What Does The Gold Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

The 1920s were widely considered a failure in society. It was such a rowdy and out-of-control era due to the war. The war made everybody wonder whether they would make it back from war. This led to a generation of partying and living life to the fullest. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is one of many young adults who endlessly parties to make sure he has no regrets if he never returns from war. He falls back in love with a woman named Daisy Buchanon whom he had loved in his earlier years, but now she has married a prestigious member of the “old rich” society. In an attempt to win her back, he makes many interesting decisions that come to define him after his death. Fitzgerald uses colors to symbolize the recklessness and contrast of the times compared to their predecessor.
One color Fitzgerald uses to represent the times was …show more content…
Yellow is the color of the spectacles of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, who watches over the Valley of Ashes. It shows the lone spot of brightness in the gray Valley of Ashes. “A pair of enormous yellow spectacles” (Fitzgerald 23). Theses glasses are important because they contain the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleberg, which oversee what goes on. Gold also symbolizes money and greed of the time. “Yellow is the color of gold, which symbolizes money, materialism, and high social position.” (Haibing 42). Gold is used to symbolize Gatsby and his vast wealth. Gold is associated with money, because gold is a source of money. Gatsby has a lot of money, so yellow represents his wealth. Yellow and gold are also attached to Gatsby because he owns a lot of things that are either yellow or gold. “His golden tie, yellow car, golden toilet set and even his golden food and music in his lavish parties.” (Haibing 42). It is no secret that Fitzgerald used the colors yellow and gold to symbolize Gatsby, as the two colors are linked in a lot of different ways to Jay