“Our white girlhood was passed together there” (Fitzgerald 19).

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People often associate the color white with the characteristics of purity, innocence, and virginity (“Color”).Within in the quote Daisy explains to Nick how she and Jordan grew up in Louisville, where their “white girlhood pass[ed] together there” (19). She gives off the impression that they were both innocent and pure back in the day, indicating that they had become corrupted once they began living in East Egg. Thus, this reveals how society itself can lead to the decay of human beings as Daisy loses her innocence, Gatsby dies, and Nick leaves due to him not being able to handle the corruption any longer. ​

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“Slowly the white wings of the boat moved against the blue cool limit of the sky” (Fitzgerald 118).

 

The corruption of the people in both East and West Egg are caused by the profusion of wealth within the cities. From this motif of immense wealth, the theme of the death of a dream is ultimately created within the novel. The white color of the boat’s wings exudes a sense of tranquility and hope, in which creates a vivid imagery of a dove (“The”). Representative of peace and optimism the dove-like boat is symbolic as a part of Gatsby’s big dream as he believed that a yacht “represented all the beauty and glamour in the world” (Fitzgerald 100). Gatsby had overestimated the goodness of the world as he believed that there is no limit when it comes to the dream. He had an undying sense of hope for humanity and love but it completely crumbles before his eyes. The color white that is representative of hope and the state of tranquility directly describes Gatsby’s dream of a luxurious lifestyle. His seemingly harmless dream in reality becomes one of the many catalysts of his death, emphasizing the corruption and pain that is caused by the wealth and materialism of East and West Egg. ​

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“His gorgeous pink rag of a suit made a bright spot of color against the white steps. And I thought of the night when I first came to his ancestral home, three months before”

​(Fitzgerald 154). 

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Gatsby resides in a monstrously flamboyant mansion, drives flashy cars, and in this particular quote wears an abundance of pink suits. Hence, it is revealed that he represents the fast-paced modernization of the early 1900’s. Thus, the white steps of his mansion can only signify the more traditional people of East Egg as the color is representative of their subtlety and sophistication (“The”). East and West Egg are practically the same as they are both inhabited by extremely wealthy people, yet the two are separated into

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“In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretch on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress” (176).

 

In this scene, an aristocratic woman in white has passed out on a stretcher due what is assumed to be an overindulgence of alcohol. Being that this novel takes place during a time period when consuming, selling, buying, and even possessing alcohol was illegal shows the abundance of corruption that lies within East and West Egg. The white dress symbolizing the purity of these people is evidently proven to be false. Although pristine in appearance, they all seem to feel a sense of emptiness within them in which they feel they need to fill it up with illegal alcohol (“The”). These people feel that it is necessary to conceal and hide their corruption in order to further perfect themselves in an imperfect world.    

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“On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight, and I erased it, drawing my shoe raspingly along along the store” (180).

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With Gatsby’s tragic death, everything that had to do with him including his house had broken down. The white color of the steps, once representative of the elegance of East Egg, now illustrates the overwhelming emptiness that took over the atmosphere after his death (“The”). The obscene word that was scrawled upon the steps reveals the true circumstances of the corruption and instability of East and West Egg. Thus the decay of morality and of the human condition is emphasized as Gatsby’s hope for the dream had crumbled and ultimately followed him to its own death.