Gold. Gold symbolizes power, elusive wealth, or the illusion
Red. Red, often associated with love and passion as in red roses, generally symbolizes blood, rage, or danger in the novel. Brother Jack's red hair (which, along with his blue eyes and white skin, underscore his all-American identity), the red-faced men at the battle royal, the vet's red wheelchair (underscoring his courage), and the frequent references to Santa Claus as a symbol of evil are part of a red motif that accents unpleasant personalities and symbolizes the narrator's uneasiness evoked by these characters.
Black/White. Ellison makes several profound statements about American society and the language of racism (white generally symbolizes goodness and purity, while black symbolizes evil and corruption) by reversing traditional black/white symbolism and its associated white-is-right philosophy. Black is generally portrayed as good and positive (black skin, Ras's "magnificent black horse," and the "black powerhouse").
Blue. Blue alludes to the blues, a form of African American folk music characterized by lyrics that lament the hardships of life and the pain of lost love. In the novel, the blues are characterized by Louis Armstrong's "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" The song haunts the narrator throughout the narrative.
Gray. Like white, gray (a slang term used by blacks to refer to whites) is generally associated with negative images. Examples include gray smoke, the dull gray weathered cabins in the former slave quarters, and the gray tinge in the white paint at the paint factory, whic
Green. Although generally associated with nature, in the novel, green is the color of the lush campus verdure and mone
Three. Three is widely regarded as a divine number.
Seven. Seven signifies completeness and perfection: seven wonders of the ancient world, seven seas, and seven ages of man.
Twelve. Twelve, like seven, symbolizes completeness and perfection.
