"Then wear a gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!" (opening) KC |
The color gold represents wealth and the color yellow represents fake wealth. EJ
Gold is a well known symbol of wealth. Anything gold or glittery grabs attention, which is something very important to the characters in The Great Gatsby. Most of the characters' actions in the novel are to make themselves look good and give their selves the image that they want. It would only make sense that they would want to wear and own things that are gold because it makes them appear wealthy on the outside, whether they actually are or are not. :KC
Ch 3 : Gold and Yellow at Gatsby's Party
Examples:
|
Symbolism:
SL |
Gold and yellow was the color of Myrtle's death. It honestly is kind of the way she wanted to go. She wanted to be rich and live with the wealthy, which is why she had her affair with Tom. George was not wealthy in any way shape or form. Dying around the color of the riches shows how Myrtle never truly got what she wanted out of life, and the riches ended up killing her.
"It was a yellow car," he said, "big yellow car. New." page 139
"He reached up on his tiptoes and peered over a circle of heads in the garage, which was lit by a yellow light in a swinging wire basket overhead." page 138 :KC
"It was a yellow car," he said, "big yellow car. New." page 139
"He reached up on his tiptoes and peered over a circle of heads in the garage, which was lit by a yellow light in a swinging wire basket overhead." page 138 :KC
Gold and Yellow Imagery in the 2013 The Great Gatsby movie
^Pictures - SL
Though yellow can symbolize wealth and prosperity, it also can symbolize death. EJ
|
An example of yellow being the color of death is in chapter seven. The yellow light that shown onto Myrtle's body after she was killed by Gatsby's car. EJ
|
Gold in The Great Gatsby can represent more than material or monetary riches. To Nick, for example, gold may represent the simple wealth of happiness because Jordan, whom he loves, is often described as being golden (her arms and shoulders specifically). To Daisy, gold may represent priceless beauty, like the pink and golden sunset she saw out the window while at Gatsby's house. -SL
The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose. (pg 23, ch 2) -SL
|
< The spectacles of Dr. Eckleburg may shine a new light on the meaning of the color yellow. Since the Dr. is supposed to represent God watching over the world, his yellow glasses are probably significant as well. Through those glasses, yellow may represent a person's values and morals or, in other words, how they see the world / what lenses they look through. This deduction can be supported by the fact that many characters have been described with yellow/gold associated with them (Jordan's golden shoulder, Gatsby's yellow car, Daisy's golden pencil) yet all of those characters have very different values/points of view. This shows that gold/yellow may not represent one thing, but instead changes its meaning based on the person. -SL
|
Gold can also symbolize the good in your life. Nick often called Jordan his golden girl. Gold is a hard color to obtain and even a harder color to keep though, as it is shown when he loses Jordan at the end of the book. Whether gold is representing wealth or just something special, it comes and goes quickly. For Nick, the the actual wealth of gold doesn't mean much to him. He would rather have things that are special to him than things that are worth a lot of money. Jordan isn't the most high society girl, she's known, but not the center of the party. Nick loves her though and that's enough for him. KC