Importance of Color in The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald In literature, colors are often intentionally chosen for different characters to represent the character's personalities. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the colors green, yellow/gold, and gray are used to represent the attributes of the person or place of color. Apparently, green is the most used color in the novel. The reason for this may be that green is the color used to describe the novel's main character, Jay Gatsby. One of the possible meanings of green in this story is envy. Gatsby can be seen as an envious man for several reasons. For one thing, he is extremely envious of Tom Buchanan due to the fact that he has the one thing he cannot buy, Daisy. Furthermore, Gatsby is extremely envious of the people he invites into his home. He knows he's not a rich old man like the people he invites to his parties. This makes him a man "green with envy". Similarly, green is also used to symbolize money. In the story, money controls people's lives. Gatsby feels that he needs green money to live and to impress Daisy. Gatsby's symbols of money included his large green lawn and the green ivy growing in his house. Furthermore, in his car, he depicts the passengers sitting “in a sort of green leather veranda”. All of these symbols depict Gatsby's money. Unlike green, yellow and gold are used to be an example of old money, unlike green which is used to represent new gold money. Tom could be seen as a golden person because he has old money. As a contrast between green and gold, so do Gatsby and Tom. A gold quote from the new coin is "...Jordan's slender golden arm resting on my..." Gatsby desperately buys "...a yellow car", in which he will try to be a rich old man, even if everyone knows that Gatsby is not old money. Gold and green are a contrast between new and old, but they have a distant connection just like a new car and an old one have the same connection. They may seem different, but ultimately the two can be seen as the same object. Fitzgerald describes the Valley of Ashes as