Colors in The Great Gatsby
Choose one important color in The Great Gatsby.
A. Be creative- inspired by our novel, describe the color, & use your ideas: write a poem, tell a story, write a line of vivid imagery.
B. Look back and find references to that color and use one-two quotes.
C. Discuss- what might the color symbolize in The Great Gatsby? What is the importance of this color in the novel?
Jordan says the following while she is taking the train to NYC.
ReplyDeleteJordan doesn't take the train with Tom and Nick in chapter 2. But I am sure she has took the train between NYC and East Egg before.
Well, I can't comprehend why so many civilians lived in the valley of Ashes
Had heard they don't want to be stressful. But what is stress by the way?
Isn't the East Eggs is Xanadu?
Then tell those people to dwell here instead of the "ashtray".
Enjoy living in this Xanadu!
The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor. (Fitzgerald, 8)
The color of white represents someone's lack of desire, frivolous, ignorance. Those people are usually old money. And the idea of "old money" has played such big role in the Great Gatsby. Even crazy rich as Gatsby wants to pretend he is "old rich". Because being an "old money' could give some noble feeling that can satisfy vanity but "new money" can't. Well for me, I think only Jordan is the color of white, others like Daisy and Tom have other colors under the white. Because of the flower, Daisy has white petals but yellow inside. And Tom is having an affair with Myrtle, so he has the desire for cheating on his wife.
I agree with Chuan Wu on that Gatsby wanted to pretend to be old Money because it gives him more of the noble feeling, and more professional. And I also want to add that Gatsby wanted to be old wealth is to satisfy his set requirement on the words he told Nick. Where His family is all died and that he and his ancestors have all educated in Oxford. So he would be extra careful and pretend to be old Money. All ultimately will be aiming for Daisy, where he knows she belongs to member of the old money, thus creating a bond by a common shared similarity will give him advantage to win her back from Tom. And I am not sure if Jordan really is the color white she could maybe be pinkish white, but overall nicely done.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with you on that wants to pretend that he is "old rich." I agree with this because in chapter 5 Gatsby talks about his parents being wealthy and from the MidWest, and commented that they live in California. Nick spoke about how this was questionable to him. The Idea of "old rich" has played a huge role in "The Great Gatsby. ”
DeleteCream: The Color in Between the Cracks
ReplyDeleteWanting to be rich,
Hiding your true identity,
Feeling misplaced
Like a white heel in a gray box
Filled with sawdust.
Words held by a thread
Just like that “fake” white dress that Myrtle wears
Hiding her true identity.
Just like Gatsby’s life being hidden by a blanket of molded lies
Until it’s unveiled.
Wanting to be seen as better.
Wanting to fit in.
Creating your own place,
The walls filled with holes
Molded by lies
A roof shaking
Nearly collapsing
White,
Green,
Gray,
But some feel that cream is where they’re meant to be.
In The Great Gatsby, the color cream symbolizes the desire to become wealthier because people try to hide their true identity (in other words, their social status) by wearing the “fake” white, which is known as cream. For instance, when Myrtle came to Tom’s apartment in New York City, she changed her clothes. As stated in the text, “ Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon… With the influence of her dress her personality had also undergone a change” (Fitzgerald 30). The color of Myrtle’s dress, cream, has a huge significance to Myrtle’s behavior and attitude in New York City because instead of being known as the wife of a car repair man, she wears “fake” white and feels like she can show the world the person she actually wants to be, which is to probably be a wealthy woman living in West Egg. She hides the fact that she is from the Valley of Ashes by wearing a cream colored dress, which acts as her mask and shows others a different side of her, but not her actual identity. Therefore, the color cream represents the desire to become wealthier by wearing a cream colored costume in order to hide a person’s social status, which allows the reader to understand more about a given character’s desires.
I agree that in the Great Gatsby the color "cream" is a fake version of white. You could also say a knockoff version for the ones who can't afford the original. And since Myrtle tries to move up to Toms and Daisys social class when her and Tom hang out, she wore that dress to try and match him and his status. But as we read that didn't work out, since Tom put her back in her place as she can't behave like she's something she's not. I also agree that the color cream represents the desire to get wealthier. Cream is a color to sort of hide your true identity and try to play off your actual life, with the fake one that for example Myrtle creates. Or maybe the life Gatsby puts on show, since we also read that he has a cream colored car. -Emma Jumpelt
DeleteI totally agree with cream being a color that represents a sort of fake white, pretending to be something that it's not. The color cream comes in many forms in the book but one that stood out to me was Gatsby's car. It wasn’t white but cream, telling us he is someone who has desire and shows he is trying to be something he is not. I also agree with Myrtle's cream dress being the reason to why she acts the way she does when she goes to the city with Tom and Nick. The color also is like a mask that hides Myrtles background and her actual place in society. However cream as proven to not always be capable of masking a persons identity, Myrtle for example.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreen: Many Fluorescent Years
ReplyDeleteI hid in the shadows of the dark.
To see that beautiful face from afar.
While others came to these parties
I wanted to see you there.
I lived for that green light.
I want to scream the truth.
These rumors, they have big teeth
Did it frighten you?
Thought you said that you would always be in love,
Are you not in love no more?
I’ll be seeing you wherever I go.
I’ll be seeing you down every road.
I’m waiting for it
That green light
I want it.
In The Great Gatsby, at the end of Chapter One, Gatsby watches from across the bay and there is a green light that could be signified as money, greed, or perhaps the American Dream.
This is not the case, that green light was explained in Chapter Four by Jordan. Jordan explains that “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” (Fitzgerald 78) Because the green light is across the bay (West Egg) and Daisy lives in West Egg, it's no coincidence that the green light hangs at the end of Daisy’s dock, this color indeed symbolizes Gatsby’s consistent love for Daisy.
This color is used to convey Fitzgerald’s message that Gatsby, since the beginning of the book, desired something, or even someone. When reading this book, the reader has to be careful to spot these symbols, or they might never get the message behind the book. It is quite shocking how Jordan has to explain these events, it leaves me wondering why Gatsby didn’t want to tell Nick face to face in the first place.
