Gold
Jessica Wiederholt, Jacob Schoettelkotte, Ethan Meier
Chapter 1:
- The use of gold on Nick's books shows a sense of importance of the contents within the books. "I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew." (pg. 4)
- The gold framed windows of the Buchanan household shows that the family is wealthy and prosperous. "The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm windy afternoon, and Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch." (pg. 6)
Chapter 3:
- Gatsby's turkeys were cooked to a dark gold color, which shows that he is a good host and his parties are more lively "On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold."
- Jordan is Nick's light "It was dark now, and as we dipped under a little bridge I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder and drew her toward me and asked her to dinner." (pg. 79)
Chapter 5:
- The gold in his tie shows his wealth "An hour later the front door opened nervously, and Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie, hurried in." (pg. 84)
- Gold in this quote shows warmth and that she admired it as homely "With enchanting murmurs Daisy admired this aspect or that of the feudal silhouette against the sky, admired the gardens, the sparkling odor of jonquils and the frothy odor of hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate."(pg. 90)
- Shows wealth"His bedroom was the simplest room of all-except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold." (pg. 91)
- The gold in the sunrise shows a new beginning "The rain was still falling, but the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea." (pg. 94)
Chapter 6:
- Gold shows wealth/unnecessary wealth since its simply a pencil and yet is gold ""Go ahead," answered Daisy genially, "and if you want to take down any addresses here's my little gold pencil." (pg. 105)
Chapter 7:
- Gatsby uses the the word gold to show that Daisy is his prize and is so above everyone else "High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl..." (pg. 120)
- Golden slippers dancing shows that they have the luxury to dance and party so it shows wealth "All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the Beale Street Blues while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust." (pg. 151)
- Gold turning light shows the change in the book "It was dawn now on Long Island and we went about opening the rest of the windows downstairs, filling the house with gray-turning, gold-turning light." (pg. 152)
There is an overabundance of symbolism in this book that shows the wealth and its importance with the characters and how they react, gold being one of them.
Summary: Gold in this book tends to represent wealth. It is also used to describe how Gatsby views Daisy, as a "golden girl".