Question: Make note of the colours associated with the party
and discuss the symbolic significance of these.
In Gatsby’s party in chapter three there are a few colours
that are referred to a number of times. The colours are often used to show
emotions or foreshadowing further in the book. The most dominant colour in the
party is yellow. Yellow has very contrasting meanings. Yellow is a symbol of the sun, which brings us
summer and warmth. Especially in our culture in Canada, summer is a joyful season
and people are often positively affected. Gold, also a shade of yellow, is almost
always viewed as success, wealth and a positive future to come. The contrasting
negative view of yellow is decay. Many things in our life become yellow as they
begin to decay. For example our teeth and nails. Leafs and other plants turn
yellow as they die, and fall is also a symbolism of yellow. Fall is the start
of the cold, the days get shorter and these are often negative effects in our
life. “The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now
the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music” (pg.40) is a section of the
description of the party. This is one of the positive yellow meanings in the
party. The “ yellow cocktail music” is
described at the beginning at the party shows how the party is going great and
at this point it’s all positive feelings. Further into the party a lady in a
yellow dress and a lady with read hair start playing a “ very, very sad” (pg.
51) song. The yellow symbolizes the decay in the party and how everything is dying
down and there is drama between spouses. It could also have been foreshadowing
for the decay to come further in the book. Red is often a warning colour or has
a negative meaning to it for example death or anger. The lady with the red hair
could have been foreshadowing and a warning for the crash in the end of the
party. The red could also be foreshadowing the deaths of Gatsby later on in the
book. There is gold used to describe the amazing food at Gatsby’s party. This
describes the food being more valuable then plain food symbolizing the wealth
in the party. (pg 40)
The opening paragraphs of chapter two describe the valley of ashes. The valley is the complete opposite of other places in the book. In fact, the only colour used to describe it is grey, a colour associated with loss or depression. The diction and other rhetorical devices used in the description make the valley seem like a negative or bad dream. It is described as a “fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”. At first, the valley is described as fantastic but then it is described as grotesque and grey, which gives the valley a sense of deterioration, comparable to the American dream. The atmosphere in the valley of ashes is vapid, careless, poor and bleak.
The eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg are also described in these paragraphs. These eyes are “unblinking” and one yard high which gives the impression of always being watched. The colours used to describe the eyes and the glasses are yellow and blue. These colours can have a negative connotation. Blue can mean sickness and power. Yellow can also mean jealousy, decay and sickness. Also, the oculist who made the eyes is said to be a “wild wag” that once used the eyes to “fatten” his practices. The diction makes the idea seem to fit in with the American dream of the time. However, now the eyes are “solemn” and “dimmed”, which gives a sense of deterioration and carelessness.
The atmosphere up to this point of the novel is glamorous, rich and lively. In the valley, the atmosphere is dead, poor and dirty, the opposite of the first chapter. This could again signify the deterioration of the American dream.
Ryan Bell