Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

Ivan Franko National University of L’viv

Department of English Philology

Stylistic Functioning of Colour Vocabulary in a

Modernistic Novel (on the basis of The Great Gatsby by
F. Scott Fitzgerald )

The Diploma Paper

submitted by

OKSANA HLUKH

Supervised by

Associate Professor of

The Foreign Languages Department

For Humanities

V.M.MAKSYMUK
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L’viv - 2010

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..3-6
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY
1.1. Interpretation of Colour……………………………………………...7-10
1.2. Structural Peculiarities of Colour Vocabulary……………….....….11-14
1.3. Semantic Structure of Colour Terms………………………………15-17
CHAPTER II.
PRAGMASTYLISTICS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY IN THE MODERNISTIC
NOVELS OF THE XX CENTURY
2.1. Figurative Function of Colour Vocabulary………….....................18-20
2.2. Semantics of Colour Vocabulary in the Writer’s Usage……….....21-31
CHAPTER III.
STYLISTIC FUNCTIONS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY IN MODERNISTIC
NOVEL
3.1. Descriptive Function of Colour Vocabulary……………………….32-33
3.2. Expressive Function of Colour Vocabulary…………………….33-34
3.3. Aesthetic Function of Colour Vocabulary…………………...….35-36
CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………...…….37-39
REFERENCE ……………………………………………………...………40-43
SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………44-45
TABLE 1 ……………………………………………………………………24а
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INTRODUCTION

The process of studying colours has an important meaning in a human life.

Research of artistically-vivid function of colour is stimulated by permanent
development of literature, deepening of its subject and active influence on the
scientific thought.
Functions of colour in literature are not enough investigated. We consider this
problem still actual and the one that needs further study. We were interested in the
use of colours in modern novel first of all because of the message they are
delivering. In different epochs of literature development the writers appeal to colour
vocabulary while describing landscapes, presenting portrait characteristics, lyrical
digressions and interiors but colours are more than a combination of red and blue or
yellow and black. They are non-verbal means of communication. Colours have
symbolism and colour meanings. In the language of prose or poetry colour
becomes the feature of an individual writer’s or poet’s style.
With the help of colour the writers try to:
• emphasize the formulation or denial of a certain idea;
• show the psychology and peculiarities of the main heroes’ behaviour;
• understand deeply the thematic, fundamental part of the work.
In order to understand the sense of colours one should enter the depth of the
author’s subconsciousness, understand the peculiarity of his creative laboratory as
well as author’s individual vision.
 4

In the literature colour makes an impression of trustworthiness. With the help

of colour the author shows his attitude to the events, characters; colour can show
the depth of the plot and serve as a key to understanding the concealed meaning.
Colours in literature influence emotions, they help to comprehend clearly the
world created by the author.
The topicality of the paper lies in the profound interest in the study of stylistic
functions of colours especially in the modern novel. It also lies in the problem of
correlation between the semantic structure of colour names, peculiarities of natural
signals and their images in the human consciousness. The use of colour vocabulary
in modern novel, the way of its interpretation and the message it is supposed to
deliver to the reader has not been fully studied by linguists and literary critics, that
is why the topicality of the paper is determined by the necessity of solving the
mentioned problems.
The novelty of the paper reveals itself in the attempt to carry out the complex
analysis of the stylistic functions of colour vocabulary basing on two novels,
analysis of the semantic structure of colour names and in the attempt to present the
frequency of usage of colour names in both novels basing on the method of
complete sampling that gives possibility to determine the main principles of
forming the colour vocabulary.
The aim of the diploma paper finds itself in the study of the stylistic role of
colours, ways of their realization and interpretation in the modern novel. To reach
this aim we have to fulfill the following tasks:
a) to analyze descriptive, expressive and aesthetic function of colour vocabulary.
b) to investigate the structural peculiarities of colour vocabulary in the lexical
system of the language;
c) to establish the main principles of forming the colour vocabulary;
d) to provide the results of the method of complete sampling (frequency of
usage of colour names);
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e) to investigate the characteristics of colours and their interpretation as a

stylistic means of rendering certain idea in literary work;
f) to determine figurative functions of colour terms;
g) to analyze the stylistic functions of colour vocabulary in the novels under
research (to draw the parallels and to indicate the discrepancies in the colour
meaning and its symbolism);
h) to study colours as means of revealing the American Dream in the novels.
The subject of investigation finds itself in the investigation of the peculiarities of
stylistic functions of colour vocabulary. Colour terms, abstract colour words,
descriptive colour words that form the specific colour vocabulary used by the author
form the object of current research.
In the course of investigation we have used the following methods: structural
and contextual analysis, statistical method (the frequency of usage of colour
names).
Language material for the complex analysis of stylistic functions of colour
vocabulary comes from different sources. The contextual analysis is carried out on
the texts novel: The Great Gatsby by F. S. Fitzgerald.
Colour lexicon has repeatedly been the subject of investigations conducted by
the linguists especially by S.R.Avramenko, S.Skard, also by I.Koval’s’ka,
N.Lutsenko, S.Grygoruk, T.Pastushenko, T.Venkel’ and others who basing on
different language material and in different periods tried to understand the
complicated and peculiar nature of this lexical layer. Pastushenko T. V. investigates
colour names as fragments of figurative linguistic picture of the world and studies
the semantic processes which result in transformation of colour names meanings.
Formal markers of semantic transformation of colour names are described by the
linguist. The work of Venkel’ T. V. is devoted to the study of syntagmatic,
paradygmatic and epidygmatic characteristics of colour adjectives. The analysis of
syntagmatic and paradygmatic correlation between the adjectives under study
enabled the linguist to determine and to study epidygmatic characteristics of basic
 6

colour adjectives of the English language. Grygoruk S. I. studies the colouristic

vocabulary in the poetry of G. R. Derzhavin (within the context of poetic speech of
the epoch). The linguist provides a complex analysis of colouristic vocabulary in
poetic idiolect of G. R. Derzhavin, determines quantitative and qualitative
composition, structure and specific features of functioning of lexical-semantic field
of colour in the language of poetry.
Theoretical value of the diploma paper lies in the attempt to analyze the use of
colour vocabulary in a modernistic novel, to determine stylistic functions of colour
names in the novels, to study the functioning of vocabulary as the means of
revealing the notion of American Dream described in the novel: The Great Gatsby
by F. S. Fitzgerald.
Practical value of the diploma paper lies in the possibility of its further usage in
the course of stylistic studies and modern English literature. The received results
may be applied in students’ research work, in writing articles and further
investigations dedicated to the subject of colour functions.
The diploma paper consists of introduction, three chapters, conclusions,
reference list amounting to 53 pages o manuscript.
Chapter I deals with theoretical aspects of colour vocabulary. It presents the
ways of interpretation of colour in general and describes structural peculiarities of
colour vocabulary. The first chapter also deals with semantic structure of colour
terms in the lexical system of the language.
Chapter II deals with presenting figurative function of colour vocabulary.
Semantics of colour vocabulary in writer’s usage is represented basing on the
examples of different colour terms.
Chapter III deals with stylistic functions of colour vocabulary in The Great
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It presents descriptive, expressive and aesthetic
functions of colour vocabulary in a modernistic novel.
Conclusions sum up the results of research.
References contain 53 Items of sources.
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CHAPTER I
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY

