Colors make great symbolism for writers. Colors can represent stages of life, things people love or hate, religious values, secular values, or just about anything else. Color can be used to represent one object or can be a recurring theme in a story or book. Of all the colors, black has some of the strongest associations which makes a great color for writers.
What Is Black?
Black is the darkest color produced by the absorption of all colors of the visible spectrum. Something black does not reflect light. Black has been compared to a moonless night and deep space. It has been used to represent evil, wickedness, death, a depressed state of mind, anger, morbid or grim humor, major disasters, censure or dishonor, coffee with no milk or cream, secretive or intelligence operations (black ops, black propaganda, black radio transmissions), anything not disclosed for security reasons, and utter darkness. Black can be used for clothing, everyday objects (kitchen appliances, checkers, iron tools), and cars (esp. hearses and limos); even wall paint as a symbol of an event occurring in the story or of the person being about.
Death
Death, and the mourning that comes with it, is probably the primary occasion for the use of black. Hearses are black. People wear black to funerals. Black wreaths used to be hung on doors following a death. People sometimes wore black armbands after a family member died. The grim reaper is frequently seen as a black figure. The 14th century bubonic epidemic that kill so many people became known as "the black death." Because it reflects no light, black is seen as a somber color, much as death is seen as a somber event. In the Catholic liturgy black is used for funerals and the mass for the dead known s the Requiem Mass.
Darkness, Midnight, the Dead of Night
Black is associated with the absence of light as in darkness, midnight, the middle of the night, the dead of night, the witching hour, the wee hours of the night, after dark, blackest before dawn, dusk to dawn, and nighttime.
Destruction
Black is associated with major, catastrophic disasters and destruction. The Hindu god of destruction, Kali, is depicted as black in color.
Evil
Black depicts evil, the underworld, the devil or anyone drawing power from the devil, and black magic. Anyone seen as being disgrace upon one's family is called the black sheep. Black is found in the deepest parts of the mind, from which evil acts are said to generate, causing a person to make mad moral choices. Evil characters usually wear black such as the black hat in the old western movies or Darth Vader.
Black Magic
Black magic includes any magic spells, incantations, charms and the like that are intended to cause someone harm or stir up fear. Black magic sometimes also includes any spells intended to manipulate a person's free will. They are considered to be extremely dangerous if they backfire especially if one considers that spells are supposed to return to the sender threefold.
Black Water Fever
Black fever covers any disease - either human or animal - that is characterized by dark urine caused by rapid breakdown of red blood cells.
Black Ice
Black ice is a thin layer of ice that is transparent. It's invisibility is due to the lack of air bubbles in the ice. It makes pavement quite slippery and drivers never see it before they hit it, making it one of the main causes of winter driving accidents.
Black Friday
September 24, 1869 was a day of financial panic in the US, when a small group of American financial speculators tried to get the support of federal officials to help the corner the gold market. When the government gold was released for sale, the attempt to corner the gold market failed on that Friday, Sept. 24, 1869. Thousands of people were financially ruined by this event, and so the event became known as Black Friday. Since then, any time a financial panic occurs, it is referred to as a Black Friday. In recent decades, though, the term Black Friday has come to be associated with the first serious Christmas shopping day that occurs on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US. It is so called because it begins the season of heavy shopping which puts retailers "in the black" financially, or ensures that they will not end the year "in the red." So in this sense, the term "Black Friday" could be used by writers to indicate a financial calamity or the avoidance of a financial meltdown.
Resources
American Heritage Dictionary.
Wikipedia. Black Death.
Wikipedia. Symbols of Death.
Boddy-Evans, Marion. About.com. Art Symbols Dictionary - Death.
Catholic Online. Liturgical Colors.
Thesaurus.com..
Urban Dictionary
Spells of Magic. Black Magic.
Kyrnin, Jennifer. About.com. Visual Color Symbolism Chart by Culture.
Weather Online. Glaze and Black Ice.
Columbia Encyclopedia. Black Friday.
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