Literary Topic
The Great Gatsby
Color Symbolism: Green
Of the many colors Fitzgerald uses as symbols of events, he uses the color green frequently.
Green represents the seemingly never ending promise of the life Gatsby tries to live, until the end of the novel. This is represented in the description of the "green beast." The dream that the beast is included in is really just an illusion.
Fitzgerald also uses green to represent the success that Gatsby achieves; his money which is green was obtained through the illegal practices he used.
Green is also used to show that it is the light at the end of Daisy's reality. Daisy falls back in love with Gatsby in part because of the wealth that Gatsby now has
Page last updated on April 28, 1999.
Curator: Michael Schlesinger