I loved the way you wrote, “I lived for that green light’” and “These rumors, they have big teeth / Did it frighten you?” There are certain lines in your poem like these that truly speak to the reader. I agree with the fact that the color green symbolizes desire of something or even someone. In chapter one, Gatsby looks at the green light in East Egg and was reaching and trembling as if he was longing for it. The longing and desire is symbolized by the color green. The desire for Daisy’s love is what Gatsby truly does want, which is why I completely agree with you that it is no coincidence that Gatsby lives across the bay from Daisy. Gatsby’s desire for Daisy’s love leads to Gatsby throwing parties every weekend in order to see Daisy and also leads to him getting Jordan to ask Nick if Nick can arrange a meet up where Daisy would come to Nick’s house and Gatsby would also come to be able to see her. Therefore, the color green represents desire for someone or something.
DeleteI truly wonder if Daisy is still able to see the green light or if the white light has completely blinded her sight of her love for Gatsby. I wonder if the moment she had to disregard the letter from Gatsby when she was younger and marry Tom Buchanan instead, changed the way she perceived the world from green to white.
I agree with what the green light symbolizes because it was basically Gatsby dreams of meeting Diasy because she is across the green light and it is his desire to meet Daisy like what Jordan explained the story. I like how the poem explains Gatsby desires and wants.
DeleteI really enjoyed your poem mostly the lines "I lived for that green light./I want to scream the truth./These rumors, they have big teeth/Did it frighten you?" and I really agree with your assumption of the the green light and i agree that the green light is Gatsby love for Daisy.
DeleteGray
ReplyDeleteGray is a cloudy sky in the winter,
Gray is crying on a sunny day.
Gray is dust,
Gray is sad.
Gray is the way the wind blows,
the way rain falls on leafs.
Gray is a world full of smoke,
ashes from very deep.
In the Great Gatsby Gray seems to represent loneliness, the lack of love and compassion. Gray is where people try to get away from, desire to get to a good place. In the beginning of Chapter II we learn about the valley of ashes. In the book it says "This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke..." (Fitzgerald 23) I think that the valley of ashes symbolizes the poor. The whole book is about Gatsby's great parties and how everybody in West and East Egg is dying of wealth, while in the valley of ashes people are struggling, trying to move higher on the social latter, not being able to. The valley of ashes is about the forgotten, the ones who can't afford a lifestyle like the wealthy, these might even be the people going to Gatsby's parties, trying to feel a sense of wealth which they are so desperately striving for. While on the other hand the rich have no desire at all, since anything they want they could buy. This is what they mean when they say money doesn't buy happiness since this is the one thing they can't buy and do not possess.
I also think color is supposed to symbolize different things, meaning different desires, different social classes, different lives. Colors give the reader hints about what the book is all about, the attention to detail and to what the colors are being matched with will help understand the meaning of it all. The color Grey is supposed to represent the poor, the lower class who can't afford to move up on the same level as the wealthy. The ones who stay low since nobody cares about them anyways. Grey isn't a lack of desire but the desire to not be in that place anymore, to try to strive for bigger things, until the wealthy knock you back down on your way up.
-Emma Jumpelt
I agree with Emma that grey does not represent lack of desire, but rather the desire to strive for bigger things. I also wanted to add that Nick can be desire a grey, as well as those of Valley of Ashes. This is because from the book we know that he went to New York to be a Bonds Man, and that is a tough job of trying to get a fish on the bait. Just like the members of Valley of Ashes like you said go to Gatsby's party to get a dose of life to remind them of what they live for. Overall nicely done Emma.
DeleteI love how you ended your poem by saying, “Gray is a world full of smoke,
Deleteashes from very deep.” This line makes me think of the Valley of Ashes automatically because I think of all of the difficult work that is performed by the people in the Valley of Ashes. I definitely agree with the idea that gray symbolizes the lack of desire to be in the Valley of Ashes and actually promotes the desire to work towards moving up the social class ladder. The people in the Valley of Ashes suffer and sacrifice a lot of time and effort in order to gain more money and a higher position in society. As stated in the text, “... ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). Wilson is a great example of a character who lives in the Valley of Ashes and works their hardest by performing difficult labor like repairing cars. The people who are covered in ashes and perceive the world as grey are the individuals who truly desire for a better life and who strive to live their American Dreams. Therefore, the gray definitely represents the desire to live the American Dream by moving up in social status and leaving the Valley of Ashes.
I agree that the color gray symbolizes a social class that is trying reach for white but can't which is why it resprwsent as valley of ashes because rich people wear white but the lower class isn't able to because it would get stained easily. I also agree it symbolizes sadness because they can't reach their desire because of their social class which is sad which suits the color gray. I love how you put gray is crying on a sunny day because the ashes block the view like a cloud blocking the sun.
DeleteCream: The color that makes people think they mean something in social classes, when in reality they mean nothing.
ReplyDeleteWanting to be known in a social class,
Wanting to feel what rich people feel,
Wanting to be useful,
Wanting a luxuries life,
Wanting a place to fit in,
Wanting to prove to everyone that they're someone important.
Waiting for someone to show them respect.
Start to create lies to impress someone.
Slowly crossing the river to the side of the fake.
The desire of being one thing but becomes the other.
Slowly becoming someone else and barely recognizing who they once were.
Hoping that no one finds the real truth about their existence.
Praying that no one ruins this amazing life.
But slowly realizing that this was wrong
Even from the beginning.
In chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby takes Nike somewhere with his cream color car, wearing a cream color suit. As readers starts to read the book, they establish that the color cream represents being a fake rich person. Being someone who wants to be accepted and useful. In The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, Nike states " Gatsby's gorgeous car lurched up the rocky drive to my door... I'd seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was a rich cream color," (Fitzgerald 63-64). Gatsby is a mystery, but as Nick spends more time with him, we slowly uncover that Gatsby is more than what he lets on. Gatsby also has connections with gangsters and gamblers, maybe thats where he gets all the money from. Fitzgerald made cream the color that represents being a fake rich person because white is what describes a real rich person, and cream is close to being white, but it's a very light color. So he is trying to say that those who have cream as their color is another version of being rich, the sadder version. Also, Fitzgerald wanted to let the readers know that Gatsby probably has a double life, a life that he rather keep hidden from the human eye. This color is significant to the book because it's too show that there are people who would do anything to have even a little taste of what the rich people taste. To have all the power and wealth in your grasp. To view the world in the eyes of the rich, not worrying about the expenses of everything you buy. In the end the color cream is the the wannabe color that is supposed to be the color white. The people who say they are one thing but is a whole complete different person, but just wants everyone around them to acknowledge them.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete
DeleteTasnia disagree with you slightly on the idea that cream represents fake rich people, Gatsby with his cream suit and cream car is very rich. He is the man who everyone knows, through his expensive and over the top parties. Cream represents someone who wants to be apart of the people who come from Old money. Having their experiences and manners which can not be taught but only learned through your rich family. You can have money and be Cream.
I like the explanation you presented with the color cream having no "meaning." However with this statement I disagree, like Lamont stated above it's visible as the author is trying to tell us that cream means to be "fake rich." its a color that's close to white but it's a dirty white, I love your poem though, nicely done!
DeleteGreen: West egg Harbour
ReplyDeleteFrom the darkness of the
West egg Harbour
East egg is in the distance
Some visitor are invited
and others aren't.
The Green light
Like a shiny streetcar
On East egg
Like many others
The green light
Brought me to East Egg.
Situated on a light house by East egg the Green light is barely visible from West Egg where Gatsby resides. The green light represents Gatsby's desire for items on East Egg. Gatsby associates the green light with Daisy and it guides him to his desires in Chapter 1. According to The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, "he stretched his arms out toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from his, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock." Scott Fitzgerald 20 - 21). The green light represents Gatsby's desire for the American dream.
The importance Green light in The Great Gatsby is that it represents Gatsby's hunt for wealth. "Anything can happen now that we've slid under this bridge.' I thought : ' Anything at all. . . . ' Even Gatsby could happen without any particular wonder." (Scott Fitzgerald) This quote illustrates that America in General, and New York city in Particular are essential to Gatsby's success. In the Great Gatsby this quote comes as Gatsby and Nick drive into New York City for lunch.
I like your poem because i agree that the color is symbolic and it represents the west egg harbor also I like that your explanation that the green streetlights desire for east egg because daisy is their.
DeleteFrom Above the Clouds
ReplyDeleteSummer nights and summer days
Angelical eyes
A beautiful face
Tell me with that sinister smile
What you hide under that pretty white veil,
Diamond dust covering your white dress
The moon shines over your pale face
Bright soul
Bright smile
Bright face
I’m scared to touch you
So fragile
I’m scared to loose you
So addictive
Let God embrace your greatness
Let him protect you
Let nothing stain you
I fall to my knees and pray
And I place you on a pedestal
Oh! How gorgeous!
Oh! How precious!
Let’s dance under the moonlight
Let’s walk under the stars
We see them from above
Oh! Spineless souls without love
Discuss- what might the color symbolize in The Great Gatsby? What is the importance of this color in the novel?
Fitzgerald uses color to emphasize certain ideas throughout the novel. One of the most significant symbols is the color white. In many cases, the color white represents innocence, or purity, however, in Fitzgerald’s diction, it represents an opposite idea: privilege, and sophisticated beauty. When Nick introduces the setting in the East Egg he describes its magnificent architecture through “the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water, ”(5). In the America of the 20s, white was a difficult “color” to fabricate, in addition it was hard to maintain and after the Great Depression, that it became popular, many wealthy families were characterized for possessing items of this color. White established status for it’s pure shade, and luring beauty, for its delicate features. However, more literally, those wealthy families that enjoyed the lavish lifestyle, were white families with “old money” and it can be seen at the beginning of the book when Nick introduces Daisy, who is described as an angel, a muse in heavens. Therefore, this color is significant because it portrays America of the 20s and the breach between social classes. White as it is unique, it stands superior to the other colors in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Francis your poem is very good, I enjoyed how you described white especially when you say “I’m scared to touch you So fragile I’m scared to loose you So addictive” I feel it describes how far up on the social ladder people who posses white are, and how no one can to that point, making them so delicate and sought after. In the book we can see the addiction to white by myrtle who tries so hard to be like the rich but will never be. I feel as if the Poem is from the Point of View of someone that admires and desires the people who come from old money, and even praising them.
DeleteI love your poem, especially the last line. "Oh! Spineless souls without love" really captivates the essence of the East Egg people. It feels like a very Daisy line. I definitely agree with your statement on how white symbolizes privilege an sophisticated beauty. But from that one line I saw it as how these wealthy people are basically empty shells of what is supposed to be human. What makes us and them human or alive is our "souls". Our ability to feel certain things and act a certain way is the very essence of it, but spineless... makes these people purposeless, nothing and loveless. Without love are we really human?
DeleteYOUR POEM WAS PHENOMENAL! I absolutely loved it, I imagined Gatsby and Daisy together dancing while music was playing in the background, Your explanation is spot on when you said "in the America of the 20's white was a difficult “color” to fabricate, in addition it was hard to maintain and after the Great Depression, that it became popular, many wealthy families were characterized for possessing items of this color." I agree with this statement, nicely done!
DeleteFrancis, I really loved how you described how in other books and stories the color white represents innocence and purity, but Fitzgerald diction, the color white means privilege and sophisticated beauty. That is true because usually authors in their book would would use white to symbolize their them being a virgin. However, maybe Fitzgerald didn't want white be the same meaning so he changed it up. He made a very common symbolism and turned it into a more complex and unique symbolism. I also liked how you said that white stands superior to the other colors in the book, which is right because this color is what separates people in the social classes. Over all, you did a very good job explaining the color white in both the poem and the analysis.
DeleteGreen: What do you really want
ReplyDeleteHow much do you want it
How much do you need it
How much do you crave it,
Everyday you work toward it
Everyday you look for it
Everyday you move one step closer to it.