1.1. Interpretation of Colour

It is commonly known that colour has specific reflection in human state of

mind. Colour helps to create bright visual images that make the language
colourful, juicy and emotionally overwhelmed.
Colour fills the world with beauty. We delight in colours of magnificent sunset
and in the bright red and golden-yellow leaves of autumn, we are charmed by
gorgeous flowering plants and the brilliantly coloured arch of a rainbow. People
also use colours in various ways to add pleasure and interest to life.
In the English folklore, the main significant colours are black, white, red, green,
and to a lesser extent blue. Colour has long been used to represent affiliations and
loyalties (ex., school or regimental colours) and as a symbol of various moods (ex.,
red with rage) and qualities (ex., worthy of a blue ribbon).
Historical and archeological sources prove that different people define colours of
months, days and time in general. Seasons also have their own colours: spring –
white-pink-green, summer – dark green, autumn – yellow-orange-golden and winter
– white. The more general is the phenomenon, the more definite is the symbolic
colour representing it.
The science of colour is called chromatics. It includes the perception of colour
by the human eye and brain, the origin of colour in materials, colour theory in art.
Colours are more than a combination of red and blue or yellow and black. They
are non-verbal means of communication. Colours have symbolism and colour
 8

meanings that go beyond ink. Just as seeing red alludes to the strong emotions
invoked by the colour red, feeling blue or getting the blues represents the extremes
of the calm feelings associated with blue, ex., sadness or depression, lack of strong
(violent) emotion. A deep royal blue or azure conveys richness and even a touch of
superiority.
Colours directly influence consciousness: yellow colour calms, green inspires,
red excites, black embitters. At the same time different conditions of soul
correspond to definite colours: green to calmness, red to excitement, yellow to
disease, dark blue to vitality, blue to hope, black to abstract. Writers use colours to
transfer different periods of human life: blue, green, lilac and red colours
correspond to youth full of love; brown, dark blue and grey colours symbolize an
old age.
Different types of colours differently influence a state of health and mind. Warm
colours – red, yellow, brown, orange heat a person and his mind becomes creative.
On the contrary, cold colours – green, dark blue, blue, violet, turquoise and lilac
cool a body and make one’s mind calm and meditative.
The names of colours are used in common expressions to describe moods and
feelings. For example, one may say a sad person sees blue and a jealous one is
green with envy, angry person sees red, a coward may be called yellow.
Colour associations are analyzed indirectly by a study of oral traditions and
legends, using methods developed in structural anthropology. P. Kay states that
colours are considered not in isolation, but mainly in contrasting pairs or in
sequences. It has been found that a specific colour could have different associations
in different conditions, and that generally the associations are more abstract than
concrete [43,54].
Colour conveys meanings in two primary ways – natural associations and
psychological symbolism. Occurrences of colours in nature are universal and
timeless. For example, the fact that green is the colour of vegetation can be
considered a universal and timeless association. Colour may generate another level
 9

of meaning in the mind. This symbolism arises from cultural and contemporary
contexts. As such, it is not universal and may be unrelated to its natural
associations. For example, green’s associations with nature communicate growth,
fruitfulness, freshness and ecology. On the other hand, green may also be symbolic
of good luck, seasickness, money and greed — all of which have nothing to do with
green plants. These associations arise from a complex assortment of sources.
Furthermore, colour may have both positive and negative symbolism. For
example, although blue is a beautiful colour of the sky on a sunny day, it can be a
symbol of sadness or stability. Idiomatic American English reflects these traits in
phrases such as “singing the blues” and “blue chip stocks.” Red is another example
of dual symbolism. On the one hand, as the colour of fire and blood, it is an
energizing, aggressive and bold colour. In stark contrast, red is used for “STOP”
signs throughout the world today.
Although there are no absolutes, there are logical sources for the range of
complex and sometimes contradictory psychological/cultural meanings of colours.
These may arise from any of the following:
1. Cultural associations: the colour of currency, traditions, celebrations, geography,
etc. (For example, green is associated with heaven (Muslims) and luck (the U.S. and
Ireland)
2. Political and historical associations: the colour of flags, political parties, royalty,
etc.
3. Religious and mythical associations: the colours associated with spiritual or
magical beliefs (For example, the green man was the God of fertility in Celtic
myths. Also, in contemporary Western culture, green is associated with
extraterrestrial beings.)
4. Linguistic associations: colour terminology within individual languages (For
example, South Pacific languages refer to shades of green by comparison to plants
in various stages of growth. In Scottish Gaelic the word for blue ('gorm') is also the
word used for the colour of grass.)
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5. Contemporary usage: current colour applications to objects, sports, and

associations generated by modern conventions and trends. (For example, green is
used world wide for traffic lights signifying "go." In Scandinavia, green has been a
popular colour for many decades. In the U.S., “avocado green” was a popular
colour for appliances in the 1960s.)
There is also an infinite array of colours that are variations on the basic colours
of the spectrum. Yellow, blue and red are primary colours and are mixed to create
secondary colours: green, orange and purple. From there, tertiary colours are
combinations of the secondary colours: yellow-green, orange-yellow, orange-red,
etc. Each of these colours has slightly different meanings. These secondary and
tertiary colours are more sophisticated ones.
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1.2. Structural Peculiarities of Colour Vocabulary

While investigating lexical semantic field of colour vocabulary the linguists deal
with certain terminology demanded to make any kind of linguistic research.
A colour term, also known as colour name, is a word or phrase that refers to a
specific colour. Colour terms have always been considered as a group of
morphemes or words that are related to each other. In books on various linguistic
issues they are generally referred to as “colour names”, “colour adjectives”, “colour
words”. The colour term may refer to human perception of that colour (which is
affected by visual context), or to an underlying physical property. A. P. Krytenko
says that red and blue and yellow are more closely related to each other
semantically than red and “quick” and “long”, that is why in word field theory
colour terms were considered as pertinent examples to explicate and illustrate word
field theory [17, 129].
Colour vocabulary – a general notion that combines all the terms used to denote
the notion of colour in the sphere of linguistics.
Talking about colour vocabulary some linguists differentiate the following
terms: monolexemic colour words, compoud colour words and multiple basic
colour words. Monolexemic colour words are composed of individual lexemes,
such as “red”, “brown”, or “olive”. Compound colour words make use of
adjectives (e.g. “light brown”, “sea green”) or multiple basic colour words (e.g.
“yellow-green”).
Colour words in a language can also be divided into abstract colour words and
descriptive colour words, though the distinction is blurry in many cases. Abstract
colour words are words that only refer to a colour. In English white, black, red,
yellow, green, blue, brown, and gray are definitely abstract colour words. These
 12

words also happen to be “basic colour terms” in English as described above, but
colours like maroon and magenta are also abstract though they may not be
considered 'basic colour terms' either because they are considered by native
speakers to be too rare, too specific, or to be subordinate hues to a higher 'basic
colour term', in this case red (or maybe purple).
Descriptive colour words are words that are secondarily used to describe a
colour but primarily used to refer to an object or phenomenon that has that colour.
Salmon, rose, saffron, and lilac are descriptive colour words in English because
their use as colour words is derived in reference to natural colours of salmon flesh,
rose flowers, infusions of saffron pistils, and lilac blossoms respectively. Often a
descriptive colour word will be a subordinate hyponym of a 'basic colour term'
(salmon and rose [descriptive] are both hues of pink). In some languages colours
may be denoted by descriptive colour words even though English may use an
abstract colour word for the same colour.
The status of some colour words as abstract or descriptive is debatable. The
colour pink was originally a descriptive colour word derived from the name of a
flower called a “pink”; however, because the word "pink" (flower) has become very
rare whereas "pink" (colour) has become very common, many native speakers of
English use "pink" as an abstract colour word alone and furthermore consider it to
be one of the 'basic colour terms' of English.
P. Kay suggests the following division of colour names:

