In every story, there is always symbolic meaning behind what the author chooses to put into their story. The symbols and motifs in these stories are vital in the understanding of the artistic value behind the writing. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays much of the symbolism of the story through the colors white and yellow, which are used to represent the personalities of the characters and certain aspects of society in the 1920s.

One of the most symbolic and reoccurring colors in The Great Gatsby is the color white. The color white is most frequently associated with the character, Daisy. Traditionally, white is the color used to represent pureness and innocence in many cultures and literature. Upon her introduction, it may seem that Daisy does indeed exude these qualities, making her the perfect women to Gatsby. However, is this really the case? In reality, white in the story is more correlated with emptiness and superficiality. The irony is that Daisy, who seems to be as her name suggests, a white flower, is actually more of a self-centered and materialistic person. This can be seen in Daisy throughout the story with what she does and what her goals are. She is seemingly wasting her life as she lives this life of luxury and leisure, which causes her to be bored. Unlike other characters in the story, Daisy does not have a determined goal. Instead, she chooses to domesticate herself by choosing the better husband, rather than achieving something for herself. Even when her supposed love, Gatsby, dies, she is shown to be selfish and empty as she runs away and forgets the past. Daisy and the color white represent emptiness and meaningless—an embodiment of the superficial upper class of the Roaring Twenties.

Another prominent color of The Great Gatsby is yellow, which is used to represent wealth and a high social class. The character in the story who relates to the color yellow the most is Gatsby himself. One example of this is with Gatsby’s yellow car, which he proudly drives around New York. The color of the car is significant in understanding Gatsby’s tendencies of being overly extravagant. Coming from a poor family, Jay Gatsby had dreams of becoming a successful and rich man. When he finally had the chance to do so, Gatsby made sure that he fit the role of being an aristocrat by throwing lavish parties and driving flamboyant cars. In order to hide his true identity, Gatsby showered himself in gold to come off as the person he sought to be. Another depiction of yellow symbolism is through the spectacles of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, the billboard that gazes over the Valley of Ashes. In the book, this billboard is interpreted as being the eyes of God, who watches over the barren land of mankind. The fact that the spectacles in the billboard are gold, or yellow, represent how money and wealth are so influential and prioritized that even God is inevitable from being influenced by it, showing how materialistic society really is.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, certain colors are utilized in a way to define characters’ traits and the perspective of how the author viewed society. By analyzing the usage of color, we can conclude that Fitzgerald viewed society of the Jazz Age as a very meaningless and wasteful life, in which people valued their wealth more than emotions and relationships. From the outside, The Great Gatsby may just seem like a simple story, however, at its core it is truly a story that questions the morality of society and the purpose of life.