IT is: something you picture in your future, a piece of you helping you function, what controls your thought process.
IT is your desires.
IT made Gatsby move to Longisland and buy a mansion for randoms to run through and use him. Just for “... Daisy would be just across the Bay” (78)
You will either try your hardest and get IT or fail not trying hard enough.
The color in The Great Gatsby symbolizes people's desires. The importance of the color green is to show one's true motivation.The color green surrounds what people want and change the characters actions trying to get what they desire. When Jordan and Nick are riding through New York City and they are talking about Gatsby she says “She not to know about it. Gatsby doesn't want her to know. You’re just supposed to invite her to tea” (79). Daisy is Gatsby's green. Gatsby desperately wants the attention of Daisy so he can rekindle their once love for each other and has spent so much money for her. His actions are all just for them to see each other again. From the big parties to befriending Tom and Jordan, these are all centered around Daisy and his desire to bring them back together. He does this while knowing Daisy has started a whole family and has built a reputation for herself which he disrepards because he wants her so badly, using everything he can to get near her. His desires creates most of the plot so far in the book greatly affecting Nick’s life, by making him an accomplice to all his plans.
I totally agree with you on what the color Green represents. When we find Gatsby reaching for the green light, you can tell he wants something so badly. we later found out that what he was reaching for was Daisy. Daisy is the root of what he desires and craves. Gatsby wants her so badly, he went to great lengths to see her. he moved across the bay, and throws elaborate parties to hopefully one day see her walk through that door. He doesn't even enjoy his own parties because all he want is Daisy. He wants that green light to get closer and closer.
DeleteI really liked your poem! The line "...a piece of you helping you function, what controls your thought process" really helps demonstrate how green means desire. When people are motivated by what they want, their dreams and goals becomes the driving factor for every single one of their actions and thought. Your world suddenly revolves around what you want and I believe your poem and analysis really encapsulates the representation of green in this book.
DeleteColor: Green
ReplyDeleteDesire
Now that I’m here and I’ve lost everything to you
Sit and stare, you wanted to start something new
Touch the flare, seems I haven’t got a clue
Warm reach and it might be a swipe of the green hue
Swim away
Look at the prairie
Disdainful waves
Scars sweeter than a maraschino cherry
Desire so strong, no sign of dismay
Look at the liquid
Pouring down
Iller than the sickened
Worth more than a crown
Look at it fall
So melancholy I couldn’t even stand up tall
Instead I’m on my knees, please take my invitation slip
Across the bay
I am here waiting
Years have gone
And I still would like to hear you
A soldier I am
But my heart can’t fight my desire for you
Charred face
How much deeper can this feeling get
Chemical embrace
How much more reeking can reality get
Now that I was there and I’d lost everything to you
Sit and stare, you wanted to start something new
Touched the flare, seems I didn’t get a clue
The warm reach and it was a swipe of the green hue.
Analysis: Green is a color that we get a hint of in an earlier chapter. The color was used to describe a ray of light coming from where Gatsby was standing. Gatsby was seen by Nick standing looking out across the bay trembling and reaching out to East Egg. East Egg is where all the “old money” people live. At first we predicted that green symbolizes desire, Gatsby’s desire to be one of them. Later in chapter 4 we learn that Gatsby had a short-lived relationship with Daisy. Gatsby was off to war and Daisy ended up marrying Tom. Even after this Gatsby still has desire for Daisy. He went all out just for her. According to the text it states, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay...if you’ll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over.” The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths--so that he could “come over” some afternoon to a stranger’s garden.” (78) Gatsby would read the Chicago paper just to see her name in it. Gatsby’s trembling arm reaching out towards the green light is the symbol of how much he wants her. He can wait forever just to have a glance of her. The color green plays a significant role in creating our image of Gatsby and what his actions are. It is because of his desire that he lives in West Egg, that he tries to build a connection with Nick, and much more. This greenery of desire is what makes the story.
Creme : What the Poor see
ReplyDeleteI am what the poor see.
I hear the rich laugh, as I walk by.
I want to represent something other than what I am,
I wonder why I can’t have what I want.
I see the money that I dont have,
I pray that I’ll have it one day.
I am what the poor see
I pretend I am what I’m not.
I feel my empty wallet.
I touched the money that isn’t mine,
I worry it’ll slip away from my fingers.
I am what the poor see.
I understand I dont have money,
I say its not for long.
I dream it’ll come one day,
I hope it will.
I am what the poor see wanting the rich to notice me
While white represents the rich, a more off white color represents the poverty. Fitzgerald uses this creme color to show the poor want the money, but don't have enough to fully get there. we see this creme color a lot throughout the book. I was even more surprised to find that Fitzgerald had Gatsby drive a creme car. In the text, it states, "I'd seen it. Everybody had seen it. it was a rich creme color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there and there in its monstrous length' (Fitzgerald 64). This made me wonder even more if what Gatsby said was even true. How can he come from a line of rich parents, but have no car to prove it to us and society. society plays a huge part in this creme color because wether you had an off white car or white one determined you place in it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteColor: Green
ReplyDeleteA sickly color.
Painted by veneering spirit,
I can see glimmer in your eyes.
Its lust echoing in your fleeting soul.
You dream of it in her swinging hair, in her floating movement, in her phony smile,
You yearn to smell her freshly cut pale grass
But look at yours, the radiant emerald
I crush
in my steps,
We taste it in the sting of your contraband drink.
We can hear it in your willow paid orchestra.
I see it’s on your face,
The dragging decay.
A cautionary tale for too much of a good thing.
