Eckleberg's eyes are remarked upon as blue, and Gatsby himself is surrounded by the color blue. This color is commonly interpreted to mean sadness or unhappiness, but it also has been construed to mean illusions and alternatives to reality; for instance, Gatsby's persona itself is an illusion, and the eyes of Eckleberg are mentioned to be like the eyes of God within the novel. Therefore, Eckleberg blue would be a reference to symbolism itself, a topic on which Fitzgerald himself had many opinions. His symbolism was primarily self-effacing: he said people are what gives things meaning, therefore remarking upon the emptiness of symbols and dreams. Yet he himself used symbolism! Therefore, blue can be used in the critical practice of deconstruction, showcasing the fault lines of Fitzgerald's constructed meanings and Gatsby's reality.

Off-white symbolized tainted innocence, while gold symbolizes power. Daisy often seen wearing white, but like her floral namesake, the center of a Daisy is golden. Daisy was Gatsby's dream, his "golden girl". When he goes to NIck's house to meet with her, he wears a golden tie. Fitzgerald's sharp take on the excess and uselessness of the upper classes, the old money in East Egg, and their greed, is showcased in Daisy: something that once may have been innocent, now tainted by wealth.

Gatsby is closely associated with the green light he reaches towards, at the end of Daisy's dock. The color green is representative of hope and future. Much like Gatsby himself, the embodiment of hope, being that he is the typical "rags to riches" story so associated with Cinderella. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald's story is about the moral decay of America in the '20s, and like the decade in which he flourished, Gatsby reaches a tragic end. It is the end of hope and future for him, and the Jazz Age that Fitzgerald both loved and condemned.

In I Capture the Castle, the introduction of the two main love interests comes directly after Rose has wished on the head of a gargoyle, jokingly saying that she would sell her soul to the devil to find some eligible men. Shortly thereafter, Simon's shadow appears on the wall as the devil. Strong undertones of religion run along the major decisions in the novel as well, as would be expected from a British town in between the wars.

In I Capture the Castle, the two sisters, Rose and Cassandra, vie for love and the title of beauty. Cass says at one memorable point in the story, that she is only beautiful when not standing next to Rose. However, readers can see their differing types of beauty: whereas Rose's rests on her "originality" and profound beauty, Cassandra's is a quieter, more soft-spoken beauty. Both are beautiful, and both in love. Recognize this similarity between the two of them, by utilizing the most overt sign of both beauty, and their inherent connection as sisters: flowers.

In I Capture the Castle, among the many class distinctions presented, there includes the differences - particularly in fashion, as observed by the keen-eyed teenage narrator - between town (London) and country. Highlight this juxtaposition in your own outfit by contrasting "city" pieces, like a bright skater skirt and brighter nail polish, and a delicate lace shirt, against a flower-rimmed straw bowler hat and a hardy denim jacket. Mirror the small similarities between town and country by repeating the lace again in the lace-up boots.

In the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade and his enemies - and even friends - are all constantly trying to out-calculate and out-think each other into corners, because that's the only way the mystery will be solved. You can't believe anything you can't see with your own eyes... similarly, most of the descriptions are strongly visually-oriented, relying on portrayals of color and pattern to shape the world for the reader to understand, alongside Spade. Reference this extreme calculation and visual focus, by utilizing geometric prints within your own wardrobe.

Throughout the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade, the PI in charge, is required to remain neutral: otherwise, his cover is blown, his morals are betrayed, and the case is lost. Staying complementary towards everyone and committed to no one keeps Sam safe. The descriptions within the novel carry the same neutrality: khaki, buff, nude, yellow, and grey are all often used colors, including in the outfit descriptions for Sam.

The Maltese Falcon, considered by many to be one of the most prolific and influential detective novels in the genre, contains many of the similar mystery tropes seen in novels of that nature at that time, including characters to the type of the femme fatale, the ruthless detective, the suspicious foreigner, and the stubborn police, whose every actions center around movements of a mysterious artifact, which, in the case of this novel, is indeed, a Maltese Falcon statuette.