The Great Gatsby Gold Analysis

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald displays some of the characters in the book being prosperous through the color gold. The color gold symbolizes prosperous, because in The Great Gatsby the color gold serves as wealth and as success. Fitzgerald depicts the color gold as wealth through what the characters in The Great Gatsby have bought, mainly the rich characters in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald writes of Nick describing Gatsby’s food at Gatsby’s party in

The most common color accompanying Gatsby was gold, even his parties were known for being decorated fully with gold this showed off his wealth and happiness, for example “At Gatsby's parties even the turkeys turn to a bewitched to a dark gold" (p. 41). Gatsby chooses to expresses his life in the color gold his golden hair, his yellow car, golden tie, golden house and astonishing parties. After owning enough money to become a member of the rich he surrounds himself in a golden world to show his wealth to Daisy. Although gold can symbolize happiness it can also symbolize greed, Daisy displays greediness when, "Daisy's voice is full of money," Gatsby said suddenly. That was it.

In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald includes many themes that go beyond the surface of the text itself. The themes allude to organized crime, color symbolism, relationships, weather symbolism, and a mysterious billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Each of these themes plays an essential role in understanding the personality of Jay Gatsby, his life choices throughout the novel, and his relationships with other characters in the novel. The element of color, specifically green, white, grey, and silver stands out as an extremely important factor in shaping and explaining parts of the novel. From the very beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald incorporates color into his novel which is narrated by Nick Carraway.

Money equals power. As far back as mankind goes, money, in any form has been a symbol of power that allows one to do anything they please and seemingly get away with it. People believe that money will solve their problems when in reality, it simply creates more. Henry David Thoreau said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it”. This message is repeated many times within The Great Gatsby.

Ambition is what propels people forward. It is what prevents people from quitting. It is what gives a person the drive and the passion to go after whatever he or she desires. It is what helps an individual to become a superior version of themselves. However, in certain cases, dreams, and aspirations do not always end up beneficial to a person.

Gatsby’s “Greatness” Greatness is showed by the choices we make in life. From how we see the circumstances and how we react to them. Gatsby is not as great of a man as Nick claims that he is. Gatsby makes foolish, childish and delusional decisions and not at all great.

Throughout the novel, Gatsby displays his riches through his mansion, expensive car, and many other things. Nick even describes how extravagant Gatsby’s house is, saying, “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 5). As Nick describes, Gatsby’s house is very large and modern, which shows his affluence. Before he became rich and privileged, Gatsby was James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy who dreamed of becoming wealthy. This dream led Gatsby to do crazy things in order to make money, but it worked out for him in the end.

Color is everywhere. Although color may not seem important, they might have a greater, deeper meaning. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is set back in the Roaring 20’s, when the economy was booming. A newly rich man named Jay Gatsby is one of the richer people in this time that enjoys his money. He throws overgenerous parties, hoping that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, attends.

Wealth identified how you lived to the people surrounding you in society. It was wealth that built you and destroyed you. Wealth overshadowed true love and beauty in The Great Gatsby. Those who had old money looked down upon those with new money, while those who were not rich was ignored by society. Wealth and the desire to be accepted by the society distracted the characters from making moral decisions.

The Great Gatsby Reading Journal Colors prove quite important throughout the novel, in representation of both themes and characters themselves. The most notable color is gold, which captures the allure of wealth and the emptiness beneath it that Fitzgerald portrayed throughout the novel. The epigraph mentions gold twice, emphasizing its attractiveness (in this case, in a significant other.) The “gold hat” which it mentions symbolizes Gatsby and his aggregated false riches which were made to woo Daisy Buchanan. Interestingly enough, the author of the quote, Thomas Parke D’Invilliers, is a pen name for F. Scott Fitzgerald himself from an earlier novel, This Side of Paradise.

In many literary works, the wealthy are generally depicted as pretentious or cruel and authors tend to portray their personalities through various methods. In his work The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses literary techniques to distinctly characterize the wealthy. Doing so helps him communicate the work’s theme on the soulless nature of the affluent. Fitzgerald conveys his message by incorporating juxtaposition, effective diction, and suiting moods with his characters.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby illustrates that materials and possessions are crucial to the plot development and represent the social status of the characters. First automobiles subsist throughout the story to highlight the differences between “new money” and “old money”. Consequently, automobiles are crucial to the conclusion of the novel. In addition, some characters live in small apartments and homes others live in elaborate mansions, which is signifies their social classes. Clothing is used as a means to show social class or pretend to be in a higher one.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby describes the life of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. The novel shares his love story and his loneliness. A major question the author raises is how does wealth impact class structure and society? Fitzgerald answers this question through the distinction between “New rich” and “Old rich” and the significance of East and West Egg.

Item 2: Color Chart: In the book “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, colors have been used to represent the character’s unapparent and underlying thoughts, feelings, status and class. Through the motif of colors, Fitzgerald depicts the feelings of the character as he refers to a specific color while describing each one of them. The colors make a deep impact on the readers as they contain a profound meaning throughout the novel. There are around five main colors in the novel appearing frequently: white, yellow, green, blue and grey, which help the novel look more gaudy and idealistic.

The lust for wealth and possessions is a tribulation that challenges almost everyone in today’s world. Being greedy for wealth and materials is human nature and it could be argued that greed drives the will to do or acquire something. However, for Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby their greed for wealth and possessions effects not only their drive, but their personality, motivations, and their relationships. For these two characters from the novel The Great Gatsby, their wealth affects them in different and similar ways. Gatsby and Tom both share characteristics of lust for wealth and materials because of their own selfish desires, while having differences such as how their wealth affects their personalities and social status.