The color green was first referenced at the end of Chapter One, when Nick arrived back home seeing Gatsby reaching towards a green light. “He stretched his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… Involuntarily I glanced seaward----distinguished nothing except a single green light…” (Fitzgerald 20-21). This color ultimately symbolizes desire, specifically Gatsby’s for Daisy. In chapter four, it is revealed that Gatsby desires Daisy and that previously in the quote, he was reaching towards Daisy. It is also revealed that he is consumed by his desire that everything he’s ever done is in pursuit of her. His own will to live revolves around her. To go deeper, I think the color green symbolizes more being consumed or overcome with desire to the point where you are nothing without it. Gatsby could’ve killed his entire family to inherit his money that he’ll use for Daisy because it is that extreme. I see the color as a way of telling us how dangerous desire is or just unchecked desire. Another way green could be interpreted is what sets the elite and wealthy from “ordinary” people. Although it is also desire, in a different way. In this way, desire is the will to live, the motivation to which a person uses to go on about their day and what is important to them. In short terms, humanity. The wealthy don’t have the same will to live, they don’t live, they exist. The importance of this color is a reminder to hold back, that desire is formidable. But I also see it as a way to further divide and help us easily see the difference between classes.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with how desire can in a way be deceitful and really be something that gets the best of you causing you to make rash decisions. I also agree with desire being what destroys even the strongest of relationships and your hypothesis of what actually happened to Gatsby family, maybe he did kill them to use there money to impress Daisy but I think he is more into doing things himself when it comes to playing the chess game with the reward of Daisy. Desire is what I also think will be the detriment that puts Gatsby in hot water for being with Daisy.
DeleteI agree on how you said that green is symbolizes Gatsby's desire for Daisy, because it is true, Gatsby did everything in his power to see Daisy again. His whole world does revolve around Daisy, when she came over to Gatsby's house , everything she didn't like, he didn't like. He hosts parties hoping Daisy will come. At first, maybe Gatsby thought of giving up, but that thought soon disappeared when Nick came into the picture. Maybe thats why Gatsby is so friendly with Nick, he's using him to get to her, a very tricky and risky move to play off. Over all, great job ally for your inference about the color green, very explicit and very thoughtful.
DeleteI agree on how you said that "Another way green could be interpreted is what sets the elite and wealthy from “ordinary” people." In modern day time green means money. So this kinda relates b/c the rich have tons and tons of money that they can just throw away, where as to the ordinary people every penny counts or they have to save to make a living.
DeleteI agree with you Alison. Gatsby 's obsession with Daisy can be very toxic and dangerous. The color green represents many things like health,energy, ambition. But it also a color of jealousy, greed and toxic. Gatsby obessed withe the idea of her that he won't take time to actually see who she is. Is she even good for him? He doesn't care his dream has him blinded.
DeleteI love how you started with " a sickly color". I think your poem really captures various theme in the Great Gatsby since it mirror the admiration and sickly obsession that Gatsby has over Daisy. I think it's important to understand that green in Fitzgerald's work changes its meaning since it reflects on Gatsby's development as time passes. He has moved onto a different dream and motivation that displays Daisy as a trophy.
DeleteGreen: The color of Tom and Daisy’s signal light of their dock/House. The American Dream, The American dollar. The ambition of Gatsby to obtain Daisy.
ReplyDeleteGatsby under her light,
Ponders with grief.
And Yawns for her green.
Cherry Jay and adjacent her.
Maladroit hands reaching for her,
But yet she budge.
The damned war,
Cut of our honeymoon.
And with back like a foe.
Bring her to my Qasr,
Like a star to the moon.
Shall Fly to my dressing room.
As clothes of culture rains upon,
Her extinguished eyes evoked of slumber.
Her wings to fins,
And her cresent smile.
green is no more for it’s not she.
Yet, vacant heart of mine,
With hoping for more.
But is not her fault.
The monster of my heart,
Shining of emerald.
Gold
White.
Or green,
What color is she?
“He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.”(Fitzgerald P21)
“Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close to a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.”(Fitzgerald P93)
The color green symbolises wealth in the book, due to its connection to the American dollar. Also it can symbolises Gatsby’s ambition to win Daisy back from Tom, the reason is when Daisy went inside of Gatsby’s dressing room and he starts to throw colorful and expensive clothes to her, she felt happy and cries of joy. And according to Nick afterwards when they looked at Daisy’s house and the green light was no longer Daisy “Herself”. “Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.”(Fitzgerald P93) The color is important in this novel is because there are so many objects and feelings, that can be described by that color. Such as money(wealth),subterfuges, emotions, and buildings or even crimes(Mr.Wolfsheim). The color will also undergo a transformation as Gatsby goes through the progress to truly win Daisy back.
I agree with you that color of green represent money. Also it represent desire of something. Well most people desire money, but rich people - "old money" is lack of desire. Very interesting.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteColor: white
ReplyDeleteyou yourself are blank,
with the withholding of your bank.
nowhere to go
when you have everything in hold.
settling down with a frown,
but still smiling wearing your crown.
put on that mask of yours
and lock everything else behind the doors.
the mask that you wear
will help you hide your fear.
because if you haven’t already realized,
your fear could be publicized.
join the others,
who also don’t show their true colors.
chat about the pleasant weather,
chat about the fully bloomed flowers,
chat about the glistening shoes,
but never chat about trouble.
In The Great Gatsby, one thing white symbolizes is the fabricated lives of the rich who have no real desires. When we first met the Buchanans, Nick gives a descriptive view of their house, and many parts were white. “A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.” (Fitzgerald 8) The “frosted wedding-cake” was a sign of Tom and Daisy hiding their broken marriage, which was later told in the novel. The Buchanans present themselves as a happily married couple to others when in reality Tom cheats all the time with women of lower classes, causing Daisy to constantly feel upset and uneasy about her marriage. Along with the wealth and connections the Buchanans and the people of old money have with each other, they have gotten things they wanted during their whole life to the point where they no longer seem to have a strong desire or simple desire for anything. “Sometimes she and Miss Baker talked at once, unobtrusively and with a bantering inconsequence that was never quite chatter, that was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes in the absence of all desire.” (Fitzgerald 12) Jordan and Daisy were portrayed as containing no desire when chatting during Nick’s dinner with the Buchanans. Daisy and Tom had technically traveled around the world, and have a luxurious married life. On the other hand, Jordan is a well-known athlete. The people of old money are at the top of the social class pyramid and they have everything the general people desire when it comes to money. Since they have it all, they don’t need to desire them, leaving them with nothing to desire. The importance of white in the novel is to use it as a symbol to represent the East Eggers. Although white symbolizes many things, it only applies to those of the East Egg.
