Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby 《了不起的盖茨比》中颜色的象征

Color Symbolism in

The Great Gatsby

《了不起的盖茨比》中颜色的象征

;

颜色

;

象征意义

I. Introduction

Francis

Scott

Key

Fitzgerald

was

American

writer

of

novels

and

short

stories,

Fitzgerald is just the tragic hero of the period, whose works are evocative of the Jazz

Ages,

a

term

he

coined

himself.

He

is

widely

regarded

as

one

of

the

twentieth

century’s greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the “Lost generation”

of

the

twenties.

He

finished

four

novels,

including

The

Great

Gatsby

and

wrote

dozens of short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and

age. The Great Gatsby is considered Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. However, in 1925 no

one

predicted

the

eminence

of

the

novel

in

the

new

century--not

even

Fitzgerald

himself.

At

the

age

of

44,

he

died

of

frustration.

After

his

death,

some

of

his

interesting writings were put together into a book entitled The Crack-Up.

The

Great

Gatsby

is

one

of

the

greatest

literatures

of

Fitzgerald’s

period,

which wins many favorable praises. One o

f the major reasons for The Great Gatsby’s

high

literary

reputation

is

the

using

of

symbolism.

In

the

novel,

symbolism

runs

through the whole story. Special colors are all symbols and full of symbolic meaning.

Fitzgerald

is

so

creative

and

imaginative

that

he

is

skillful

enough

to

use

these

symbols

to

reveal

the

theme

of

this

novel.

So

it

is

very

useful

to

view

The

Great

Gatsby through the perspective of symbolism.

II. Analysis of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is about the American dream and the downfall of those who attempt

to reach the illusionary goal. Fitzgerald is so creative and imaginative that he can be

skillful enough to use these symbols to reveal the theme of this novel.

A . Plot Review

The

basic

story

in

The

Great

Gatsby

was

that

of

a

midwestern

farm

boy,

named

Gatsby, made good. He dropped out of college after two weeks into his freshman year

and hooked up with

a

wealthy

yachtsman for five

years

and was

cheated out

of an

inheritance

when

the

man

died.

Then

he

joined

the

army,

where

he

met

and

fell

in

love with a well-bred southern girl named Daisy near his training camp in Louisville,

Kentucky.

Gatsby

fought

in

the

First

World

War

and

was

decorated

for

battlefield

bravery. Then he went to Oxford University briefly, during which time he learned that

Daisy

had

married

another

man.

As

a

consequence,

he

spent

several

years

accumulating enough wealth to buy a huge Long Island mansion across the bay from

Daisy’s house, so that he could devote himself to trying to win her back. But he failed

in

getting

his

former

lover

and

was

killed

indirectly

by

the

latter

and

her

husband,

who afterwards were at large.

Like

Nick

in

The

Great

Gatsby,

Fitzgerald

found

this

new

lifestyle

seductive

and

exciting, and like Gatsby, he had always idolized the very rich. Now he found himself

in an era in which unrestrained materialism set the tone of society, particularly in the

large cities of the East. Even so, like Nick, Fitzgerald saw through the glitter of the

Jazz Age to the moral emptiness and hypocrisy beneath, and part of him longed for

this

absent

moral

center.

In

many

ways,

The

Great

Gatsby

represents

Fitzgerald’s

attempt

to

confront

his

conflicting

feelings

about

the

Jazz

Age.

Like

Gatsby,

Fitzgerald was driven by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he wanted,

even as she led him toward everything he despised.

B. The Author’s Literary Creation

In this book Symbolism is one of the most obvious and significant characteristics in

The Great Gatsby. Symbol is a cultural phenomenon and is used to express a special

meaning. When interpreting a symbol, we have to turn for references to the contexts

(for example, socio-cultural) where the symbol is

produced. But

in

order to

convey

particular

meanings,

authors

often

create

their

own

symbols

in

their

writing.

