This is the sixth in an irregular series about the use of color in writing. It began with "It's not Easy Bein' Green" in October 1998, followed by "Blue Christmas" in December of that year. The third, "When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple," may be found in the March 15, 1999 issue. The fourth, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" was published May 18, and the fifth, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in the October 25th issue. (All of these are also posted on the table of contents page
You can use color to add authenticity to your writing in at least two ways: by using more precise wording when you refer to a color, and by being aware of the connotations attached to various colors. Because red is such a rich color, this article will be part one of the look at it. Part two will be in next month's issue. |
"You can use color to add authenticity to your writing..." |
Red in the Crayon Box | As always, starting with the crayon box, there are nine colors of red. Toward the blue side of red are red violet, violet red, mulberry, and magenta. Towards the orange side are brick red, red orange, orange red. We also have the color called simply red. Outside the crayon box we have cerise (a moderate red), cherry red, sanguine (blood red), scarlet, raspberry, fire engine red, ruby, crimson, vermilion (a brilliant reddish orange), damask (a grayish red), gules (heraldic red), incarnadine (a blood red), and garnet (a dark red). In addition, we have the light red that we call pink, and its variations. |
Red has many varying connotations. It is associated with two holidays, Christmas and Valentine's Day, and is the color of love and passion. For much of the world it is a patriotic color, being part of many flags. It is also the color of war, of blood. In the musical version of Les Miserables, the flag of the revolutionaries is red, and they sing "Red - the blood of angry men! ... Red - a world about to dawn!" By extension, red is a masculine color: ads for liquor, sports cars, and Marlboro cigarettes are often red. Red calls us to stop in stop signs or red traffic lights. It can indicate danger, with flashing lights, including fire engines, police cars, and the red alerts of Star Trek. It is the color of dryness, of deserts, as the color of the planet Mars. If you have ever been to a place, such as Colorado, where huge red rocks rise out of a desert-like landscape, you will know that red can also be the color of grandeur. It is the color of heat (infrared) and of fire, but can also indicate health, as red blood cells carrying oxygen, and ruddy cheeks. Finally, red can mean loss in a financial sense, as red ink, and getting out of the red. | The Various Associations of Red |
"Red is the warmest of the warm colors" | Red is the warmest of the warm colors. Acting just the opposite of blue, it tends to raise the blood pressure, quicken breathing, increase appetite, and reduce self-restraint. This may be why some junk foods like pizza or Coke are associated with red. People who wear red tend to be ambitious, energetic, and active. It is associated with passion, intensity, fierceness, and sometimes rage. It is no mistake that we think of redheads having quick tempers. Red is definitely not the color for doctor's offices, or bedrooms you intend to sleep in. If your character acts like the above, you may want to have him or her dress in red, or surround him/herself with red. |
Red occurs in many phrases. Some are: red hot (either very warm or slang for hot dog), caught red-handed (caught in the act), red herring (a false clue in a mystery), code red (an emergency), Red scare (the worry about Communists, especially in the 1950s in the US), red tape (the official procedure to get something done), red light district (home of the ladies of the night), get out of the red (get on a financially sound footing), red-blooded (courageous), red neck (a rural laborer, and by extension, someone with a narrow, usually conservative viewpoint), red caps who take your bags at the airport, red shift (a shift of the spectrum of stars towards the red end indicating they are moving away from us), putting out the red carpet (treating someone like royalty), red eye express (a plane which leaves in the middle of the night), red letter day (a day something memorable happens), red line (a banking term meaning to withhold home loan funds from neighborhoods considered poor economic risks), red line (to censor), red out (a sudden airplane dive when the blood rushes to the head and causes a reddening in the vision field) and red letter edition (a Bible where Jesus' words are printed in red). There is also red shirt from Star Trek, which refers to the uniform color of security personnel in the original series. They were notoriously expendable, and figured in the title of a now out of print book, Why You Should Never Beam Down in a REd Shirt : and 749 More Answers to Questions About Star Trek (Harper, 1996) by Robert W. Bly. Needless to say, this is the source of the title of this article. | Red in Phrases |
Red in The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood uses colors to distinguish classes in The Handmaid's Tale. Set in the near future when pollution has made most women sterile, those who can still bear children but are not married are set apart by clothing like a red nun's habit. The color they wear describes them and their function in that society. This makes the narrator of the story who is one of these handmaids, conscious of colors. "I get up out of the chair, advance my feet into the sunlight, in their red shoes... The red gloves are lying on the bed... Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us." "...some fairy-tale figure in a red cloak, descending towards a moment of carelessness that is the same as danger. A Sister, dipped in blood." "The tulips along the border are redder than ever, opening, no longer wine cups but chalices; thrusting themselves up, to what end?" |
Another memorable use of red is the beginning of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers, to emphasize the fact that Harriet Vane will almost certainly be found guilty of murder. "There were crimson roses on the bench; they looked like splashes of blood." This is contrasted near the end when she has been vindicated: "There were golden chrysanthemums on the judge's bench; they looked like burning banners." | Red in Strong Poison |
Coming Next Month | Next month's article will cover red in nature, including animals, plants, and food. It will also mention red in packaging of materials, red in the titles of books and stories, and how various professions interpret red. Until then, being aware of what colors mean to your characters--and to you--can make your stories richer and stronger. |