The Foreshadowed Fall of the Great Gatsby uses color symbolism to prove that Gatsby's failure was inevitable. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The symbolism of colors has been prevalent in nearly all great pieces of literature. With this motif the author is able to express more to the reader in the way of foreshadowing and character exposition than by directly coming out and making those statements, either in the narrative or indirectly through the thoughts and words of another character. F. Scott Fitzgerald manipulates the story of his book The Great Gatsby in just this way by utilizing the literary tool of expressing symbolism through color. Some of the primary colors that are used by Fitzgerald include the pigments blue, yellow, white, and red. According to the critic Daniel J. Schneider, blue becomes symbolic of dream(s), yellow is reality, white is perfection and red is violence. By following this theory, one can conclude that it is impossible for Gatsby to achieve perfection, thereby obtaining Daisy.

The characters of The Great Gatsby are symbolized in general by the colors blue, yellow, white, and red.

Gatsby is easily identified with the color blue because of his dreams and goals of obtaining Daisy. Daisy, characteristic of the flower daisy, is symbolized by the colors white and yellow. This demonstrates both her perfection, which Gatsby seeks to obtain, combined with the reality that keeps him from obtaining it. Tom, Daisy's husband, is paired with the color red, a symbol of both his power and the violence that lurks beneath that power. Interestingly enough, the color green also makes an entrance into the novel in the form of a combination of blue and yellow, that which is fantastic and that which is real. This combination becomes vital to the story as blue and yellow become paired up, side by side, or mixed in the form of the color green. The symbolism behind this has two meanings. At...