Black is Favorite Color Used in  Literature

Black is Favorite Color Usedin  Literature

For years, writers have been using the concept of color in literature as a symbol to help readers get a better understanding of characters and events. Among these colors black in literature help symbolize death, power, mystery and fear. Black was one of the first colors used by artists in Neolithic cave paintings. It was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as the color of underworld. In the roman empire, it became the color of mourning, and over centuries it was frequently associated with death, evil, witches and magic. In the 14^th century, it was worn by royalty, clergy, judges and government officials in much of Europe. It became the color worn by English romantic poets, businessmen and statesmen in the 19^th century. It is the color most commonly associated with mourning, the end, secrets, magic, force, violence, evil, and elegance.

The story “Black Bargain” by Robert Bloch that represented black color as the source of power is when the shop keeper asked Gulther about his success and what what miracle he used to get that, Gulther actually refused to tell him and lied on him. But a store keeper raised an important question about the black book gulther was carrying, as the narrator states: “‘Say confidentially— what kind of magic did you use?’ ‘magic? Magic?  I don’t know anything about magic.’ ‘Oh, yes you do, Gulther,’ I said. ‘What about that little black book with the iron covers you were mumbling around with in the store”’ (Bloch 197)? From this conversation, one can see that the color of the book is black and its related to something magical or powerful. In addition, Gulther replied the store keeper with warning and if he asked him about the “shadow” which is obviously Black, Gulther said he is going to hurt a store keeper as these passage states: “Fritz Gulther rose to his feet and then shoved a dead white face against mine. He didn’t look at his shadow. He looked at me, through me, at some horror behind my face, my thoughts, my brain. He looked at me, and into some private hell of his own. ‘Shadow,’ he said. ‘There is nothing wrong with my shadow. You’re mistaken. Remember that, you’re mistaken. And if you ever mention it again, I’ll bash your skull in’” (Bloch 199). From these readers can easily see that there is some kind of power behind the shadow and Gulther is confident enough to attack a store keeper if kept on asking about the shadow.

Opposite to the above statements, Red color is the favorite color in supernatural litrature. It is used to symbolize mystery, death, intensity and fear. Because of its dangerous connotation, red has been used in Supernatural stories like “Jane Eyre” for its representation of mystery and fear, as this passage states: “say your prayers, Miss Eyre, when you are by yourself; for if you don’t repent, something bad might be permitted to come down the chimney, and fetch you away. They went, shutting the door, and locking it behind them. The red room was a spare chamber, very seldom slept in; I might say never, indeed, unless when a chance influx of visitors at Gates head Hall rendered it necessary to turn to account all the accommodation it contained” (Eyre 57). In addition, Jane revealed her fear to death when rain started to fall on the red room which she was locked as the narrator states: “Day light began to forsake the red-room; it was past four o’clock, and the beclouded afternoon was tending to drear twilight. I heard the rain still beating continuously on the staircase window, and the wind howling in the grove behind the hall; I grew by degrees cold as a stone, and then my courage sank. My habitual mood of humiliation, self-doubt, for-lore depression, fell damp on the embers of my decaying ire. All said I was wicked, and perhaps I might be so: what thought had I been but just conceiving of starving myself to death” (Eyre 60)? From this statement if one sees closely, the red room which she was locked made her think of death. This shows that red is also favorite color to represent death in literature.

Despite the fact the fact that red color is expressed in the above paragraph, Black color is used more than red color in the same story, “Jane Eyre” to express mystery, death, power and fear. The color black gave more emphasis to the situation in the story as this passage states: “The two ships becalmed on a torpid sea, I believed to be marine phantoms. The fiend pinning down the thief’s pack behind him, I passed over quickly: it was an object of terror. So was black, horned thing seated aloof on a rock, surveying a distant crowd surrounding a gallows” (Bronte 3). Black in the form of shadow represented death in another part of the story, as this passage states: “I doubted not —not never doubted—that if Mr. Reed had been alive he would have treated me kindly; and now, as I sat looking at the white bed and overshadowed walls—occasionally also turning a fascinated eye towards the dimly gleaming mirror—I began to recall what I had heard of dead men, troubled in their graves by the violation of their las wishes, revisiting the earth to punish the perjured and avenge the oppressed” (Bronte 12).Furthermore, black in this story represented power as the narrator states: “the next thing I remember is, walking up with a feeling as if I had had a frightful nightmare, and seeing before me a terrible red glare, crossed with thick black bars. I heard voices, too, speaking with a hollow sound, and as if muffed by a rush of wind or water: agitation, uncertainty, and an all-predominating sense of terror confused my faculties. Ere long, I became aware that someone was handling me; lifting me up and supporting me in a sitting posture, and that more tenderly than I had ever been raised or upheld before” (Bronte 15). All the obove evidence shows that color black is the most favorite color used to express Fear, death, mystery and power in

literature.

In another part story “Black Bargain” by Robert Bloch the color black is used in many places.

The store keeper expressed the houses with black color as fantastic and mysterious.

In the same story the color black represented death. Of all mysteries, death may have been the biggest. Ancient people were completely “in the dark” about what would happen to them after death, and so it was (and is) represented by the color black in many cultures.

In addition, in the story “Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator explained his owning of animals and how they are all black. He also raised the idea of black cat and how it was believed to be bad or witches, as the narrator states: “this latter was a remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree. In speaking of his intelligence, my wife, who at heart was not a little tinctured with superstition, made frequent allusion to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise” (Poe 1). First it looks like he doesn’t believe in the past allusion which says black cats are witches, but if we closely see the story, his violent action on the cat when he came back drunk seems like he was imagining the past belief or allusion about the black cat and it looks like such fear turned him to be violent. From these readers can conclude that the color black on the animals represented fear.

By closely reading the supernatural story “Black Bargain” by Robert Bloch, “Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, readers can easily see how the color black is represented in the story. The readers can find color black ample of times representing mystery, power, fear and death and can easily conclude that color black is the most favorite color in

Literature to represent mystery, fear, death and power.