• abstract colour names – the non-object sensitive colour names, as for

example – red, purple, black;
• the object sensitive colour mames, as for example: golden, rose-pink,
pearly, tawny;
• the “concrete” colour names. Object which serve as colour designator, for
example: amber, crimson, scarlet, bamboo, beryl, orange;
• metaphors, as for example: “black winds”, “white lead”.
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Many other modern colour words are similarly derived from the colours of
plants and natural substances, which have long been raided by colourists in search
for names to apply to the ever-more subtle shades which turn up in commercial
colour charts. There’s no great surprise in colours like cinnamon, tangerine, oyster,
lime, melon, glacier, apple white, ivory, silver, chocolate, amber or aubergine,
though there probably is in puce, a colour which seems intrinsically comic even if
somebody doesn’t know that it actually means “flea coloured” (from Latin pulex via
French).
The colour terms in particular languages constitute a lexical field, and the
meaning of each term depends upon the place it occupies in the field.
Today every natural language that has words for colours is considered to have
from two to twelve basic colour terms. All other colours are considered by most
speakers of that language to be variants of these basic colour terms. English
contains the eleven basic colour terms "black," "white," "red," "green," "yellow,"
"blue," "brown," "orange," "pink," "purple" and "gray.” To be considered a basic
colour term, the words have to be monoleximic ("green", but not "light green" or
"forest green"), high-frequency, and agreed upon by speakers of that language (this
last point, however, can be ambiguous, as native speakers may not always agree
with each other).
There are many different dimensions by which colour varies. For example, hue
(red vs. orange vs. blue) – the basis of colour and usually refers to the name of the
colour. The main principles of forming of the colour naming hues are the following:
1) combination of the main colour names with the words which signify
brightness (light/dimness): dark green, blue gloom, dark silver, dim brown,
bright green.
2) metaphoric transference of the meaning of adjectives: names of
object/liquids: ivory, slate, muslin, chocolate, olive, lilac, steel; names of
object/liquids + colour names: pearly-white, chocolate-brown; descriptive
 14

colour names: the colour of robin’s eggs, the colour of cigar, the colour of
pearls, the blue of a sapphire.
3) formation of derivatives by adding suffixes -y(ie); -ish, which denote
colouring of lesser intensity: greenish, purplish, brownie.
4) combination of several colour names in order to form denotation of hues
(shades): blue-green, golden-brown.
1) formation of more intense hues (shades) of the main colours: yellower, very
blue, redder.
Saturation (“deep” vs. “pale”) – is a colour intensity of an image; colour with
high saturation will appear brighter and more vibrant than the same colour with low
saturation, and brightness or intensity – the lightness or darkness of a colour. The
adjective "fluorescent" in English refers to moderately high brightness with strong
colour saturation. Pastel refers to colours with high brightness and low saturation.
Similarly, languages are selective when deciding which hues are split into different
colours on the basis of how light or dark they are. English splits some hues into
several distinct colours according to lightness: such as red and pink or orange and
brown.
P. Kay once said about colour terms that there is hardly any other part of the
vocabulary of the language in which names are chosen so arbitrarily. Colour terms
can be created at any time by any speaker [43,12]. The number of colour terms is
unrestricted, many terms are created time and time again.
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1.3. Semantic Structure of Colour Terms in the Lexical System of the

Language

Colour indication is transferred by an adjective which forms ready lexical

semantic group in the modern language. This group includes the words which
belong to the same part of speech and which have not only general grammatical
seme but also one or more general semes – archeseme (the most basic, principal
generic seme in units of a certain class reflecting their common categorial features).
Colour meaning is an archeseme for such adjectives. This main meaning can be
divided into smaller elements of the content: semes, differential features and
elementary features.
Working as a system all those elements of the meaning create such a perception
of a colour term, that objectively exist in the consciousness of the speakers.
Due to the physical nature of colours they are divided into chromatic (black,
white and gray) and achromatic (red, yellow, orange, green, blue).
A. P. Krytenko suggests that colour as a physical phenomenon is given to a
person through visual sensation but the concepts about colours find the reflection in
the verbal units of the language – in colour terms [17,19].
Complete understanding of the linguistic picture of a colour term is based on the
revealing its word wealth and inner form, understanding different semantic
transformations and symbolization, peculiar for a certain ethos.
Colour symbolism is rather posterior and nationally marked phenomenon that
can undergo changes from one language to another, as well as from one language
community to the other one. Colour symbolism in every language is motivated by
 16

its peculiarities of world view, by the mentality and communicative pragmatics of

the native speakers.
Colour is considered to be ascribed as one of the main visual perceptions. It
goes beyond saying that colour has a great influence onto the human organism and
human physical and mental condition.
Traditionally accepted colour terms exist in the language and their list is open,
it means that it can be enriched with borrowed names as well as due to metaphoric
ways – on the base of comparison with a certain object that possesses
corresponding colour.
S. P. Mulyar conveys that colour terms are divided into main (kernel) and
peripheral, into abstract and concrete. Main colouring markers include the names
of the ancient origin [21,12]. The core of this category of words comprises nine
syntactically independent names that indicate colour without shades: black, white,
grey, red, yellow, green, blue, brown. Majority of adjectives used for naming
colours developed a row of figurative meanings. Lexemes of this group possess
the meanings, originated on certain associations which represent occasional usage
and with time can acquire usual status.
Other colour terms belong to the peripheral ones that have semes with a shade
of the main tone or express additional meanings. Such names are semantically
joined around the main colour names (orange, pink, violet).
The farthest periphery includes the words of the minimal activity and
frequency of usage (rich red, orange, crimson).
Connections and relations between the units inside the colour field (between
dominant and peripheral lexemes) can be described in the way of opposition of
semes and on emphasis of deferential features basing on the definitions from
dictionary. Abstract names in comparison with concrete ones give wider reflection
of colour substance.
Transparence of semantics and bright inner form are peculiarities of concrete
colour names (crimson, pink, violet).
 17

Colour semantics in language units is not unchangeable. We agree with A.P.

