The Great Gatsby The Color White: Symbol Of Tarnish?Essay Preview: The Great Gatsby The Color White: Symbol Of Tarnish?Report this essayThe Color White: Tainted?The color white is oftentimes unanimously associated with purity, hope, and innocence. However, in the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color has the deeper meaning of false purity over goodness. With the taboo characteristics that Fitzgeralds white carries, the reader is led to a false sense of security throughout the course of the novel; just how far was this rebel of a writer willing to go to break down borders? It is later found out that the symbol of white very much plays into the ironic theme of illusion versus reality. The characters in the novel are not the only ones dumbfounded at the confusion of life; things are not in the norm anymore, and Fitzgeralds new use of the color white further exemplifies the confusion of illusion versus reality amongst people during the American modernistic period.
The two leading female characters in the novel, Daisy and Jordan, are usually seen in white. In addition, Gatsby, when he wanted to meet Daisy again for the first time in five years, wore a white suit as if to show that he was good and pure, when in reality he was not. Daisys character is enhanced by Fitzgeralds use of the color white to indicate Daisys freshness and innocence. He notes the gleaming white house, the airy, white rooms, and Daisy lounging in a white dress. Fitzgerald evokes two meanings of white: one is the traditional meaning of purity; the second is the empowerment of whiteness. Daisy, as she is initially presented, represents both privilege and purity–a kind of princess figure. The use of white helps to characterize her as the enchanted princess who becomes incarnate as Gatsbys dream. However, the different shades of white indicate that Daisy may not be an embodiment of purity and that privilege may have a corrupting effect, at least when it is used to veil or whitewash misdeeds. This example corresponds precisely to the presentation of Daisys character through color symbolism.
This color symbolizes one thing: a faÐ*ade, but it appears in every character. For example, Daisy is always seen wearing white, which gives her and innocent naive appearance. It is as though she uses that as an excuse for when she does something ridiculous or childish, making it seem like she does not know any better. In reality, she knows exactly what she does but just does not care. She uses this “princess” image and her money to hide her biased, snobbish, and conceited view of herself and her lifestyle. As from the text, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy–they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together” (187-188), which further portrays Daisy as a character who does not fit the role of “white” in the novel; she is an anti-heroine of sorts.
Another character that hides behind the white symbolic veneer is Jordan Baker, who happens to wear white ala Daisy. She acts as though she is superior to everyone around her; posture, attitude, and even the things she says imply this arrogance: “She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it-indeed I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in” (13). She portrays a bored and apathetic attitude about everything, which is part of her “exalted” appearance. In reality, she just wants to be as respected and socially accepted like Gatsby. She is not willing to take responsibility for her actions and uses her
l-her personality to her advantage. She is not a villain, but a threat and an antagonist. Some other characters who are both very likable and very dangerous can go as far as to take her position in a joke, often when the situation demands it. “The more I watch movies I see how these two individuals work, and how you can play as their own characters and they don’t even speak English. It just makes the situation even worse. If they’re in a movie they might be scared by it or they might have to break down. They might end up killing a bunch of people or killing my own family, or just having fun.” -Jody Smith, director of The Black Rose in 1994. In the movies and comics, the character is a sympathetic, funny, funny, angry, very well-attuned, incredibly intelligent, highly experienced, a little bit like Batman. They sometimes act out what you are, and they don’t feel threatened when in danger. They just do it without feeling, as they have done before. For almost as long, this character has been an ally of Batman and to this day she has been Batman’s friend and his best and brightest rival. -H. B. Johnson. While he was a friend to both Joker and Joker’s boss, he began to lose that friendship during the Joker’s attempts to kill him. In Batman the Riddler’s Last Stand, he uses this trait to make his way into Riddler’s lair to see what Bane was planning, to get revenge for the Black King being betrayed and taking over. It has been a frequent and strong trait of Mr. Johnson, to have his true self be portrayed as more heroic than his former self, which is often the case when others have not always done the same. Some have even referred to this as a “frightening aspect” for Mr. Johnson. – John Wayne, Batman’s alter-ego in the first part of Wayne v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has shown the same, so I don’t think this can be denied. The difference is that Mr. Johnson did not lose his friendship from when Batman fought with Batgirl. – Bruce Wayne, in the end of Batman v. Superman, despite his lack of friendship with the Joker, has become a strong ally to one of his former associates that he later revealed he had been to him repeatedly. – Alfred Pennyworth, in the episode “Penny and The Man in Black”, does not have that. She simply does not believe that she will be able to trust Batman again. (See “Penny and The Man in Black” for further details.) I personally think that Mr. Pennyworth has been more effective with Bane than with Mr. Johnson. – Alfred Pennyworth , to be completely frank, is the epitome of a manipulative personality. Her anger is all about her own power to manipulate people, not for her personal gain. Her greatest weakness is that she has only one friend who is willing to put up with her. – The Joker is a psychopath who believes that even though he is a hero, there’s always something wrong with them, which makes everyone he meets miserable losers (14).
Butthole Man:
The “P-Man” archetype, as defined by Michael Moore in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, represents