I love your rhymes and your use of anaphora in your poem. It really captures how being one of the "white" people are guarded up into a prison of their own making. And that they fabricate themselves into perfect people while forcing their inner selves to rot into something terrible, a soulless shell.
DeleteFools Gold
ReplyDeleteEnvious of the light
The heart pounds within the night
Eyes turns green smiling
White for which they wish to reach
Grab and take for themselves
But once touched
They bounce back to reality
Still wishing to become one
A new one appears
Only one they can reach and not be pushed back
But once accepted
Theres no turning back
The color cream means fake old riches that try to replicate white which is for real old rich people like Daisy who always wears white. But like Gatbsy who's story is very vague as stated " And with this doubt, his whole statement to pieces, and I wondered of there wasn't something a little sinister about him, after all" also owns cream which maybe shows that he got his moeny in a fake way as stated about his car " It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel...". The color cream symbolizes take riches which may reveal soemthing about Gatsby.
Nice poem Susanna. I totally agree with you. The color cream can be view as "fake" because even though it make look like the color white, it is definitely not. There may be a slight difference in the color between white and cream but the meaning and symbolism of it is drastic. People wore cream to make it seem like they were wealthy but it clearly was shown that they weren't rich.
Deletethis was stephani by the way
DeleteColor: Gray
ReplyDeleteA dark, mysterious, dirty and dull color.
It's what you see on a bad weather day.
the color gray
Some light gets in, some goes away,
A little warmth to keep the fire,
A little light to show the way.
Moody, sophisticated and balanced.
In the Great Gatsby, the color gray plays an important role at the start of chapter 2. The color gray really symbolizes the dirty, lifeless, and hopeless part of the book when Nick and Tom go to the Valley of Ashes. On page 23, Nick says "Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight" (23).
Ronique I really liked your poem. Short and simple and got to
Deletethe point. The one line that I thought was important was “ Some lights get in, some goes away.” I feel like this line shows how Fitzgerald uses the color gray in the text . It shows us that the light comes and goes it never permanently stays within you.
The Wandering
ReplyDeleteFirst together,
Thought it would be forever,
Away I went
Time passed, you left
Persistent afterwards,
Still remembering our time,
For you I only seek,
My habitat across from yours,
My hand wandering towards you,
You’re the green light that shines my way
With you I’m never alone.
My lighthouse, I wished you were attracted to
Like moth in the dark.
Persistent in my quest,
I will come to get you
So I can finally rest.
The color green represents wanting something, having the desire to have it which had also led to knowing Gatsby persistent tendencies as the novel continues. In the novel Nick says “he stretched out his arm towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green, and far way, that might have been the end of a dock”(Fitzgerald 21). Gatsby lives in the West Egg and his former lover, Daisy, lives across the ocean bay from him, which is the East Egg. Further in the novel Jordan reveals to Nick that Gatsby bought the mansion in the West Egg because he still wants Daisy because of their relationship before Gatsby went to war. What also gives away his true intentions is that he wants Nick to invite Daisy for tea and tell her nothing else. In which it hints that his true objective. It’s been years since their relationship ended and he puts so much dedication to planning everything out. Especially throwing big and bright parties every week in hopes she will come.
Agree with you that Gatsby is also a "moth" just like the people going to his parties. But we know that moth will die very soon, sometime moth will even fly into a fire. Will Gatsby do the same thing?
DeleteColor: Green
ReplyDeleteReaching for the Green
With both hands outstretched to the light
I stand and reach for my prize
All throughout the gloomy dark night
Only one thing is attracting my eye
A gleaming beam radiating in the distance
From the place I hope to go
Any chance to get there I haven't missed it
While I reach the river flows
Green in the story means a progression and a want for something they desire as, all of the people who desire a person or something that they've strived for a long time. As Gatsby stretched out to the Green Light while Nick looked at him. Which shows both characters desire for something in life for they have always searched for more in life. Gatsby does this by going after Daisy after the war and his success and putting all this work just for the chance to get to talk to Daisy again. Nick finds love in Jordan and eventually respects her faults as a person. While Gatsby chases his desires with all of his heart Nick choses to take his Desires slowly. These characters represent green and their region by their internal desires and their actions to fuffill these said desires.
Color Cream: Fake rich
ReplyDeleteCream,
Cream wants to be white.
Cream Car
Cream Dress
Cream Suit
They are living in a double life.
Wanting to be rich
But can't afford to remove that mask from their bare face.
Cream is fake
Cream lies
Cream has two faces.
Bother to even claim their own places.
They want to be like old money.
But fall under new money.
Cream pretends their way.
Living under a shadow hiding from the true reality.
In Great Gatsby, the color Cream symbolizes fake rich. Meaning people who have cream are usually people who want to be rich and have a lot of desires. They want to be wealthy in a way but can’t. Where they fall under the social class shows how they truly are. What their true identity is. People who are rich usually wear and own things that are white. The ones who own cream are usually the ones that are fake. According to the book it says “ The sister, Catherine, was a slender, worldly girl of about thirty, with a solid, sticky bob of red hair, and a complexion powdered milky white...Mrs. Wilson has changed her costume her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon..”(Fitzgerald 30). This quotes shows that Myrtle came to Tom’s apartment in New York City. She’s originally from the valley of ashes. The significance of her wearing the cream colored dress shows her social class. People would do whatever they can to be superior and ahead of everyone. How people can have that mob mentality and quickly change up. She saw that everyone wore white and was higher in class. Which made her wear a cream colored dresses just to fit in. But people shouldn’t forget where they grew up and came from. The soil should remain within them. This also shows us that Gatsby might be two faced in a way and is living that double life we don’t know about. Gatsby is mysterious in a way. He has many connections as a rich person. In general he is a curious person. What we see on his outside isn’t who he truly is.
