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Prencis Chism

Ms. Randolf 12th Grade English

April 4, 2014

A Rainbow of Meanings In F. Scott Fitzgeralds, The Great Gatsby, colors are used as symbols with many meanings. The color yellow for example does not have the typical meaning of bright or happy. In Fitzgeralds, The Great Gatsby, the color yellow is used to symbolize wealth then it later changes to corruption, as well as to develop Gatsbys character.

In the beginning of the novel yellow symbolized wealth only. As the book continues it begins to change from wealth to corruption. Nick said, On weekends his Rolls- Royce became an omnibus bearing parties.while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains (39). Even though this was at the beginning of the novel, it showed both wealth and corruption. It displayed the wealth of Gatsby. However, it also showed corruption because it displayed the theme of rumors. At this point in the novel, Nick was not sure of anything except of what people told him. Throughout Fitzgeralds novel, multiple colors can share the same concept. One of the girls in yellow was playing the piano, and beside her stood a tall, red haired young lady from a famous chorus, engaged in song (Nick, 51). This quote has both yellow and red. As stated before, yellow can mean corruption. Red is a secondary color to that meaning because it is often

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brought up in moments of sin. The context of the paragraph shows that wealth does not always bring happiness. The girl in the yellow had begun to cry proving that she was unhappy in some way.

Just like the girl from the party, Gatsby also began to understand that money was not everything. Once he stopped and shifted it a little.in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees (Nick, 161). Gatsby was contemplating what had just occurred, Myrtles death. If that quote were to be taken literally, one would assume that the season was changing. However, Gatsby getting lost in yellowing trees was no accident. He was in fact the one that was changing. That symbolizes that he was beginning to comprehend that wealth has caused a lot of trouble in his life. He was learning that the very thing he thought he needed to be happy was in fact his greatest downfall. There was also a secondary color for wealth, gold. High in a white place the kings daughter, the golden girl (Nick, 120). This was one of the few colors that could be taken literally throughout the novel. Even without the color in this particular motif, wealth. With the word king, readers will already understand that someone of both higher social status and wealth is present. In this particular instance, Nick is beginning to grow as a character. He is starting to understand the effect money has on the people around him.

After what happened with Myrtle and Gatsby, Nick really began to think back. We see this in a flashback with Nicks description, And last the murky yellow cars of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad looking cheerful as Christmas itself of the tracks beside the gate (175). At this point Nick understood that looks can be deceiving. He had seen the truth behind

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peoples wealth. After all, Gatsby made him believe that money was the key to his happiness. On the other hand, two lives had been taken away by that same toke. In closing, F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby, colors were used to represent multiple themes. Yellow stood for wealth, with its secondary color, gold. As well as corruption with its secondary color, red. This color also is parallel to the change in both Gatsby and Nick.

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Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Print.