1、重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）iSYMBOLISM IN THE GREAT GATSBYA Thesispresented toThe College of Foreign LanguagesChongqing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsIn Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for the Degree ofBachelor of ArtsByYang ChunmeiJune 2014重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）ii摘 要象征主义是十九世纪末法国重要的文学思潮。第一次世界大战前，它传
2、播到欧洲多个艺术领域，许多作家认为，任何事物都应该有相应的内涵，内心世界和外部世界是相互渗透的，人们可以挖掘出隐藏在象征本体里的一切象征意义，因此，它提倡人们可以使用大量的意象来暗示微妙的内心世界，并将它们有机融合在一起。了不起的盖茨比是弗斯科特菲茨杰拉德最具代表性和最受欢迎的作品之一，长期以来国内外众多学者从不同角度进行研究。它强烈抨击了美国 20 世纪 20 年代物质主义盛行，人们内心世界的腐败和道德沦丧的社会现状。作者巧妙地运用象征手法向读者展示一个灯绿梦渺的美国梦。弗斯科特菲茨杰拉德挑选出小说中最能代表美国 20 世纪 20 年代期间社会现状的典型人物，通过他们各自对价值观截然不同的反
3、应和所采取的行为，以此表明美国梦破灭的必然性。关键词：象征主义；美国梦；物质主义；幻灭重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）iiiABSTRACTSymbolism was regarded as an important literary trend in France at the end of the nineteenth century. Before World War I, it spread to various art fields in Europe, the writers who were for it believed that anything should have co
4、rresponding meaning, the inner world and outer world were inducted each other, and people can dig out hidden symbolism from everything. Therefore, it advocated that people can use substantial images to suggest the subtle inner world, and blend two of them together skillfully, one of the unique charm
5、s in the novel The Great Gatsby is the abundant use of symbolsIn the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols to depict the various characters and deepen the theme; he connects the visual real world with the abstract inner world by using masses of potential symbolism, showing readers characteristics,
6、 personality as well as charms of protagonists vividly; meanwhile, the proper use of symbolism adds up infinite art charm and enhances ideological implication of the work, making the novel loved by a great number of readers. The Great Gatsby is one of the most representative and popular works of F.
7、Scott Fitzgerald, it strongly criticizes the richs priority for materialism and the loss of morality as well as their corruption of the inner world，also in the novel the social reality of the United States in 1920s is deeply exposed with numerous symbols by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In order to show read
8、ers a lively and bright plot, he elaborately arranges each section, taking the protagonists for example, F. Scott Fitzgerald picks out the most typical characters from different social classes in the novel to reflect their respective values during 1920s in the United States, according to their diffe
9、rent reactions and behaviors towards materialism and morality, the author aims to indicate the inevitable tragedy and evaporation of the American dream. Key words: symbolism, the American Dream, materialism, evaporation重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）ivOutlineTitle: Symbolism in The Great GatsbyThesis Statement: Sy
10、mbols in The Great Gatsby represent Gatsbys disillusions of the American Dream as well as the social moral loss.1. Introduction2. Symbolism of Colors2.1 Green: Dream and Hope2.2 White: Innocence and Beauty VS Evil and Horror2.3 Blue: Gloom, Peace and Fantasy2.4 Yellow: Power, Wealth and Status3. Sym
11、bolism of Protagonists3.1 Daisy: Selfishness and Materialism 3.2 Gatsby: visionary and tragic3.3 Nick: onlooking and Injustice 4. The American Dream in The Great Gatsby 4.1 The American Dream4.2 Disillusion of the American Dream4.3 Inevitable Evaporation of the American Dream5. ConclusionBibliograph
12、y重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）11 IntroductionThe United States had an unprecedented economic prosperity after World War I, the life quality of people showed an uprising trend, while their mental world was descending sharply under the brand- new social environment, that is, the younger generation of America were
13、addicted to hedonism regardless of the traditional religious beliefs and morality, they indulge themselves in the unprincipled recreation, excessively emphasizing on materials but ignoring mentality, which resulted in the disillusion of the American dream.The publication of The Great Gatsby in 1925
14、is the reflection of “the Jazz Age” “the period from 1918-1929, the years between the end of World War I and the start of the roaring twenties; ending with the rise of the Great Depression, the traditional values of this age see a sharp decline while the great American stock market soars.” (Wikipedi
15、a: the Jazz age) F. Scot Fitzgerald uses a unique narration way to describe heroGatsbys life. As a narrator, Nick is tired of his hometownMidwest life and comes to New York. He rents a small apartment in the suburb of West Egg. He is Daisys cousin, and neighbor of Gatsby who owns a luxurious mansion
16、. Gatsby and Daisy once love each other when they are young, but end up with Gatsbys poverty. Then he joins World War I, and Daisy marries Tom Buchanana wealthy guy and they give birth to a daughter. Five years later, the Buchanan move from Chicago to the west, and Nick starts to have frequent conta
