What Does Yellow Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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There is a lot of symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work The Great Gatsby. Major themes are represented through symbols, such as the glasses of T.J. Eckleburg and even the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York. Even bigger than those two are the colors that tell the stories of the different characters. Throughout the story, Jay Gatsby is commonly associated with the colors yellow, white, and green. By looking into the meanings of these colors, the reader can get to know Jay Gatsby much better. Yellow is a very two sided color. When someone thinks of yellow, they most likely are thinking about summer days and smiley faces. On the positive, yellow is considered one of the “happiest” colors. Since yellow is a warming color, it is associated most commonly with energy, positivity,…show more content…
One example of that optimism shown through yellow are the cocktail dresses seen at his parties. Even though the story of Jay Gatsby is pretty sad on the whole, the splashes of yellow that show up during his parties demonstrate that deep down, he really does have some fun in his life. Take Gatsby’s yellow Rolls-Royce for instance. Jay Gatsby owns a beautiful yellow car that he drives like a maniac all around the Eggs. This car exemplifies the legitimate joy that Gatsby feels. Despite the fact that he ultimately decided for the car to be yellow simply to attract Daisy, yellow is also an example of the american dream. The color yellow demonstrates his desire to climb the social ladder in order to become more wealthy and have a sense of high status. However, every color has a negative meaning as well. Most commonly, the “dark side” of yellow is
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