Preview

Essay On The Color Green In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
908 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On The Color Green In The Great Gatsby
There are a lot of colors that could be used to describe the characters in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but one that really stands out is the color green. The color green is most represented by money, hope, and fertility. By describing someone by using the color green, you could be saying that they have high self-respect and well-being. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses green a lot in the money side of the color. Green could also mean learning, growth and harmony, which you see some of is The Great Gatsby. The color green is also described as the color of balance, and is designated as the safe color. The characters that the color green represent the best are Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. Fitzgerald uses the color green to describe Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. The color green describes Jay Gatsby by associating him with money. “We both looked at the grass-there was a sharp line where my ragged lawn ended and the darker, well-kept expanse of his began” (Fitzgerald 82). Gatsby flaunts his wealth and associates himself with so much money and success because he wants everyone to know that he is not …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald. For instance, the color green comes up frequently in the story. Green can be used to depict money, hope, and fertility. Some people use the color green to say that someone has some level of self-respect and well-being. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses green a lot in the money side of the color. Green could also mean learning, growth and harmony, which you see some of is The Great Gatsby. The color green is also described as the color of balance, and is designated as the safe color. The characters that the color green represent the best are Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. Fitzgerald uses the color green to describe Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Colors are a major part of novels because the imagery gives the reader something to a picture and focus on the book/novel’s special details. Fitzgerald uses colors to describe feelings & emotions about someone or something. Fitzgerald’s use of the colors red, grey, and green help the readers to experience the book in a more visual way. Fitzgerald uses the color red to describe the gas-pumps outside of wilson’s garage,on the novel The Great Gatsby to foreshadow death. ”Already it was deep summer on roadhouse roofs and in front of the wayside garages, where new red gas-pumps sat out in the pools of light”(20).…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Colors are a powerful form of communication used to convey what words cannot. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism in the form of color is on display in nearly every chapter of The Great Gatsby. To understand his use of color as a symbol, a reader must recognize the situations in which they are used. Fitzgerald applies colors to his characters to hint at their personalities. The colors are intentionally repeated multiple times to establish a significance between them and the characters personality they are used to symbolize. Therefore, to understand each character entirely, colors must be considered. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses color symbolism to show how people mask their personalities to hide from the truth which results in negative…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In conclusion, the colors green and white are both competent and symbolic colors of the novel The Great Gatsby. White representing innocence corruption and fakeness, of both men and women. While on the other hand the color green is used as a symbol for having hope, luck, and fortune. Those two colors go hand in hand with characterizing the men, like Mr.Gatsby as well as the women like Mrs.Buchanan (Daisy) in the novel. They depict on what we know about their past, present, and their future goals. They also influence the start of a person's new beginning for one day having the “American Dream.” Which answers the question, “Who really are we?” By saying we are what society makes us thrive for, and what we think is correct. The internal and…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Green is representative of the power that Gatsby has with his wealth. An example of this is when he is throwing his clothes around the room. One of the shirts is described as “apple-green” (Fitzgerald 99). This represents his money because he uses the shirts to showcase his wealth and try to win over Daisy. Another place where Gatsby’s tries to use his wealth to show off it with his car. “He felt the hot, green leather of the seats (Fitzgerald 128).” This quote shows the wealth of his car and how he tries to use it in order to show off to Daisy by suggesting that he, Nick, Tom, and Daisy all take his car to get into town. Green is also used to show Gatsby’s corruptness and deceitfulness. When Michaelis described the car that hit Myrtle to the police officer he said it was light-green when its actual color was yellow (Fitzgerald 147). This represents corruptness because Gatsby allows Daisy to speed off in his car after she just ran over Myrtle Wilson. The last example of green being a corrupt color is the green light Gatsby saw at the end of Daisy’s dock (Fitzgerald LAST). The corruptness in this example is shown because it wraps up all the bad relationships in the end of the book with all the characters, and how Gatsby never would end up being with Daisy, the girl of his dreams. This connection between Gatsby and Daisy was depicted in great detail throughout the…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most used color of the whole novel is green. Green symbolizes money. In the story money is the center of the characters’ lives. Gatsby thinks that having a lot of money will win over Daisy. Which he later finds out is not the case. Green in the novel is used to describe new money, the money Gatsby has. Symbols of Gatsby’s money include “his large green lawn and the green ivy growing up his house”. Another possible meaning of green is envy. Gatsby is an envious character. The love of his life, Daisy, married another man for money. He spends every second trying to win her back. Leading one to believe Gatsby is “green with envy”…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The color green also generally stands for the future, life, and exploration, which Fitzgerald proves in this quote. Nick portrays an indifferent melancholy tone on Gatsby’s life when he states “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald 180). The word “recedes” signifies how Gatsby’s feelings never go away and always reoccur. This shows significance because Gatsby reveals his incapability to move one from Daisy and his past. He ends up only battling himself and chasing his own lonely sad fate. The incapability to move on shows Gatsby’s hardships and the American dream…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story set in the 1920’s in New York City. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a young man who bootlegs and gambles to achieve wealth, only to impress his first love, a materialistic spoiled girl named Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy went their separate ways when Gatsby joined the war. Now Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan and Gatsby is trying to win her back through wealth. Gatsby’s one goal is to have Daisy; despite her marriage he believes that he can recreate his past with her. Fitzgerald, paints the picture of the of Gatsby’s dream with symbolism, by using the colors gold/yellow, white sliver, and green, the reader comprehends the true contrast in characters and the American dream.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and began selling in the 50’s. The book was taken place in the 1920’s, also known as the “Jazz age.” Jay Gatsby sees a green light across the bay and decides it is time to re-meet the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby sets up Daisy for Tea at her cousin’s, Nick Carraway house, who happens to be Gatsby’s neighbor. Gatsby enters with a white suit, gold vest, and silver tie. To show off his success, his bright, big, yellow car is ready to sweep them off their feet and into the city. Finally, when Tom Buchanan realizes the betrayal of Daisy, his wife, he goes into the city with them while making a quick stop for gas. There, Tom is faced with his mistress, Myrtle Wilson and her husband George Wilson. George has found out of his wife’s adultery and his face turns green. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses colors in a way that show wealth,…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many great writers use color to further describe the nature of objects and characters; therefore, helping the reader develop a specific sentiment towards a story. In other words, colors expand on a person’s personality by creating feelings reflected by their clothing, general appearance, or attitude. Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, portrays one of those writers who uses colors to further analyze the way a character and object presents itself, hints given to show hidden, at the time, qualities. Throughout the book, characters, places, and objects revived by colors, presented with “life,” add emphasis to key points by communicating a deeper meaning, connecting the story to other main ideas.…