Krytenko who says that different shifts caused by intralingual as well as
extralingual factors occur in colour semantics [17,8]. It undergoes different
transformations – metonymical and metaphorical reinterpretation, influence of
different associative connections that cause the enrichment of the content of
adjectives used for colour marking by means of figurative and emotionally-
expressive meanings.
The main principles that cause the acquirement of new content by colour
names are the following:
1) generation of this content by the principle of symbolic chain that is based on the
comparison with analogy;
2) acquirement of content from outside, the source of which is extralingual reality;
3) individual author’s use of colour names. Creation of the universal, specific and
individual character is a result of each of those processes.
Colours and colour terms that denote them are universal elements of the
colourful, symbolic system, which consists of a range of subsystems, each of
which has its own structure and function. Colour terms that deliver information
about environment are also material for cognitive, psycholinguistic, cultural and
other scientific researches.
S. P. Mulyar says that semantic structure of colour lexemes is characterized by
the complicated combination of objective concepts of colour feature and subjective
knowledge that are expressed in connotative semes [21,14]. Visual aspects of colour
terms and associative connections cause the appearance of connotations and can be
spontaneously formed in the consciousness of a human being as a result of
combining colour images with real or imaginary objects and phenomena.
 18

CHAPTER II
PRAGMASTYLISTICS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY IN THE
MODERNISTIC NOVEL OF THE XX CENTURY

2.1. Figurative Usage of Colour Vocabulary

Writers appeal to colour terms while describing landscapes, presenting portrait

characteristics, lyrical digressions and interiors. With the help of colour they try to
emphasize the formulation or denial of a certain idea, show the psychology and
peculiarities of the main heroes’ behaviour, understand deeply the thematic,
fundamental part of the work.
The theory of colour palette has got a long history in the world literature. A
long time ago colour was used for religious aims. From ancient times colours
carried definite information and were widely used in folk arts. According to
legends four cardinal points have symbolic colours: the north – white, the south –
brown, the east – yellow and the west – blue. Colour served since time
immemorial to the sacral, religious aims. Ancient people associated colours with
mystic forces. In Christianity primary colours were red, white and green, which
had the symbolic value. The white expressed cleanness and radiance of glory, red
meant blood and love, green – youth, cheerfulness.
Colour is a realized, thoroughly thought over means that helps the author to
express his thoughts and feelings. In order to understand the sense of colours one
should enter the depth of the author’s subconsciousness, understand the peculiarity
of his creative laboratory as well as author’s individual vision.
It is obvious that the writer has his own way of using colours, his interpretation of
this problem.
S. Skard says that literature does not imitate art but searches for its own
reserves to transfer colouring, finds the words that would influence readers’
 19

imaginations, that would concretize everything described and would give more
emotionality and poetic character [49,172].
In literature colour makes an impression of trustworthiness. With the help of
colour the author shows his attitude to the events or characters; colour can show
the depth of the plot and serve as a key to understanding the concealed meaning.
V.A. Kukharenko states that functions of colour term in the texts are identical
to the functions of stylistic means of a certain stylistic method: descriptive,
characterizing and specifying. [19,138]
In comparison with art, literature is to some extent limited, because without life
experience, without creative imagination and aesthetic knowledge, without
developed emotional and intellectual sphere a reader cannot apprehend colour
meaning in the way it was intended by the writer – due to symbolism and
emotional inspiration of colour terms.
For the writer it is very difficult to transfer his own vision with the help of
words, because he himself can possess an impressive ability of distinguishing hues
but is unable to transfer it with the help of words.
Even if the writer attempts to transfer all the colours and their hues, the reader
will perceive the colouring due to his own life experience.
Colours in literature influence emotions, they help to comprehend clearly the
world created by the author. It is more complicated to present the world picture,
than the pictorial one.
Literature has its own possibilities that are not available to painting. A painter
is deprived of the means of his art: the necessity to move towards the inner
comprehension from the outer one and to do this using the outer means.
In the novel a writer presents different means of expressing the inner world of the
hero, his character. By use of the words that denote colours, the author can
provide the readers with the better understanding of his work.
Colour palette is functioning as a peculiar component of a landscape and a
portrait. P. Kay also says that together with the other stylistic means colour palette
 20

studies the characters, reveals the inner world of the heroes, reproduces emotions
and wishes, creates the appropriate originality of depicted life [43, 198].
Colour terms are widely used by the writers in the system of colour depiction.
They are also used while characterizing objects or transferring colour symbolism.
A. P. Krytenko states that while undergoing this process, colour terms acquire
figurative meaning and can be combined with a large range of nouns belonging to
different semantic groups [17,11]. In some cases such figurative meaning in a
certain context seems to impose onto the direct meaning of the colour name and to
interweave with the colour name intensifying its emotional expressiveness.
Of a particular interest are those colour names that not only name colours but
also express the measure of this colour or the degree of colouring. The most
interesting are those cases in which additional components not only specify the
colour, but also render subjective attitude, emotional condition, that is caused by
this colour (corn-gold hair).
In the novel colour becomes one of the leading elements, that assists in the
process of expressing the main idea of the whole work as well as a certain
function performed by an episode, which is an integral part of a complicated
mechanism of the novel, that exists only in the presence of all simple parts and
details that are as important for penetration into the depth of the novel as the
integrity of the work itself.
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2.2. Semantics of Colour Vocabulary in the Writer’s Usage

A system of colour terms depends on the principles of colour perception of the

author and his vision of the world. It is stressed that semantic relations in the
language system and in that of colour terms interact with individual author's
contexts.
Investigation of colour semantics demands an assiduous analysis of the
correlation of meanings of colour terms with real colour signals, on the one hand,
and on the other hand, - with their mental representations in the human thinking.
Such multidimensional approach to the study of meanings helps to reproduce larger
pattern of semantic meanings of colour terms, to make apparent the peculiarities of
the use of colour terms in the language and characterize their functioning in the
context. Colour lexicon has repeatedly been the subject of investigations conducted
by the linguists who basing on different language material and in different periods
tried to understand the complicated and peculiar nature of this lexical layer.
Stylistic characteristics of colour terms, their functioning in the text, specific use
in the individual author’s practice were the subjects of many linguists’
investigations. In the language of prose or poetry colour becomes the feature of an
individual writer’s or poet’s style. Every writer has his favourite colour terms that
reflect his world outlook and aesthetic position, his psychology and symbolize to a
certain extent an appropriate epoch, mentality.
Colour terms are a powerful means of heroes’ physical and psychological
characteristics, which in most cases is in harmony with the nature and all this
creates a wide range of individual author’s use of colour terms. The coloured
epithets are the result of the writer’s selection. The coloured epithets execute the
following three functions in the literature:
1) semantic (the rose colour while describing a person is a sign of good health,

the colour of banknote specifies its importance);

2) descriptive (a writer uses colour epithets to make the description visible);
 22

3) emotional (colours influence human sense and are instrumental in forming a

certain mood).
The use of colour terms in literature is not limited only by the portrait
characteristics or landscape descriptions. Moods, emotional experience, feelings of
the heroes are also frequently transferred by colour terms and in the novel they are
associated with colours of the nature.
Use of the colour terms creates an atmosphere of something extraordinary,
transfers not only the main idea but also emotional expressiveness.
The adjective which possesses colour meaning is a bright, descriptive means that
is widely used in literature. Each colour or its shade performs evaluating function,
aesthetic by its content and direction.
We tried to analyze the colour vocabulary in writer’s usage on the basis of the
modernistic novel The Great Gatsby by F. S. Fitzgerald . Fitzgerald's exuberant
prose, particularly in its treatment of colour and smell and its focus on the surfaces
of modern life – the popular songs, the posters, the pin-ups, the ads, the trends.
The use of colours plays an enormous role in the novel under analysis and is
considered to be one of those modern techniques that were used by Fitzgerald.
Analyzing Fitzgerald’s novel one may state that without colour, the book would
be lack of interest or meaning.
The writers managed to draw the reader’s attention to significant details and
symbols in the texts in order to make one think about the so-called ‘truths’ in the
stories. Therefore, colour terms and colour symbolism plays a major role in The
Great Gatsby. T. V. Venkel’ in her research paper about colour symbolism says that
symbolism is the most powerful device of allowing the reader to gain insight into a
character’s personality and of revealing hidden ideas, values and profundity [6,143].
The most significant symbolism applied in the texts is colour symbolism. The most
prominent colours that can be found throughout the novels are green, white, gray,
blue and yellow and some others.
 23

