Gold In The Great Gatsby

Words: 856
Pages: 4

Colors are often connected to certain aspects of life or feelings, such as gold which is linked to wealth. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses colors to give certain objects deeper meanings. The colors gold, yellow, and green are used to represent the power of the upper class, the illusion of Jay Gatsby’s wealth and as well as Gatsby’s hope and unrealistic dreams. The color gold is often linked to wealth, and in the novel, Fitzgerald uses gold to represent the power of the wealthy. When Nick, the narrator, is at one of Gatsby’s infamous parties, Nick runs into Jordan Baker, who is a wealthy, famous golf player. While walking with her, Nick describes Jordan’s arm, as a “...slender golden arm…” (43), …show more content…
From the beginning of the novel, Gatsby is infatuated with this green light that could be seen from across the lake in front of his house and when Nick sees Gatsby for the first time, he says “...he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… and distinguished nothing except a single green light … that might have been the end of a dock.”(20-21). This shows that the green light was at the end of a dock, but it was not just any dock, it was Daisy Buchanan's dock, who was Gatsby’s long-lost love. The green light was his hope and the only thing that kept him close to Daisy during the five years they were apart. After Gatsby’s death, Nick goes over to his house and starts to look around. He says “...I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He has come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him...” (180). Everything Gatsby had ever done in his life was for Daisy, in hope that one day she would drop everything and come back to him, but what Gatsby did not realize was how much time had passed and how much Daisy changed since then. He lived in the past which affected his actions and future. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock represents Gatsby’s hope and unrealistic dreams.
It is the way Fitzgerald describes certain aspects of