Francisco Jarrin

Block 3
April 3, 2013
Symbolism In the Great Gatsby
Charles Dickens said that A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human
creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. In The
Great Gatsby of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Jay Gatsby, is presented in the
novel as a profound mystery to every other character in the book. The past of Gatsby is
uncertain, and blurred, but in contrast, this character tries to make his past opaque with
the shine of his present by presuming and embodying his wealth in objects and parties.
One of the main items that Gatsby use to shine and show off his supremacy is his Rolls
Royce. This is how his wealth is acknowledged, since it is a common vehicle, everyone
can see it in the streets.
The Rolls Royce of Gatsby is an object that shines like his owner, and it is described
in the book by Nick, which says, Id seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was rich cream
color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant
hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with labyrinth of wind-shields
that mirrored a thousand suns. Sitting down behind many layers of glass in a sort of
green leather conservatory, we stared to town. (Fitzgerald, 1925, pg. 64). Nick, or old
sport as Gatsby calls him, expresses how extravagant was the triumphant Rolls Royce.
Rather than looking just at the size, in addition to elements inside the car, is important
to analyze the message between the lines. Neither the toolboxes nor the extravagant
windshields, give such an impact as the color of the car. The color of Gatsbys car a
metallic yellow, and this characteristic can represent many things. The metallic yellow
color could be associate to gold, therefore is a symbol that reflect the fortune and power
of his owner. In the other hand looking to the psychological aspect of this color, the
characteristic of being yellow represents envy, superficiality, selfishness and
egocentrism. These are some of the distinctiveness shown in Jay Gatsby through out the
novel. In addition the Rolls Royce is enormous, and by its colossal size it can be
assumed that these aspects are a vast part of his personality.
I can be said that Gatsby personality is yellow, for this is explicitly present through
out the novel, and the symbol of his yellowish behavior is reflected in his car. Since the
Rolls Royce represent him, as said before, Jay Gatsby loves to presume it and show it
off, as an example, the owner of the Rolls Royce, always propose his car as a transport
to all his friends. In chapter VII Gatsby says Shall we al go in my car? suggested
Gatsby.( Fitzgerald, 1925, pg 120), here, Gatsby is offering his car to show it. He even
had an argument with Tom about the gas, yet Jay insisted to go in his car to show it off.
In other words egocentrism, and superficiality are present I this moment with Gatsby
and his yellow personality.
In conclusion, it could be said that some people reflect themselves in objects. In the
case Gatsby, its personality; wealth and power are reflected in his car. The author uses
the car as a symbol to explain more of his characters. Therefore representation of
characters in objects crafts a more detailed explanation of themselves in the novel. This
is why symbols are used in books such as The Great Gatsby, so people can analyze and
collect more features of the character. The Rolls Royce embodies his owner in his
shinning of power, his egocentrism, superficiality, and colossal wealth. All of these
elements make up the idea of a yellow attitude of Gatsby.
Bibliography
The Color Yellow." The Color Yellow. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013
Fitzegard, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. Newyork: Scribner, 1925. Print.