Essay on 'Motifs within the Great Gatsby'
             The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is full of symbols and recurring visual motifs that play very important roles in the foundation of specific themes and characters. Colour, light and heat are commonly discussed or referred to, although their more conceptual nature implies much broader conclusions compared to other more direct sources such as 'the eyes of Dr. Eckleberg' or the constant appearance of motorcars and driving. These recurring images voice subtexts and reiterate themes which echo their way throughout the text.
             The use of colour within The Great Gatsby creates dramatic contrast and transforms characters and settings into a visual language that allows the reader to comprehend and analyse through the aid of these visuals. A predominant feature within the text is the "greyness" of New York which is there to represent the dreariness and day-by-day happenings of the people and their habitat. "On the way to New York... ashes and greyness take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke, and of ash-grey men who move dimly and crumbly through the powdery air." This dreariness is achieved via the use of colour as the reader is readily able to identify with these visuals (as colour is immediately associated with the seeing eye) and therefore this "greyness" automatically communicates a dull and monotonous landscape. This "greyness" of New York and its inhabitants is directly contrasted with the grandeur and richness of 'West Egg' where everything is saturated with life and colour. As a result, the lives of the characters in West Egg hold much more interest and sauce when compared to those in New York.
             An interesting note with the use of colour within the novel is that the colourings of characters and their belongings are used ironically. They suggest qualities which they actually do not posses. There is a ...