Green is life. Green signifies growth, renewal, health, and environment. Green
is also jealousy or envy (green-eyed monster). Green is a restful colour with some
of the same calming attributes of blue. Green colour in nature is reminiscent of
Spring. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. Dark green is
also commonly associated with money. Sometimes green denotes lack of
experience.
Green stands for a variety of meanings, but Fitzgerald used it mainly for "not
faded", like in "a green old age". It is the most meaningful colour used by the
author as a symbolic device of revealing ideas. This colour also reminds of hope,
nature, spring and youth.
In The Great Gatsby, green is associated with Gatsby’s character. It is used to
emphasize his desire and his unfulfilled wish to regain his love Daisy. As he has
already achieved everything in his life concerning financial success, wealth and
power, Gatsby’s only aim left is to reach Daisy’s heart. Therefore, the green colour
stands for his never-ending hope for her love and functions as a symbol of his hope,
as it is mostly associated with the green light at Daisy’s dock.
Throughout the novel, the green light functions as a key symbol. Gatsby watches
it almost every night from his lawn across the water. "I glanced seaward – and
distinguished nothing except a single green light" [39,25]; "You always have a
green light that burns all night at the end of your dock" [39,90]; "Gatsby believed
in the green light, the future that year by year recedes before us" [39,171].
Later the whole water between Gatsby and Daisy gets green "On the green
Sound, stagnant in the heat..." [39,112].
Green may also represent the struggle that Gatsby has between his wealth and his
dreams. One may observe that this colour symbolizes new money. The Great
Gatsby is a “new money” person, so he lives in a green house, surrounded by green
lawn. Gatsby feels that he needs green money to live and to impress Daisy.
 24

Symbols of Gatsby’s money included the green ivy growing up his house also, in
his car it depicts the passengers sitting “in a sort of green leather conservatory”.
All of these symbols depict Gatsby’s money.
One of the possible meanings of green in this story is also an envy. Gatsby can be
seen as an envious man for a few reasons: he is extremely envious of Tom
Buchanan because of the fact that he has the one thing he can’t buy, Daisy, also,
Gatsby is extremely envious of the people that he invites to his house. He knows
that he is not old money like the people he invites to his parties. This makes him a
man who is “Green with envy”.
TABLE 1
Of frequency of usage of colour terms in The Great Gatsby

Frequency of Frequency of Frequency of General

colour terms’ colour terms’ colour terms’ frequency
Colours usage in usage in usage in aesthetic of colour
descriptive expressive function usage
function function
 25

Green 54 13 2 69
White 51 23 10 84
Red 26 14 8 48
Yellow 25 20 3 48
Black 33 31 6 70
Blue 16 14 2 32
Grey 22 8 5 35
Gold 10 8 2 20
Silver 10 3 2 15
Pink 7 2 - 9
Violet 4 - - 4
Orange 5 2 - 7
Purple 4 2 - 6
Crimson 17 2 5 24
Rosy 3 1 1 5
Zink 2 - - 2
Scarlet 6 3 1 10
Salmon 12 - - 12
Emerald 7 2 - 9
Pearl 4 1 - 5
Brown 8 2 2 12

Green colour is used in the novels mainly in descriptive function, rarely in

expressive one and is presented as an abstract colour word. Due to the method of
complete sampling we managed to provide the results of the frequency of usage of
colour terms.
White is purity, cleanliness, and innocence. However, white at the same time
can show dirt. White is a brilliant colour that can cause headaches for someone. Too
much bright white can be blinding. White is associated with kind and light hope.
Fitzgerald used this colour to underline the inside of the wealthy people. This
innocence is just a surface; they cover their dark side behind it, like Daisy does. Her
name symbolizes a flower: its petals are white, but its inside is yellow, not as pure as
white. Daisy is fragile like a flower, but deep inside her, she is almost evil.
 26

The major theme in The Great Gatsby is immorality of the people in 1920’s,
especially the upper class. Daisy, Tom, and Jordan are “old money” people. These
people wear white clothes, live in white houses, but they are immoral inside, they
have no scruples. “High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl"
[39,115]. When Nick Carraway visited the Buchanan he met two young women:
Daisy and Jordan "They were both in white" [39,13], trying to appear pure but as
Nick learns more about them, their dresses become creamy, then yellow or gold.
Even the windows at Daisy's house are white "The windows were ajar and
gleaming white" [39,13]. "Our white girlhood was passed together there. Our
beautiful white" [39,24]. "They came to a place where there were no trees and the
sidewalk was white with moonlight" [39,106]. "His heart beat faster as Daisy's
white face came up to his own" [39,107].
Gatsby himself lives in a great white mansion and wears white or pink suits,
representing his innocence and pure heart.
White colour performs aesthetic and expressive functions in the novel. It is
presented in the form of abstract and descriptive colour words.
Red is hot. It's a strong colour that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting
emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. Red draws attention and a
keen use of red as an accent can immediately focus attention on a particular
element. Its shade rosy is softer and symbolizes tenderness, quietness, sweetness, it
is a calm colour that has nothing to do with sometimes violent and cruel red colour
while crimson symbolizes strength, seriousness, adultness and a good taste, in some
cases it is less violent than red.
For Fitzgerald it is associated with life, joy, love, shame, and rage. Entering this
world of the rich, Nick is dazzled by the glowing light, the reds, and the rosiness: he
walks "through a high hallway into a bright rosy-coloured space" [37,353]; there is
"a rosy-coloured porch, open toward the sunset, where four candles flickered on
the table in the diminished wind" [37,243]; the French windows are "glowing . . .
with reflected gold" [37,178]; there is "a half acre of deep, pungent roses"
 27

