"THE GREAT GATSBY" COLOR SYMBOLISM
“From Louisville. Our girlhood was passed together there. Our beautiful white-” -Daisy (19)
Daisy describes how she grew up with Jordan as a “beautiful white girlhood”, emphasizing the innocence they both held, in contrast to the people they are now. White in this quote represents the purity and ignorance Daisy and Jordan once had. The mention of “girlhood”, can be compared with the following dialogue in which Tom abruptly (and indirectly) questions Daisy if she discussed his affair with Nick- a contrast representing how her once “white qualities” may have been tarnished by Tom and the affair- giving the reader a glimpse through Daisy’s facade of innocence.
“They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.” (Fitzgerald, 8)
This is the reader’s first impression of both Daisy and Jordan- Fitzgerald uses vivid imagery to paint characters of beautiful, innocent young women. He uses delicate diction through this quote and the rest of the paragraph to firmly establish the color white and its association with both woman, whom appear to be sinless and fragile.
“ A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity - except his wife who moved closer to Tom.” -Nick narrating Wilson (26)
This is a continuation of white in the Valley of Ashes, which we saw in the previous quote. Fitzgerald places huge emphasis on the white ash the covers everything- representing the veil of innocence that drapes over the dirty, dark, and grimy setting. The white ashes also coat Wilson, but notice Fitzgerald is quick to say they do not coat Myrtle. This could also symbolize the ignorance of Wilson in contrast to Myrtle, who is characterized by her impure nature (notice the contrast of Daisy’s white to Myrtle’s absence of the color).
“I followed him over a low whitewashed railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare.” -Nick (24)
This quote really brings to light the complete illusion and cover-up that white is in the novel. It is understood that Doctor TJ Eckleburg’s eyes are symbolic of god watching over the corruption that takes place in the valley of ashes. And in this quote, white is tied into the same idea. Tom and Nick must cross over a white fence, symbolizing them crossing over a figurative line of morals and innocence, as Tom goes to visit Myrtle, the woman who he is having an affair with.
WHITE
White is used to symbolize two different, and contrasting, ideas in the Great Gatsby. It represents Daisy- purity, innocence, and all things feminine- especially in the beginning of the novel. But Fitzgerald hides a meaning beneath the valour of white-and it may not be what it seems- “The innocence illustrated by the color white is deceiving; it hides the corruption behind it... Jordan, Daisy, and Gatsby are all corrupted individuals.” (Yaffe, 1). Fitzgerald creates an outer shell of white innocence, similar in a way to the gold clothes the gilded age, that gives homage to the untrustworthy nature of the narrator and how we perceive the characters and surrounding situations.