Chromatic Lexis in the Thematic Representation of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby: A Stylistic Analysis

Abstract

The study aims to explore the importance of chromatic lexis in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in aspect of the American dream. The study examines the use of color words in the novel as descriptive tools in order to understand the theme and the ideological structure of the novel. The study is based on stylistic analysis and it uses the concepts like a foregrounding, a lexical cohesion, a symbolism, a semantic deviation, an imagery and repetition to analyze the linguistic patterns with color imagery. The purpose of the study is to locate the most frequently used types of chromatic lexis in the novel; to discuss the stylistic roles of these types of chromatic lexis; to explore how these chromatic lexis patterns reflect the American Dream. The selected excerpts of chromatic lexis were analyzed using a qualitative textual analysis, where the imagery was categorized under dominant color imagery. It was found that Fitzgerald's use of chromatic lexis is used as an integral style throughout the novel. Green as such is mostly used to present hope, aspiration, futurity and the never-ending desire to achieve success, and it's the most pictorial of the American Dream. Gold and yellow are the colors of wealth and materialism, of capitalism and excess, and white and silver are the colors of superficial purity, aristocracy, and social privilege. Grey and ash imagery suggest moral corruption, industrial corruption, and lower class failure to have the Dream. Likewise, blue and multi-colored imagery sets up themes of illusion and fantasy, emotional ambiguity and performative wealth. The study also revealed that symbolism, lexical repetition, foregrounding, metaphor, synesthesia, semantic contrast and chromatic imagery are the stylistic means by which the chromatic lexis operates. These stylistic devices, in addition to contributing to a thematic unity, serve to build Fitzgerald's critique of the American Dream as an ideal impossible to sustain because of materialism and social inequalities. The result of the study is that chromatic lexis in The Great Gatsby is not just ornamental description but a stylistic element that functions as a medium to express ideological content and cultural criticism. The study is useful for stylistic studies that shows the connection between language, symbolism and literary ideology and also shows the importance of lexical stylistics in the understanding of literary texts.

Keywords: Chromatic Lexis, American Dream, Stylistics, The Great Gatsby

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23671455