Color

symbolism

was

used

a

lot

through

out

the

nineteen

twenties

even

by

Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald

shows

his

different

ideas

and

thoughts

on

the

people

at

that

time,

using

mostly the depth and meaning of colors. Color symbolism also explains feelings the

characters experience. Without color symbolism you would not truly understand the

theme of The Great Gatsby. So it is inspiring in the artistic creation, as is worth taking

seriously and putting into practice.

III. Introduction to symbolism

In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Symbolism is what makes a

story complete. Anything in a novel can be taken as a symbol.

A. The Definition of Symbol

“Symbols are objects, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.”

1 It is an object, animate or inanimate, which goes beyond the objective referent by

evoking

or suggesting to

the reader

a meaning on another level, a meaning beyond

itself.

“In

literature

a

symbol

is

a

thing

that

refers

or

suggests

more

than

its

literal

meaning.” 2 From the d

efinition we can draw the conclusion that the symbol exists

everywhere. There are quite a lot of symbols

in

the daily life.

For example, a dove

symbolizes peace, but a literary symbol works different from that. Generally speaking,

a literary symbol does not have a common social acceptance; it is a symbol that the

poet or the writer adopts for the purpose of his works, and it is to be understood only

in the context of that work. By using symbols the writer conveys his meanings in a

special way that will allure the senses and emotions of the readers. Most symbols in

literature

focus

on

the

relationship

between

the

visible

and

what

they

suggest.

This

relationship can light up a flame of response in the hearts of the readers. So a symbol

is regarded as one of the most frequently used devices in literature. But the symbols in

literature do not

always

represent anything absolutely definite. More often they just

hint something. So sometimes readers have different

understandings of

the symbols

based on their own interpretations of the novels. There are no concrete right or wrong

answers when it comes to symbols, though some are more evident than others. Since

we

all

have

different

levels

of

understanding

of

certain

subjects,

we

comprehend

literature

with

different

abilities

to

decipher

the

symbols.

The

multiplicity

of

interpretation

is

what

makes

literature

(especially

modern

literature)

so

rich

and

interesting to read.

Literary

symbols,

combining

images

with

suggestions,

are

classified

into

two

broad types. One type

refers to

those embodying universal

suggestions

of meaning.

For example, white color usually suggests purity, innocent and honesty. This type of

symbols is widely used in western literature. It has been formed as a tradition in the

literature. The other type of symbols secures its suggestiveness from the way in which

it is used in a given work, in a special context. Thus, in the novel The Great Gatsby

the valley of ashes stands for the plight of the poor. Generally speaking, symbols in

fictions

are

inanimate

objects.

But

sometimes

actions

and

gestures

with

large

significance

than

its

literal

meaning

are

also

symbolic.

Raising

arms

may

imply

surrender;

nodding

head

with

a

smile

denotes

agreement.

In

a

broader

sense,

the

abundance of symbols exists in many novels.

B. The Function of Symbolism

Writers

often

use

different

literary

techniques

in

order

to

bring

greater

understanding

and

reveal

some

truth

about

a

character

to

the

reader.

One

of

these

techniques is the usage of symbolism. A symbol is something that means more than

what it is, it has a different, abstract meaning apart from its literal significance and it

is the symbolism that causes the story to stick in the reader’s mind and heart and make

the

story

a

classic.

Symbolism

is

used

as

one

of

the

important

devices

in

modern

fiction and it is essentially an indirect mode of expression, which suggests much more

than

what

is

actually

described

or

asserted.

An

examination

of

the

application

of

symbolism

in

literary

works

will

be

immensely

helpful

in

determining

the

significance

of

the

symbols

used.

Symbolism

as

a

literary

movement

with

all

its

significance, meaning and association has a strong and deep influence on literature.

As Barnet points out, “when we read, we may feel that certain characters

and certain

things

in

the

story

stand

for

more

than

themselves,

or

hint

at

larger

meanings.”3

It

may be clear to us, for example, that the author has mentioned certain items or ideas

in order to get us to think more deeply about something. This is because sometimes it

is hard for writers to communicate the feelings evoked upon certain items concretely,

exactly, and meaningfully. It would be very difficult to do, and in doing so the writer

might

lose

the

reader’s

interest

or

worse,

alienate

them

from

the

mo

ment

for

the

feeling

is

not

the

one

they

shared.

