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Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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Color Symbolism In The Great Gatsby
Color Lover: How Colors are Used to Examine Important Themes in the Novel
Colors segregate themselves from each other. For example, the color white is defined as fair and clean, while the color black is defined as dark and fear. Thus, black will always be black and white will always be white. There are a plethora of references to colors in the novel The Great Gatsby written by Scott Fitzgerald. Colors are used everywhere in this novel to describe individuals and their appearance. If examined closely, it is clear that certain colors pertain to certain individuals. Scott Fitzgerald is implying that colors can represent a person and their intentions. In the novel, Scott Fitzgerald uses colors to explain important themes.
Scott Fitzgerald explains the concept of status through the colors white, blue and gray. By definition, white represents cleanliness and purity. In the novel, all the wealthy citizens of East Egg dress and live in the color white. Tom and Daisy Buchanan keep up with this status quo. They both wear white tuxes
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The valley of ashes is a town between West Egg and New York City where “ashes grow” and the citizens “move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (27). Fitzgerald describes the citizens as a lower class who is alienated from the wealthy class. The valley of ashes is a town that was created by the garbage and wastes from East Egg and represents filth. George Wilson lives in the Valley of Ashes and is described as a “blond, spiritless man” (29). His garage business is very slow and is covered in dust. His wife, Myrtle is first introduced in a brown dress and is having an affair with another man. The poor also throw parties but are inclusive, meaning that random people show up, get drunk and leave. Unlike East Egg, a town known for its high status and low tolerance for chaotic behavior, The Valley of Ashes consists of the working class and their wild

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