17、cts with the Buchanan; during five years, Gatsby accumulates amounts of wealth by means of illegal activity and comes to New York following Daisy. He buys a luxurious villaGatsby mansion. Each Saturday he would hold a grand party to attract the married Daisy, fancying arousing her notice and restart
18、 the relationship. On an accidental occasion, Gatsby learns that Nick is Daisys cousin, so he begs Nick to arrange a meeting for them. After that date, both Daisy and Gatsby have frequent date. However, he gradually realizes that Daisy is vane and secular not as what she used to 重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）2be,
19、 Gatsbys beautiful dream finally breaks, but he still insists on her and has a glimmer of fantasy, which makes him suffer from a miserable outcome in the end. Later, Daisy drives Gatsbys car to run over and kills Toms mistress Myrtle Wilson after drunk driving, but Tom and Daisy put the blame on Gat
20、sby with conspiracy brutally, resulting in Gatsbys death by George Wilsons gun shot. While Daisy and Tom travel to Europe, there are only two peopleNick and Gatsbys father to attend Gatsbys funeral. Gatsby becomes a victim of selfish and cruel Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald describes a picture of tragic
21、 American dream with poetic language and ample colors. There are many symbols in the novel. Symbolism will be analyzed respectively from the following aspects: colors, protagonists and the American Dream will be mentioned. 重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）32 Symbolism of ColorsAmong so many symbols in the novel, mos
22、t of which are colors: white represents purity, innocence and emptiness, depravation; during the process of describing Gatsbys dream, green night becomes an important image, it means not only dream and hope, but also a bubble; besides, yellow means wealth, status and evil, and so on. The following p
23、art will illustrate different colors thoroughly. 2.1 GreenGreen is the color of nature, representing hope and dream. When he is seventeen, Gatsby wears a shabby green sweater, presenting an optimistic and hopeful image; when he falls in love with Daisy deeply, however, Gatsby is too poor to marry he
24、r. Daisy immediately marries a millionaire Tom Buchanan. So Gatsby struggles out from the bottom of society, though, he is not for a life of luxurious and material comforts, but for the “pure love”, which is an ideal and indescribable romantic illusion, a permanent expectation for him. After Gatsby
25、makes a fortune, he is still obsessed with his loveDaisy, he spares no effort to attract and pursue Daisy, since it is his only dream, in his mind, Daisy symbolizes all of what he dreams, in a word, Daisy is his hope, goals and incardination of love. And again at the end of the novel, it refers to g
26、reen: “Gatsby believes in the green night: the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before Man, it eludes Man then, but thats no mattertomorrow Man will run faster, stretch out his arms fartherand one fine morning.” (Fitzgerald 2013:113) here the symbolism of green night is Americans enthusias
27、tic and reckless pursuit for the illusory American Dream. In Gatsbys eyes, green night is his guide on the one hand, which makes him feel his dream is on the way and easy to grasp; on the other hand, it is so attractive, twinkling, and vague. Finally, when his ultimate dream is lost, the green light
28、 that symbolizes hope disappears forever from him, which leads to the access to dream becoming a 重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）4dark journey. F. Scott Fitzgerald links it with Gatsbys blind pursuit for Daisy purposely, making the green light have an obvious irony. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dr
29、eam is devastated by the excessive pursuit for materials, contributing to a futile effort. Green is Gatsbys hope, but it is his impractical pursuit for the green light that results in his tragedy.2.2 YellowYellow is a symbol of power, wealth and luxury. It is one of the most widely used colors in th
30、e novel. In order to regain his true love, Gatsby conveys abundant information all the time to Daisy: his gorgeous and expensive car that he takes is yellow; his tie that he wears while dating with Daisy is golden; his cars, food, bars that he owns when he holds various, luxurious, grand, illuminate
31、d banquets, are all yellow; his comb that is shown to Daisy is also purely golden; In addition, Daisy is regarded as the golden girl, her name is a kind of flower with the color of yellow ; Jordan Baker has a withered golden hair, and his arms are golden; two of girls in the banquets are with golden
32、 skirts; it is the golden cocktail music that is played in the banquets all the time; All of the yellow symbols represent a noisy, wealthy and money-oriented atmosphere, it seems that everywhere in the society is full of the color of yellow.During the Jazz age, money is a symbol of success and statu
33、s, people would rather desert their own moral conception and deceive each other without guilty just for money. In a word, yellow becomes seductive and charming, while Gatsbys tragedy results in the golden lie, he struggles for the color all of his life, but his dream is destroyed at last. In such ca