But

by

allowing

a

symbol,

the

writer

forces

the

reader to apply his or her own knowledge to the situation, and the feelings evoked are

the sole domain of the reader, not the author. As long as the feelings are well defended

with evidence from the text, they are fine interpretations of the novel.

IV

. Analysis of Color Symbols in The Great Gatsby

The use of color in the Great Gatsby is one of the most important techniques used in

this

book

to

show

different

themes.

Indeed

Fitzgerald

uses

five

main

colors:

white,

yellow, blue, green and gray. These colors represent wealth, innocence, struggle in life

and dreams.

A. General Narration of the Color in The Great Gatsby

There

are

quite

a

lot

of

symbols

in

The

Great

Gatsby.

Anything

in

a

novel

can

be

taken as a symbol. The vitality and beauty of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing are perhaps

nowhere more strikingly exhibited than in his handling of the color symbols in The

Great Gatsby. There are several colors used for symbolism in this novel. For example,

the colors white, green, yellow, blue and gray are used through the book. Colors can

accentuate the meaning of a story and explain certain actions of a character. In The

Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald applies many important colors that allude to the personality

of

his

characters.

The

colors

given

are

repeated

multiple

times

so

that

they

can

be

established.

To

fully

understand

the

characters

of

the

story,

one

must

recognize

the

associated colors that are given.

B. Varied Color in The Great Gatsby

Symbolism

is

what

makes

a

story

complete.

There

are

several

colors

used

for

symbolism in this novel. For example, the colors white, yellow, blue, green, and gray

are used through the work

1. White

The main color that is used is white. White usually represents purity and innocence. In

relation to the Great Gatsby, white is associated mostly with Daisy and Jordan. Indeed,

the first time they appear, “they were both in white”4. At this point the character of

these two women is completely unknown and the first impression that is given to the

reader here is their innocence. We then discover all along the book that neither Daisy

nor

Jordan

is

innocent,

and

this

first

impression

is

just

a

cover.

Indeed

most

of

the

white things associated with these two women are clothes, objects they can remove or

put

on.

The

“white”

in

this

book

represents

an

ideal,

something

that

is

there

to

be

“pretty” but that is never attained.

This whiteness also represents the “old money”, where the truth is usually covere

d by

something

“pretty”.

For

example

Jordan

appears

to

be

innocent,

but

she

actually

cheated for her tennis. In the same way Daisy also appears as innocent, but ends up

killing

someone.

Daisy’s

name

represents

a

flower

with

white

petals,

the

petals

representing the outside of her personality, what is shown in public; and the center of

the flower, the inside of her personality or the “real” her.

2. Green

The most meaningful color Fitzgerald uses as a symbolic device of revealing ideas is

green. Thinking of the color green reminds us of hope, nature, spring and youth. In

The Great Gatsby, green is associated with Gatsby’s character. It is used to emphasize

his

desire

and

his

unfulfilled

wish

to

win

his

love

Daisy

back.

As

he

has

already

achieved everything in

life concerning material success, wealth and power, Gatsby’s

only

aim

left

is

to

reach

Daisy’s

heart.

Therefore,

the

color

green

stands

for

his

never-ending hope for her love and functions as a symbol of his hope, as it is mostly

associated with the green

light at Daisy’s dock. Throughout the novel, the green light

functions as a key symbol. Gatsby watches it almost every night from his lawn across

the water as the reader can guess from his utterance towards Daisy: “You always have

a green light that burns

all night at the end of your dock.”5. However, it is too far for

him

to

reach

and

will

always

stay

out

of

reach

although

he

stretched

out

his

arms

toward the dark water and tries to come closer to the light, as Nick observes the first

time he sees Gatsby.

In addition, green color is also significant. It symbolizes new money, and hope. In The

Great

Gatsby

green

is

associated

with

Gatsby.

He

is

a

“new

money”

person,

so

he

lives in a green house, surrounded by green lawn. He has a hope of repeating the past,

what is another theme in the novel.