“All that glitters is not gold.”

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 Ever since I was a child, my parents have called me “Bangaru”, which means “gold” in Telugu. When I was younger, I used to love when they called me this, as gold was always associated with beauty and luxury in my culture. As I grew older, my understanding of financial prosperity and how it does not relate to character developed, and I slowly started to dislike that nickname. In “The Great Gatsby”, gold is constantly used as a symbol of wealth. Gatsby thinks he genuinely loves Daisy for her “lovely” character and for the history they had together. He says that Daisy is the only “true” girl he has met. However, readers can infer that he does not love her for why he says he does, but loves the money and lifestyle Daisy was born with and still has. When describing her, he says, "High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl..." (Fitzgerald 120). In this phrase, Gatsby utilizes the word “golden” to portray that Daisy is wealthy and perhaps the best woman out there. However, he unknowingly thinks this because she grew up in a privileged household. After reading most of this great novel and strengthening my understanding of how gold is used to represent different traits, I now realize that my parents call me “Bangaru” because in their eyes, I have positive characteristics and they do not associate it with wealth. I still wish that the color gold did not have to symbolize luxury, similar to how it does in “The Great Gatsby”, around the world.

Comments

  1. Imaan HNovember 14, 2021 at 8:16 AM

    HI! I really liked how you tied in a childhood connection to an idea presented in the Great Gatsby and the positive as well as negative connotation it can give to a person being called golden. They can be seen as flawless as luxurious, and it isn't usually related to character as we might expect.

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  2. Veeksha SudhirNovember 14, 2021 at 11:15 AM

    Hi, I can actually relate to this quite a bit. My parents called me "bangari" which also means gold in Kannada. They called me this when I was younger and still do to this day, I never thought of it this way till reading you blog post. Right after reading your post I did a bit of research and found that not only does gold represent wealth, but also something everlasting and/or eternal since it doesn't tarnish or rust like many other metals. This property of gold is never implied or brought up in The Great Gatsby. Also, to hindus, gold is believed to purify anything it touches. I think that highlights the difference of cultures around the world. I enjoyed reading your post!

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  3. Hayley ChenfangNovember 14, 2021 at 12:58 PM

    I really liked how you connected a symbol in the novel to yourself and how your views of the word "gold" or "Bangaru" changed after reading the novel. Being "golden" can mean many different things depending on who you are talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  4. George MagarNovember 14, 2021 at 2:14 PM

    Hey! I absolutely agree with you on how gold, even though usually associated with positive qualities and purity, also has a darker side that is much more superficial in terms of how it is associated with wealth and status. A lot of cultures use the term as a compliment, but it can also be something that isn't pure. I love how you related the concept of gold's symbolism to both your name and Gatsby's materialistic love for Daisy.

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