I really like the line "Cream has two faces" -- so do our characters who wear/drive in cream :)
DeleteABSOLUTELY FASCINATED BY YOUR POEM MISS MIRZA!!! Mob mentality is horrifying when it comes to social classes. Since the people of old money are viewed as the highest in the social class pyramid, the people in the lower classes would want to get a taste of being in that social class. But ultimately it seems that no one can get there because their owning of new money is preventing them from doing so. It's sad how people of lower classes would want to be part of the highest social class by abandoning parts of them and putting on a character to try to fit in. :(
DeleteI love your poem and I agree with your poem as well, cream does indeed has two faces and does want to act like the gold but it can't and I can definitely see that in the great Gatsby.
DeleteWhite
ReplyDeleteOld money
Bored of life
Traveling with rich
To enjoy life
No worries with money
Living life
With money passed down
She
Dressed in a pretty white elegant dress
With pearl jewelry on her body
Living in the East Egg
In a mansion over the bay
With the wealthiest
But surrounded in fake love
Wanted love
From its lover
Still and all got betrayed
In The Great Gatsby, the color white symbolizes old money and money that has been passed down in their family generations from generations. People who are old money live in the east egg. They are spoiled, full of money, and filthy rich. This caused people to feel bored and uninterested in life. Therefore, they would jump around where rich people would go to find some kind of pleasure or fun in their life. Another example is, in The Great Gatsby, Daisy wears white which represents clean and it shows how she has enough money to clean her clothes or have someone to clean it for her like a maid. Based on how she portrays herself in the opening you can tell just by her appearance that she is wealthy. In the text it states, “They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together …. A cheerful red-and white Geogian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay. The lawn started started at the beach … front with french windows…” (Fitzgerald 6) This demonstrates how lavishly people are living their life in the east egg and how they stay within their own people. Also, you can tell the east egg people are trying to find some kind of feeling of “home” or the feeling of hope and excitement. Which is causing them to travel to one place to another.
Color: gray
ReplyDeleteAnother dark day filled with tears
Tomorrow will still be full of despair
I once had dreams in this dazzling country
Oh no! All ambitions have left me.
Sorrow knocked at my door and I was afraid;
Ambition called to me but I dreaded for change
Restless, with nowhere to go.
I really wish this wasn’t my home.
We are all dead, with no purpose of life
But keep pushing for tomorrow, until the sunrise.
In The Great Gatsby the color gray has major significance of symbolizing lifelessness, hopelessness, and despair because they all desire the life of the upper class but they are stuck in the working class. Their dreams seem unattainable because they are stuck and there doesn’t seem to be an escape for their reality. “Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (23). The description of The Valley of Ashes is where you can see the most gray. The gray smoky color represents the lack of desire because of the loss of hope. They have probably stopped dreaming for a lavish and wealthy life because they know it will never be reality. Fitzgeralds might be trying to prove that material desires are worthless because they will never bring happiness. The journey of obtaining wealth won’t bring joy either. Gray also symbolizes emptiness and insignificance. Nick stated, “But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby’s hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him” (61). The guest who attended Gatsby’s parties were dressed with extravagant clothing and had a desirable appearance but when Nick refers to the color gray, he is talking about their personalities. Intentions, and who they are inside. This can also mean how little they mattered. The people named were just listed and had little relevance. Ultimately, gray is usually associated with despair, lack of emotion, and is a neutral color that carries a negative connotation.
Your poem is astounding! I really love how moving your poem is and how I can feel a certain wave of emotion for every word. My favorite line definitely has to be "Sorrow knocked at my door and I was afraid". Gray is definitely a significant part of The Great Gatsby and for many reasons. I believe your poem and analysis smoothly expresses that.
DeleteColor- Cream
ReplyDeleteFake,
Imitation,
Mockery,
The people's decision and desire to try and copy
The wealth old money.
The color of imitation for those
Who desires to be like those who can spend money
Without a care in the world.
The color cream in the Great Gatsby represents the desires of the lower class people who wants to imitate and be like the people who are truly wealth and never have to care about how much money they spend and have. "Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence if the dress her personality had also undergone a change."(Fitzgerald 30) Myrtle tries to imitate the rich and wealthy and wears a cream colored dress because the color cream is close to the color white which represented the wealth of a person. Myrtle's personality changed as it was influenced by the dress because she wants to imitate the rich and wealthy in what they wear and even in terms of how they act, their behavior. The color cream symbolizes the desire of the people to be like the rich and wealth, like those of Old Money. The importance of the color cream in the novel the Great Gatsby is to help with understanding the desire of the characters.
I loved how you kept your poem simple and direct. The color cream is definitely one of the most significant colors in the novel. To add on your definition, the color cream is the desire to prosper and paints the American Dream with the motivation and desire.
DeleteColor-Green
ReplyDeleteSight of you under the green light
Memories of old love that grows
Reaching towards you in hope
Showing off for your love
waiting for our inevitable destiny
glancing towards your direction waiting for
you
Patience and love is my motivation
The color green in the Great Gatsby represents wanting and desire. For the lower class people green represents money and that their desire to wealthy and live a better lifestyle. The green light represents Gatsby's desire for daisy he reached towards her. "he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way"(Fitzgerald 20). Gatsby's first love was daisy and his love has grown stronger for her Gatsby believes will enable him to win Daisy back from Tom by showing off his wealth. Gatsby follows his desire buy buying a house across from hers to see her and make arrangements with nick for they can see each other Also nick desires love as he says he doesn't have no one he thinks about and admires. Green is very important in the novel because it represents and symbolizes many thing wheter it be desire, money , imposible love.
I like your analyzes of the color green of wanting something especially you're example of the poor wanting money it bring your explanation together. It good.