[37,136]; later on, "the crimson room bloomed with light," [37,78] and on his way
home he observes how "new red gas-pumps sat out in pools of light" [37,76].
Red, in these sentences is glitter, enchantment and dream; but there is another
reason for the frequent occurrence of the colour. As the colour of blood, it is
inevitably associated with the violence caused by the people who prey upon Gatsby
especially Tom and Daisy, the "careless people" who smashed up things and
creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness and let
other people clean up the mess they had made. Thus Tom breaks Myrtle's nose and
there are "bloody towels upon the bathroom floor" [39,52]. Daisy runs down
Myrtle, whose "thick dark blood" [39,124] mingles with the dust of the Valley of
Ashes. And Wilson murders Gatsby, whose blood leaves "a thin red circle in the
water" [39,98]. The beautiful reds become the colour of carnage.
Red is wedded to white and yellow, to reveal, simultaneously, both the dreamlike
enchantment and the actual brutality. Thus it is appropriate that the Buchanans'
house is a "cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion" [39,97]; and we
find it significant that Gatsby, when he enters the Buchanan house for the first time,
"stood in the center of the crimson carpet and gazed around him with fascinated
eyes. Daisy watched him and laughed, her sweet, exciting laugh; a tiny gust of
powder rose from her bosom into the air" [39,48].
Red colour is used to present expressive, descriptive and aesthetic functions. It
is used in compound colour words and as descriptive and expressive colour names.
Yellow symbolizes wisdom. Yellow means joy and happiness. On the one hand
it denotes happiness and joy but on the other hand yellow is the colour of cowardice
and deceit.
Sometimes the gold at Gatsby's house turns to yellow. Thus the richness is
only a cover, a short sensation, like the yellow press for the more offensively
sensational press. "…now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music" [39,42].
In contrast to the golden girl Jordan, her admirers are only yellow "two girls in
twin yellow dresses"; "... we sat down at a table with the two girls in yellow"
 28

[39,44]. Remarkably Daisy's daughter has old and yellow hair: "Did mother get
powder on your old yellowy hair?" [39,111].
Yellow illustrates also the greed of the characters, desire for wealth and money.
“Rich people are “rotten” inside, like daisies. But “newly rich” people are also
yellow inside, like Gatsby” [42,87]. He gained his fortune through dealings with
crime. And this exemplifies a theme of death of the “American Dream”. “The
immoral people have all the money, but, according to the “American Dream”,
money should be a reward for honesty and hard work” [42,70].
Yellow symbolizes also the corruption and death in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby's
yellow car is the murder weapon used to kill Myrtle. The rich, flaky women at
Gatsby's party swing their yellow gowns wildly as they drink and flirt and cause
problems.
Yellow colour is used in aesthetic and expressive function.
Meaning of the colour Black - conservative, mysterious, sophisticated. Black is
the colour of authority and power. The colour black is used to convey elegance,
sophistication, or perhaps a touch of mystery. Black is authoritative and powerful;
because black can evoke strong emotions too much can be overwhelming.
Black colour is used in descriptive and aesthetic function in the novels.
Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The colour of sky and
the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in people’s lives. The colour symbolism
of blue is related to freedom, strength and new beginnings. Blue skies mean
optimism and better opportunities. Blue is cooling and relaxing. Blue symbolizes
water, the source of life.
Blue is also the colour of being depressed, moody, or unhappy. Therefore a lot of
things around Gatsby are blue. "In his blue gardens men and girls came and went"
[39,41]; "... ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves" [39,144]; "So when
the blue smoke of brittle leaves" [39,167]. After Myrtle's death people are in a blue
mood. " ... a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn wasn't far off.
About five o'clock it was blue enough outside to snap off the light" [39,151]. The
 29

most unhappy place is the graveyard: "He had come a long way to this blue lawn"
[39,171]. Blue may symbolize romance and illusions. Gatsby's dream-like parties
are filled with blue music. The colour blue in The Great Gatsby is associated with
false appearances “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths
among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” [39, 233].
Blue colour performs descriptive function and is used in compound colour
words in the novel.
Grey is a neutral, dull, not important balanced colour. It is a cool, conservative
colour that seldom evokes strong emotion although it can be seen as a cloudy or
moody colour. Like black, grey is used as a colour of mourning as well as a colour
of formality. Grey is the colour of sorrow.
In Fitzgerald’s novel it symbolizes also a loss of hope and even death"…grey
little villages in France" [39,48]; "occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along...."
[39,23]"The grey windows disappeared" [39,91]; "... a grey, florid man with a hard,
empty face" [39,97] about the portrait of Dan Cody in Gatsby's bedroom. Gatsby's
ideal is gray and empty. The Wilsons, living in the valley of ashes, appear in grey,
except for Myrtle, when she enjoys the company of Tom Buchanan. The only way
for Myrtle to get out of the grey was to become Tom Buchanan.
Grey colour is realistic colour which is used in the depiction of New York in the
form of abstract colour terms
Gold stands for: 1) richness; 2) happiness or prosperity: golden days, golden
age; 3) success; 4) value: a golden opportunity.
Golden is associated with wealth and prosperity. Gold evokes the feeling of
prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often
symbolizes high quality.
At Gatsby's parties even the turkeys turn to gold “...turkeys bewitched to a dark
gold” [39,41]. Gold is used to be an example of old money, unlike green that is
used to depict the new money of gold. Tom could be seen as a gold person for he
has old money.
 30

Jordan Baker – the golden girl of golf – is associated with that colour. “With
Jordan's slender golden arm resting in mine” [39,44]; “I put my arm around
Jordan's golden shoulder” [39,77].
With a few sentences Fitzgerald throws a light at the turbulent months while
Daisy was waiting for Gatsby during the war. “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 [39,144]. Here even the dust in the rooms,
usually grey, is shining, while across the contrast between golden and grey once
more in “we went about opening the rest of the windows downstairs, filling the
house with grey-turning, gold-turning light” [39,144].
Gold performs descriptive function, especially when describing rich people
in the novel.
Silver especially shiny, metallic silver, is cool like grey but livelier, more
playful. Silver can be sleek and modern or impart a feeling of ornate riches. While
grey-haired men and women are seen as old, silver-haired denotes a graceful aging.
Silver represents jewelry and richness.
In The Great Gatsby the moon or moonlight or the stars are often silver: "the
silver pepper of the stars" [39,25]; "The moon had risen higher, and floating in the
Sound was a triangle of silver scales" [39,48]; "A silver curve of the moon hovered
already in the western sky" [39,114].
Pink is a softer, less violent than red. Pink is the sweet side of red. Pink is the
colour of universal love. It is a quiet colour. Pink provides feelings of caring,
tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance.
Sometimes Gatsby comes up with the colour pink "the luminosity of his pink suit
under the moon" [39,136]. When Gatsby and Daisy are finally together, "there was
a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea" [39, 91].
Pink colour performs descriptive as well as expressive function.
Violet – royal, precious, romantic. Meaning of the colour violet is grace,
elegance, delicate, feminine. A mysterious colour, violet is associated with both
 31

nobility and spirituality. The colour of royalty, violet connotes luxury, wealth, and
sophistication. Violet is the colour of good judgment.
Violet is used in descriptive, aesthetic and expressive function in the form of
abstract colour name.
Orange is vibrant. It's a combination of red and yellow so it shares some
common attributes with those colours. It denotes energy, warmth, and the sun. But
orange has a bit less intensity or aggression than red, calmed by the cheerfulness of
yellow. The colour symbolism of orange is creativity, confidence, intuition,
friendliness and the entrepreneurial spirit.
A variety of colours presents wealth, indicates great number of something.
To impress Daisy Jay Gatsby brings up a pile of shirts "and covered the table in
many coloured disarray ... in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint
orange, with monograms of indian blue" [39,89]. Lavender is the colour of
indulgence.
A certain colour in the novel is a means to express a character’s personality, one’s
status, and a symbolic meaning. Fitzgerald used colour to express many
personalities. In addition to expressing personalities, colour in the Great Gatsby,
also displays a status of an individual or value of an item. The Buchanan’s
“cheerful red-and-white Georgia Colonial mansion,” makes the reader think that
their house has much beauty and value associated with it. The colours which reflect
class status are used describing “Valley of Ashes.” The dark and grey descriptions
illustrate a poor, useless, and desolate area of land.
Writer’s imagination in its own way has created a "universe of ineffable
gaudiness," of "a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty"—a world of such stirring
vividness that it may be represented now by all the colours of the rainbow.
Fitzgerald used colour to express many personalities. In addition to expressing
personalities, colour in the Great Gatsby, also displays a status of an individual or
value of an item. Colour is an important part of literature which is used often and
will always be an element of a good novel.
 32