34、se, yellow symbolizes the characteristics of the society and the destiny of people.2.3 WhiteWhite generally symbolizes purity and innocence, but in the novel, it symbolizes horror and loneliness. The first time Daisy runs into Gatsby, she wears white clothes and drives a white car, which indicates t
35、hat Daisy is pure and elegant, but Daisys inner heart is hollow and shallow; she lives in a white palace-style 重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）5building and the curtains are white, all of which are a symbol of Daisys tiresome and empty spirit. White is a cold color, taking Daisys heart for instance, Gatsby almost u
36、ses up all of his youth and passion for her, including sacrificing himself, but she is so cold that ignores what Gatsby does for her and takes it for granted. In the eastern part of material world, her strong desire for money and material things has already twisted her into a greedy, selfish and vul
37、gar woman. Besides, from the perspective of Gatsby, there are also a lot of symbols related to the white color: the villa that Gatsby buys and the suits that he wears, which means that he is as hollow as Daisy, he has nothing to do but pursue Daisy, even Gatsby owns more and more wealth, he has no w
38、ay to save Daisys degraded soul, because it is the nature of Daisy. Gatsby spends his whole life on unpractical illusions, to some degree, he is rather stupid. Therefore, the color of white in the novel has a strong irony too. 2.4 Blue Blue is the color of the sky and the sea, which means a broad sc
39、ale, while it also means gloom and depression. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes something connected with dream and unreality. He uses blue to describe Gatsbys house: blue lawn that is an important part in his life, and blue garden; Gatsby also gets a blue navy clothes from the captain due
40、 to his upright characteristics. All of these symbolize Gatsbys dream and melancholy. In Chapter two of the novel, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue, with bleak look, watching the gray valley, indicating an unfortunate disaster. In the authors opinion, this is Gods eyes; she knows that Gat
41、sbys dream is doomed to fail, so her eyes are sad and gloomy. And George Wilson believes that Doctor T. J. Eckleburgs eyes are existence of God. After his wife dies by conspiracy:“He muttered, after a long silence. “I told her she might fool me but she couldnt fool God. I took her to the windowwith
42、an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against itand I said, “God knows what you have been doing, everything you have been doing. You may 重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）6fool me, but you cannot fool God!” standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was lookin
43、g at the blue eyes of doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night. ” (Fitzgerald 2013:100)In other words, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents the symbolisms of various colors vividly, green, on one hand, represents Gatsbys hope and dream, he is as energetic
44、as others; on the other hand, it seems like a prediction that Gatsby is doomed to fail. Yellow stands for wealth and status in the novel. Gatsby makes effort to climb up and accumulate money in order to cater for Daisy and prove that he also belongs to the upper class; actually, he never realizes hi
45、s illusion from the beginning to the end. White is a symbol of horror and ignorant, Daisy is a typical epitome of the Jazz age. Blue is a symbol of gloom and depression in the novel. Doctor T. J. Eckleburgs blue eyes seem to indicate the tragedy of all the people. Besides symbolisms of colors, the s
46、ymbols of protagonists are worth analyzing.重庆邮电大学本科毕业设计（论文）73 Symbolism of the ProtagonistsIt is evident that a vivid description of main character plays a key role in advancing the plots. The Great Gatsby selects several typical protagonists to reflect their different characteristics and values, an
47、d imply the hedonism during the Jazz age.3.1 Daisy Daisy is the heroine in the novel; she is Gatsbys dream love. As a typical material girl, she is a symbol of money. She is a girl with beautiful appearance, attractive eyes, and erogenous voice. Five years ago, the poor Gatsby falls in love with the
48、 wealthy girl at the first sight, but he is so poor that he cannot afford the wedding expenses, they have to end the relationship finally. Because in Daisys eyes, money is the only judge to measure anything, love is no exception. For her, money is the only almighty God, the true, the good, and the b
49、eautiful are not qualified to surpass it. Daisy once loves him, but when she finds Gatsby is penniless, she never hesitates to abandon him and turns to Tom who is wealthy and illustrious but vulgar. In the material world, Gatsbys love with Daisy is fragile and vulnerable. Daisy believes that love is not the bread of life, she is eager to live an abundant and carefree life. Actually, she is the incardination of the American Dream, which looks beautiful and pure, almost close to touch, but it is just an illusion, and finally vanishes. T