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gold In The Great Gatsby

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the novel, the color green is associated with Gatsby many times whether it be related to his envy, his money, or his thoughts. Gatsby is filled with jealousy when he is unable to attain Daisy since she already belongs to another man, Tom. Green also represents the power and influence of money, which Gatsby has plenty of. Later in the novel, Michaelis, the witness of the car accident that killed Myrtle, “wasn’t even sure of [the death car’s] color – [but] he told the first policeman that it was light green” (Fitzgerald 137). The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is a significant symbol within the novel. To Gatsby, the green light represents his dream, which is Daisy. Nick first saw Gatsby out on the deck and witnessed Gatsby as “he…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses color as a symbol throughout the novel. Colors can be used as foreshadowing in stories, commonly used to depict feelings of a character. These colors are used to create several settings throughout the book, along with several moods and are most definitely significant throughout the entire novel. Firstly, the discussion of the color gold and how it exemplifies wealth, happiness, and the attractive odds of attaining success will take place. Secondly, the color white will be discussed, pertaining how it describes perfection along with the value of honor. Lastly, the color green will be discussed, pertaining how the color depicts a better time along with the value of hope. Thus, because of the usage of the colors in the novel; gold, white, and green exemplify certain themes, moods, and symbols throughout the novel.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Images can often times create symbols within novels. In The Great Gatsby, the color green is mentioned many times by Nick, such as “the fresh green breast of the new world” or “long green tickets”. (Fitzgerald 149). The color green alludes to a bright future full of light and happiness. In The Old Man…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The vast different colors provided in The Great Gatsby show the characteristic and social class of…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby Color Symbolism

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He also uses this symbolism to express his view of the American Dream at this time in history. Fitzgerald communicates the American Dream as something that will ultimately always end in failure because the goals people set are unachievable. Green, the most dominant color in the book, symbolizes wealth and Gatsby's unattainable dream. White, even though an innocent and pure color, is also proved to represent emptiness. Lastly, yellow illustrates the downfall of moral standards of the people of West Egg as they focus everything on becoming more…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the immediate context of the story Fitzgerald uses color and objects to show the corruption of society and unattainable dreams. For example Fitzgerald describes Tom and Daisy’s house as “red and white.” This symbolizes Daisy’s innocence and Tom’s corruption and sin. This also symbolizes the innocence and sinful intertwined within each other. Later the author describes Gatsby reaching toward the “green light.” The green light symbolizes the American Dream. Also, this shows that no matter how hard he reaches Gatsby can never truly fulfill his dream.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays