prominent colours that appear around Tom and Daisy Buchanan, along with the rest of the upper class.
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One in particular, yellow, is of the utmost importance in distinguishing the different socioeconomic classes in the novel. Yellow is representative of happiness, optimism, honour, and loyalty, but can contrarily represent cowardice and deceit. (Bourn, Yellow). Jay Gatsby spends years of his life building a façade of wealth, when in reality he came into his wealth through crime. He manages to deceive everyone, including Daisy, only showing her the positives of his life. Gatsby’s car is “big and yellow” (Fitzgerald 139)—a symbol of his big desire to enter high society. Yellow is similar, but not the same as gold. Yellow is more dull, less beautiful than gold, and as hard as he may try, Gatsby is still surrounded by yellow, not gold. Gatsby puts on a deceitful façade and tries to act as if he is old money, as if he is someone of importance. But just like the colour yellow, he will never be as good as gold—he is ‘new money’, and will never be like Tom, Daisy, or the rest of The
One in particular, yellow, is of the utmost importance in distinguishing the different socioeconomic classes in the novel. Yellow is representative of happiness, optimism, honour, and loyalty, but can contrarily represent cowardice and deceit. (Bourn, Yellow). Jay Gatsby spends years of his life building a façade of wealth, when in reality he came into his wealth through crime. He manages to deceive everyone, including Daisy, only showing her the positives of his life. Gatsby’s car is “big and yellow” (Fitzgerald 139)—a symbol of his big desire to enter high society. Yellow is similar, but not the same as gold. Yellow is more dull, less beautiful than gold, and as hard as he may try, Gatsby is still surrounded by yellow, not gold. Gatsby puts on a deceitful façade and tries to act as if he is old money, as if he is someone of importance. But just like the colour yellow, he will never be as good as gold—he is ‘new money’, and will never be like Tom, Daisy, or the rest of The