DeleteThe analyzation of the color green is something that is original and sheds light on how the color Green symbolizes wanting and desire for different people of social classes during the 1920s. Your comment also gives a more specific take on what Nick and Gatsby desire in the story
Delete
ReplyDeleteI ran to school late as usual and made my way up the stairs. Hoping to catch a glimpse of you, that’s all I ask for. Wanting just the slightest taste of what i could only dream of, but it's just a dream. Wanting so much with so little to offer. Wanting so much with so little to give I fear the feelings I have aren't reciprocated. Do you think of me the way I think of you? With so much lust it leaves me with the desire for more but well aware that I can't have more at the cost of losing little to nothing. Leaving my heart to create an ocean inside of me. Waiting for later to dump the ocean out into a box of tissues .Wishing for a life with you in it but knowing I will never have that. A life where we could be together happy supportive and loving having someone to love and hold and worry about. Even at the thought of even talking to you seems impossible, only hoping for the bare minimum, because of the fear you might not like what you see or what you hear. Do you believe them? Do you know how I feel about you? If you do that's okay now i know you don't feel the same way or maybe I'm crazy to think that someone like you would even like me, look in my direction gawky at me the way I do to you and then become flustered and turn 3 shades more red hoping that i didn't see your display of pure lust, but I could only dream of someone like you falling for someone like me. An everlasting love story that will never begin.
I love you but you shall never know.
The color green in The Great Gatsby represents desire. The desire for something or someone, whether it be a secret love or a dream one wishes to be a reality. The way I think about it is fear is desires best friend. It can either hold you back or it can motivate you to carry out whatever you desire. Gatsby's desire for Daisy can be described as a blind man admiring a painting. Gatsby only knows of Daisy because they hooked up years ago but just like a blind man he can’t see her for what she truly is because all he sees is what he wants to see, Daisy to him is so perfect he puts her on a pedestal and goes as far as buying a house just to be closer to her with no guarantee of that. Along with the desire Gatsby has for Daisy comes fear leading him to act like a little boy around her; scared to start a conversation and is left sweating just by the thought of her being in the same room as him. We first get a glimpse of green when Nick encounters Gatsby outside “fifty feet away,''(20) Gatsby begins to “stretch out his arms toward the dark water….I could have sworn he was trembling… I glanced seaward -and distinguished nothing except a single green light… Gatsby had vanished”(20-21). The color green in the novel show how desire can be the Achilles' heel of anyone who is overcome by it, like Gatsby.
Why do you think Fitzgerald chose green for desire? Why a "green light"? What did we say green represents on our web? hmmmm
DeleteCream: It’s All Just Desire
ReplyDeleteCream may seem white
It’s definitely not white
More like mimicking white
Almost like wanting to be white
Maybe desiring to be white
Perhaps wanting to be wealthy
It’s difficult
White looks better than cream
White, the color of the rich
Cream, the color of the desire to be rich
the color that mimics white
Ah cream, just like the color of Myrtle’s dress
How unpleasant to the eyes of the rich
Ah cream, just like the color of Gatsby’s car
But why cream? What types of desires does he have?
In The Great Gatsby, cream is a very symbolic color that comes up throughout the book. The color cream represents the desire of being rich and achieving goals . In this case Myrtle’s dress is cream. In the book it states, “Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon…”(30). Cream at that time, represented the lack of money and being poor. Myrtle wearing a cream dress just represents her mimicking the rich. During that time period the color white was a symbol of status and wealth. Myrtle wearing a cream colored dress just makes assumes that, she wasn’t rich. The color cream is offly similar to the color white but it doesn’t make them the same. It's just as if the color cream mimics white. Anyways, people who were poor desired to be rich; Myrle had a desire to be rich as well. Gatsby also uses the color cream. His car is the color cream. Although, the significance of why the color of his car was cream wasn’t clearly expressed in the book, Gatsby definitely seems to have a desire. People who were rich didn’t necessarily use the color cream but Gatsby did. The only reason he would do this is if he had a desire. A desire for what? Maybe it's the desire to finally accomplish his dream of being with Daisy. The car would represent how far it had driven to finally get Gatsby to meet Daisy face to face. After 5 years of driving, getting lost, struggling, Gatsby finally found the end of the road where he saw himself in the same room with Daisy, even if it wasn’t in his house. All he really wanted was to achieve his goal and conquer his love for her. Even though, the color cream usually represents the desire to be rich, it could also represent the desire to achieve goals in life.
this was stephani by the way
DeleteWhite
ReplyDeleteSnow falling on the ground.
White
Clouds in the blue sky.
White.
A paper , a skin, an open thought.
White
A cream, a rose
White
They say its pure
White
They say it is not a color.
In the Great Gatsby,. the color gold stands for richness, but also success. As we can see the author Fitzgerald loves to pay attention to every detail like our narrator, Nick , does when he goes to one of Gatsby's parties and telling the reader that "spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs turkeys bewitched to a dark gold"(page 40).This color was very important because many things were looking like very valuable things but you could have tell the difference of actually being valuable or being fake. The color would have showed you which of the things are actually valuable and had good quality because not everyone could have afford it and usually that color was gold.
True, not everyone could afford gold during this time. So for the ones that couldn't, wore fake gold so they could be seen as wealthy. Being rich, being successful, and/or having wealth were extremely valued.
DeleteNoble Absence
ReplyDeleteNobility,Perfection, Standardization of the colors
Diamonds,billions and Belair
Old money families that hold their forturne
also hold many secrets of the heart
they wear white to hide their imperfections
Hold in the money they hold dearest
keep what they desire underwraps
To keep up with appearences
The color white is a very signficant color. It represents the rich and inherently rich. But it represents everything missing a person and a character. First instance is Daisy. She may seem happy and lovely but on the inside she is miserable and bored. But she hides this with her shallow talks,random action and her light humor. Jordan might seem like the noble and hardworking but she is a compulsive liar and she's a Condescending woman and lacks compassion. And lastly Tom, he is your all american man. Rich,successful,built and has a beautiful wife.Yet he's and adulter,woman abuser and a arrogant douche. He represents everything wrong with the elite. His status is seen as an excuse for him to act the way he does.
I really like the last line where you say "deep down she knows, as she tries to bleach herself". It really conveys the idea that they are forcefully trying to change their identities so they can pretend to be something they aren't. No amount of hard work can ever get you old money so the only way to come close to it is by trying to replicate it. Fitzgeralds is trying to say you can emulate old money as much as you want, but you can never earn or become that perfect, pure white. Myrtle and Gatsby probably already know this which is why they are always going out of their way in order to flaunt their possessions and trying to impress others
ReplyDelete