CHAPTER III
STYLISTIC FUNCTIONS OF COLOUR VOCABULARY IN A
MODERNISTIC NOVEL

3.1. Descriptive Function of Colour Vocabulary in a Modernistic Novel

Modernistic novel is characterized by the usage of skillfully weaved together

narration, stream of consciousness, literary collage (a concept that involves the
assimilation of diverse narrative and visual materials), biographies of representative
figures, and quotations from newspapers and magazines. While applying all these
techniques and methods the modernists appeal to colour vocabulary that possesses
an essential value in modernistic prose and poetry.
Colour vocabulary performs certain functions in any of modernistic novel. It
creates a special atmosphere that modernists fail to achieve while using any other
stylistic devices.
Having analyzed the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald we can state
that one of the functions performed by the use of colour vocabulary is a descriptive
function. Descriptive function is used first and for most in description of nature,
serving as a background to the emotional state of a personage, setting of his moods,
his feelings. It is also used in inserted episodes (paragraphs and complex syntactic
units which describe nature). The mentioned episodes serve as a peculiar
background to the development of the main actions or dialogue.
Colour vocabulary is not neglected while presenting interior descriptions,
performing at the same time informative function due to which the information
about the heroes’ social status is provided.
Descriptive function of colour vocabulary is poetically transformed into the
attributes of the heroes’ appearance. It is as if each enunciation of each colour will
 33

henceforth bear a reference to the characters’ appearance into its poetic and
descriptive functions.
Modernists appeal to colour vocabulary while providing portrait characteristics,
describing heroes’ hair, eyes, complexion, clothes providing in such a way a great
deal of information about a certain personage. Description that is based on the use
of colour vocabulary influences the reader subconsciously and is a means that
creates planned by the author image of each of the characters.
The authors appeals to the usage of mostly abstract colour words or as they are
called monolexemic colour words while presenting nature, interior and appearance
descriptions.

3.2. Expressive Function of Colour Vocabulary

Colour is a power that directly influences the soul. To do this is not an easy task
especially if influence is not performed by the painting, where an artist can easily
take advantage of visual abilities of an observer but influencing with the help of
simple words – colour terms. The success of presenting the main idea of a certain
novel depends on the writer’s ability to use expressive means while encoding the
crucial information in such a way it would be interesting for a reader to decode it.
Expressive function of the language bears a very important part in the process of
understanding the main idea of the literary work.
Beyond descriptive function colour terms have expressive qualities: dark hues
induce a mood of melancholy, bright pinks and pale blues – gaiety, gentle
gradations suggest harmony, clashing contrasts are disturbing.
Analyzing the use of concrete colour terms in The Great Gatsby we have come
to the conclusion that expressive function of colour vocabulary is aimed at revealing
the inner state although sometimes general knowledge of colour terms and its
understanding by the reader does not correlate with the main expressive idea that is
 34

presupposed to be presented. For example, green colour signifies growth, health but
Fitzgerald with the help of this colour expresses never-ending hope, desire or
unfulfilled wish. The reader makes such conclusion when constantly coming across
the phrase “green light” that is a key symbol in the novel.
White colour is innocence, but in The Great Gatsby it is used to show the inside
of the wealthy people, to express the black side of their character and their life.
These people wear white clothes, live in white houses but they are immoral inside.
Red colour expresses passionate love or even violence. In Fitzgerald’s novel red is
expressed as the colour of blood and is inevitably associated with the violence
caused by the people who are careless, who can easily kill a person and forget about
the crime the very next day.
Yellow symbolizes wisdom but in the novel it is used to illustrate greed and
desire for wealth and money. In The Great Gatsby it is expresses corruption and
even death. Gatsby’s yellow car is the murder weapon.
Black is sophisticated.
Blue is perceived as a constant in people’s lives but in The Great Gatsby it is the
colour of being depressed.
Grey is neutral, but in Fitzgerald’s novel it symbolizes loss of hope or death,
because Gatsby’s ideal turned out to be grey and empty and not worth attention.
Gold symbolizes richness, pathos, success and is associated with wealth and
prosperity. Silver is expressed as colour of wisdom, because first of all it is a colour
of old people’s hair that symbolizes long life and great experience.
Violet is royal, romantic colour .
All in all expressive function of colour vocabulary in modernistic novel is very
essential while doing step by step analysis. Modernistic novel is full of artificial
colours and the task of linguists is first of all to do the analysis to find out the real
purpose of the use of colour terms, to identify the expressive function of the colour
terms that are appealed to.
 35

3.3. Aesthetic Function of Colour Vocabulary

Aesthetic function of colour vocabulary in modernistic novel is realized in

revealing the notion of the American Dream that was being frequently appealed to
by modernists, especially by F. S. Fitzgerald whose novel form the base of our
analysis.
The American Dream can be described as a belief in the freedom that allows all
citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life
through hard work. The term "the American Dream" is a subjective one usually
implying success and happiness. It also implies financial security, material goods,
fame, exceeding ethnic or social boundaries or simply living a fulfilling life.
Fitzgerald proves that the wonderful American Dream is unattainable through their
novels. They do not aim to show their own attitude towards it but to present it as
ephemeral idea that will never be realized no matter how hard people work and how
passionately they desire to attain it. It is just an illusion that has nothing to base on
and there is no real means of its fulfillment in real life.
Characters’ personal dreams symbolize the large American Dream that never
comes about. That is why the writers give the lesson of being true to oneself and
following ones own personal dreams, not the one Americans are programmed to
have.
While revealing the notion of the American Dream, Fitzgerald appeals to the use
of various colour terms and symbols created with the help of colours to portray the
lack of moral and spiritual values of people and the different aspects of society in
the 1920’s. In the Great Gatsby the reader comes across the use of black colour in
the image of black water towards which Gatsby was stretching his arms. It does
 36

not signify a hope in the form of green light but something that is condemned to
death, something with no future.
Gatsby’s yellow house symbolizes richness it reflects his success as an
American self-made man who buys this yellow house to be closer to Daisy but after
Gatsby’s death the mansion is just “huge incoherent failure of a house” [39,245],
as the American Dream appears to be a failure even if it was partly realized but not
in honest way.

