Roses are generally used in reference to the Buchanans. In a literal sense, Tom's garden is filled to the brim with roses. Nick describes the view as “a half-acre of deep, prickly roses” (p. 7). Since roses often symbolize unconscious beauty, this sight creates a brilliant description of the essence of Tom's home. Nick comments that they don't need to ask Tom if he's rich, they just know that his house radiates beauty and wealth. Tom doesn't need to throw extravagant parties like Gatsby to make his financial situation known, his house speaks for him. The windows of Tom's house shine "with golden reflections" (p. 6) and Nick describes Tom's living room as a "bright rose-colored space" (p. 8). Additionally, roses are mentioned in much of the book's dialogue, symbolizing lasting love and privacy. The first night Nick has dinner at the Buchanans, Daisy tells Nick that he reminds her of "a rose, an absolute rose" (p. 14). Nick goes on to refute these claims, but they make sense in that Nick holds many of the plot's most sensitive secrets such as; Tom's lover, Gatsby and Daisy's relationship, and the truth behind Myrtle's death. On another point, later in the story, Gatsby describes how, after leaving for war, Daisy is surrounded by fresh young men who "wander here and there like rose petals" (p. 151), signaling