The Great Gatsby Color symbolism

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions”   “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions” --Pablo Picasso

White DAISY1) morally unblemished honorable; pure; Daisy When Nick Caraway visited the Buchanans, he met two young women, of course Daisy and Jordan. "They were both in white" (12). Even the windows at Daisy's house are white "The windows were ajar and gleaming white" (12). Daisy wears a lot of white and drives a white car.

Gold Richness happy or prosperous: golden days, golden age successful: the golden girl extremely valuable: a golden opportunity Only a few characters are associated with gold in the novel. But why?

Gold At Gatsby's parties even the turkeys turn to gold. "..turkeys bewitched to a dark gold". Jordan Baker - the golden girl of golf - is associated with that color. "With Jordan's slender golden arm resting in mine"; "I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder"

Green This green light is across the sea where Buchanan's house is supposed to be. Gatsby said: "»You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock«" (p. 90); "Now it was again a green light on a dock" (p. 90); “ ...when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock" (p. 171); HOPE- specifically the hope Gatsby has that Daisy will return to him/hope for the future.

Yellow "now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music" (p. 42). In contrast to the golden girl Jordan, her admirers are only yellow. "two girls in twin yellow dresses"; "»You don't know who we are,« said one of the girls in yellow, »but we met you here about a month ago.«" "... we sat down at a table with the two girls in yellow" (p. 44). Yellow is a faded form of gold. What do you think that could mean?

Silver jewelry and richness In The Great Gatsby the moon or moonlight or the stars are often silver: "the silver pepper of the stars" (p. 25); "The moon had risen higher, and floating in the Sound was a triangle of silver scales" (p. 48); "A silver curve of the moon hovered already in the western sky" (p. 114). jewelry and richness

Grey is often used for neutral dull not important "grey little villages in France" (p. 48); "The grey windows disappeared" (at Gatsby's house, p. 91); "... a grey, florid man with a hard, empty face" (p. 97) The Wilsons, living in the valley of ashes, appear in grey, except for Myrtle, when she enjoys the company of Tom Buchanan.

Blue the color of being depressed Moody unhappy Although a lot of people are in and around his house, his gardens (plural!) are blue. "... ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves" (p. 144 After Myrtle's death George Wilson and Mr.Michaelis are in a blue mood. " ... a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn wasn't far off. About five o'clock it was blue enough outside to snap off the light" (p. 151). The most unhappy place is the graveyard: "He had come a long way to this blue lawn" (Carraway at Gatsby's grave, p. 171). Blue the color of being depressed Moody unhappy

Pink HAPPINESS Sometimes Gatsby comes up in the color pink. "the luminosity of his pink suit under the moon" (Gatsby, p.136). When Gatsby and Daisy are finally together, "there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea" (p. 91).

Red Alive Joy Love Shame rage The inside of Buchanan's home is in red. "We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-colored space" (p. 13); "Inside, the crimson room bloomed with light" (p. 22).

Light Light colors represent dreams or goals Gatsby follows the pure light of the grail Gatsby is reintroduced to Daisy on a dewy bright morning.

Dark The Valley of Ashes is the stark opposition to East and West Egg All of Gatsby's parties are held at night and are bright with a false light. Dark colors are the realities of Gatsby's dream-like life.