The ideal of the American dream in novel proves to be an empty dream. For
Fitzgerald, the artist is equated with the romantic, and the romantic – such as Jay
Gatsby – is lost in that sort of society. For Gatsby, the dream proves illusory, and
the reality is the hypocritical society of West Egg.
By the skillful use of colour terms the authors managed to reveal the vainness of
the American Dream, to present it to the readers’ attention and to educate them
showing it in bright light.
 37

CONCLUSIONS
As a result of our analysis we have come to the conclusion that colour plays a
very important part in human life, namely – fills it with bright paints. The widest
value of colour is presented in the fine art. Literature adopted the concept of colour,
so as interlinked with the art. It uses the stylistic epithets of colour and also their
stylistic functions. Colours can symbolize many different things. Artists use
colours in their paintings when they want you to see what they are trying to express.
If an artist is trying to express sorrow or death he often uses black, blue and grey,
basically he uses dreary colours. People automatically feel what the artist is trying
to express. When the artist uses bright colours one may feel happiness. In the
novel The Great Gatsby the writer like artists, uses colours to symbolize many
different intangible ideas in the book. Fitzgerald uses the colour of yellow to
symbolize moral decay decadence and death. Then Fitzgerald uses the colour of
white to symbolize innocence. The writer used this colour to underline the inside of
the wealthy people. This innocence is just a surface; they cover their dark side
behind it, like Daisy does. Her name symbolizes a flower: its petals are white, but
its inside is yellow, not as pure as white. Daisy is fragile like a flower, but deep
inside her, she is almost evil.
As to the structural peculiarities of colour vocabulary in the lexical system of the
language colour words in a language are divided into abstract colour words and
descriptive colour words. Abstract colour words are words that only refer to a
colour (white, black, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, and grey), descriptive colour
words are words that are secondarily used to describe a colour but primarily used to
refer to an object or phenomenon that has that colour (salmon, rose, saffron, and
lilac).
 38

English contains the eleven basic colour terms ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘red’, ‘green’,
‘yellow’, ‘blue’, ‘brown’, ‘orange’, ‘pink’, ‘purple’ and ‘grey’. To be considered a
basic colour term, the words have to be monolexemic.
The main principles of forming of the colour vocabulary: 1) combination of the
main colour names with the words which signify brightness (light/dimness): dark
green, blue gloom, dark silver, dim brown, bright green; 2) metaphoric transference
of the meaning of adjectives: names of object/liquids: ivory, slate, muslin,
chocolate, olive, lilac, steel; names of object/liquids + coluor names: pearly-white,
chocolate-brown; descriptive colour names: the colour of robin’s eggs, the colour of
cigar, the colour of pearls, the blue of a sapphire; 3) formation of derivatives by
adding suffixes -y(ie); -ish, which denote colouring of lesser intensity: greenish,
purplish, brownie. 4) combination of several colour names in order to form
denotation of hues (shades): blue-green, golden-brown; 5) formation of more
intense shades of the main colours: yellower, very blue, redder.
The semantic structure of colour terms is based on understanding different
semantic transformations and symbolization, peculiar for a certain tradition. Colour
due to its nature its an abstract notion and is considered to belong to the symbolism.
Colour term – symbols exist in our consciousness as a unity of visual colour image
and a lexical unit which perform informative function in the real world and become
symblos of different notions and phenomena.
A system of colour terms depends on the principles of colour perception by the
author and his vision of the world. In the modernistic novel The Great Gatsby by F.
S. Fitzgerald the authors’ treatment of colour names is symbolic. White is purity,
cleanliness, and innocence. Green is associated with Gatsby’s character. Red is hot.
Crimson – symbolizes strength, seriousness, adultness and a good taste, for
S.Fitzgerald its is associated with life, joy, love, shame and rage. Yellow
symbolizes wisdom. Black is associated with conservative, mysterious,
sophisticated.
 39

The stylistic functions of colour vocabulary in a modernistic novel is such as

follows: descriptive, expressive and aesthetic. Descriptive function is used first and
for most in description of nature, serving as a background to the emotional state of
a personage, setting of his moods, his feelings. It is also used in inserted episodes.
Colour vocabulary is not neglected in presenting interior as well as appearance
descriptions.
Analyzing the use of concrete colour terms in The Great Gatsby we have come to
the conclusion that expressive function of colour vocabulary is aimed at revealing
the inner state although sometimes general knowledge of colour terms and its
understanding by the reader does not correlate with the main expressive idea that is
presupposed to be presented. Aesthetic function of colour vocabulary in
modernistic novel is realized in revealing the notion of the American Dream that
was being frequently appealed to by modernists, especially by F. S. Fitzgerald
whose novel form the base of our analysis.
Basing on the analysis that was made using the method of complete sampling, we
managed to determine the frequency of usage of the colour names in F. S.
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby which proves that the most frequently used colours
are ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘red’, ‘green’, ‘yellow’, ‘blue’, ‘brown’, ‘orange’, ‘pink’,
‘purple’ and ‘grey’.
A lot of writers explored the colour vocabulary in a literature of modernism. A
prime example is F. S. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The aim of the author is to
show the American Dream from different points of view.
The use of colours plays an enormous role in the novel and is considered to be
one of those modern techniques that were used by the authors.
 40

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47. Great Gastby 7. http://www.allfreeessays.net/student/Great_Gatsby_7.

SUMMARY

Колоративна лексика завжди привертає увагу як письменників, так і

лінгвістів завдяки своїй багатофункціональності. Серед основних функцій
виділяють описову, експресивну та естетичну.
В різні епохи розвитку літератури письменники зверталися до кольорів при
змалюванні пейзажів, представленні портретних характеристик, тощо.
Функції кольорів в літературі недостатньо досліджені. На мою думку, ця
проблема все ще актуальна і потребує подальшого вивчення.
Письменник використовує колоративну лексику, наповнюючи її особистим
емоційним навантаженням. Завдання читача полягає в декодуванні значення,
закладеного автором.
Дана робота є спробою визначити функції колоративної лексики в романах
епохи модернізму. Серед яких я виокремлюю: описову, експресивну та
естетичну функції. Описова функція полягає у зображенні інтер’єрів,
пейзажів, героїв. Експресивна функція полягає у розкритті внутрішнього
стану героя, його почуттів та думок, в той час як естетична спрямована на
розкриття теми Американської Мрії, до якої часто зверталися модерністи,
зокрема Ф.С. Фітцджеральд.
В різні епохи літературного розвитку автор звертається до кольорового
словника, описуючи пейзажі, зображаючи особливості портрету, ліричні
відхилення та інтер’єри. У кольорів є символіка і значення. На мові прози або
поезії колір стає особливістю стилю індивідуального автора або поета.
Назва кольорів використовується замість вираження, щоби описати примхи
і почуття. Наприклад, можна сказати, що сумна людина бачить синє, ревнива
 45

є позеленілим від заздрощів, сердитий чоловік бачить червоне, а боягуза

можна назвати жовтим. Найбільш вживані кольори можуть бути
розповсюджені всюди по романах, а саме: зелений, білий, сірий, синій і
жовтий, а також інші. Наприклад, зелений колір показує ріст, здоров’я, але
Фіцджеральд за допомогою цього кольору виражає безкінечну надію,
бажання, іноді невиконане. Читач робить такий висновок, постійно
наштовхуючись на фразу «зелене світло», яка є ключовим символом в романі.
В підсумку, мені вдалося визначити стилістичні функції кольорового
словника та дослідити його структурні особливості.
Результати дослідження можуть бути використанні на практичних заняттях
із стилістики англійської мови, а також при написанні статей на дану
тематику.