Symbolism in The Great Gatsby象征主义在《了不起的盖茨比》中的运用.doc

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1、 Symbolism in The Great Gatsby象征主义在了不起的盖茨比中的运用ContentsAcknowledgmentsiAbstract in EnglishiiAbstract in ChineseiiiI. Introduction11.1 Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby11.2 Previous Research on The Great Gatsby3II. Symbolism52.1 The Definition of Symbolism52.2 Symbolism in Literature Works6III. Symbolis

2、m in The Great Gatsby83.1 Symbolism in colors83.1.1 Green8 3.1.2 White.103.1 Symbolism in settings113.1.1 East Egg and West Egg11 3.1.2 The Valley of Ashes.133.1 Symbolism in Animals.153.1.1 The Dog153.1.1 The Moth16IV. The Effects of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby.17 4.1 The Effect of Symbolism in C

3、olors.17 4.2 The Effect of Symbolism in Settings.18 4.3 The Effect of Symbolism in Objects19V. Conclusion.19Bibliography21AcknowledgmentsThis paper could not have been completed without the help of a number of people. Here I would like to express my sincere, heartfelt gratitude to those who have fig

4、ured most prominently over the last two years of my graduate study.For encouragement, support, and frank criticism at various stages of development of this paper, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Zhang Xuena, who has afforded me pithy scholarly advice and corrected my paper patiently. I am also

5、 grateful to my family and friends, without whose love and support I could not have completed this paper. During the process of writing the paper, I had been ill for some days and my parents support me materially and spiritually. They bought me some journals and books related to my paper. I am reall

6、y grateful to my family.21AbstractFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the twentieth centurys greatest writers and considered as a member of the“Lost Generation”of the Twenties. The Great Gatsby is widely accepted as a classic of American literature. It is not only a great story

7、, but an insight into the flows of real life during the“Roaring Twenties”. This paper analyzes the novel through the perspective of symbolism. It consists of five parts. The first part introduces Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby. The second part describes the symbolism of the specific meaning, and th

8、e use of it in literary works. The third part mainly discusses the application of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The fourth part focuses on the effects of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The fifth part is the conclusion, this part gives the prominence to the theme again, and explains Fitzgeralds spec

9、ial writing style of criticizing American dream. The author thinks that beside the excellent technique and style in narrative form and structure, its outstanding artistic merit also lies in Fitzgeralds original and successful use of symbolism in the novel to depict his view, especially of his own ti

10、mes. Therefore this paper will emphasize on elucidating the intangible meaning of these symbols to readers, so that readers can get the further understanding of The Great Gatsby. Key words: Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, symbolism 摘 要弗司格特菲茨杰拉德是20世纪20年代美国最杰出的作家之一，被誉为美国“爵士时代”的代言人和桂冠诗人。了不起的盖茨比是菲茨杰拉德的代表作

11、之一，其叙述技巧和结构方面的成就早已被评论界一致公认，并受到人们的广泛好评。本文立意象征主义的角度来分析这部作品，主要包括五部分。第一部分介绍了菲茨杰拉德和了不起的盖茨比。第二部分阐述了象征主义的具体含义，以及它在文学作品的运用。第三部分主要讨论象征主义在了不起的盖茨比中的运用。第四部分重点分析颜色、背景和事物的象征意义和作用。第五部分为总结，这一部分再次突出主题思想，并阐释了菲茨杰拉德批判美国梦的作品风格的与众不同。笔者认为他在小说中成功而广泛的运用了象征主义手法，突出了其主题思想，也使菲茨杰拉德批判美国梦的作品风格极为与众不同、富有张力。因此本论文着重向读者阐述这些象征手法的浓厚含义，使读

12、者能全面而深刻的了解作者笔下的了不起的盖茨比。关键词：弗司格特菲茨杰拉德，了不起的盖茨比，象征主义 I. Introduction1.1 Fitzgerald and The Great GatsbyFrancis Scott Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896December 21, 1940) is an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coins himself. He is

13、widely regarded as one of the twentieth centurys greatest writers and considered as a member of the “Lost Generation” of the 1920s.The Great Gatsby is widely accepted as a classic of American literature, which is published in 1925. The 1920s proves the most influential decade of Fitzgeralds developm

14、ent. Fitzgeralds marriage is mixedboth destructive and constructive. Fitzgerald draws largely upon his wifes intense and flamboyant personality in his writings, at times quoting direct passages from her letters and personal diaries in his work. Zelda, his wife, makes mention of this in a 1922 mock r

15、eview in the New York Tribune, saying that “it seems to me that on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously disappeared shortly after my marriage, and also scraps of letters, which though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar. In fact, Mr. FitzgeraldI be

16、lieve that is how he spells his nameseems to believe that plagiarism begins at home” ( Bruccoli, 2000: 6 ). But the impact of Zeldas personality on his work and life is often overstated, as much of his earliest writings reflect the personality of a first love, Ginevra King. In fact, the character of

17、 Daisy as much represents his inability to cultivate his relationship with King as it does the ever-present fact of Zelda.The Great Gatsby is regarded as the most mature work of Fitzgerald. Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a young man from Minnesota, goes to New York City as a bond broker. He quickly

18、 makes friends with his neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, the title character and protagonist of the novel, is entertaining hundreds of guests at lavish parties. Gatsby tells Nick that he falls in love with Nicks cousin, Daisy. However, Daisy married affluent Tom Buchanan. Gatsby persuade

19、s Nick to help him to win Daisy back but has made his money from bootlegging. Daisy hits and kills Myrtle Wilson by driving Gatsbys car. Gatsby intends to take the blame and protect Daisy. Tom tells Myrtles husband that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that t

20、he driver of the car which killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shoots himself. Nick arranges a small funeral for Gatsby, but he realizes only Gatsbys father and one former guest attendedDaisy and Tom move away, leaving

21、no forwarding address.Fitzgerald can animatedly describe the mysterious and desired wealth of Gatsby, as he had the experiencesfrom an indistinct poor to a new talent in the literary word, form arduous creative work to overmuch hedonism. However, what makes the author great is scarcely the “authors

22、voice” in the novel, but symbolically weld the outer-world with the individual and the social environment with the personal emotions inconceivably. After depicting the whole age, Fitzgerald reveals a vivid picture of the fall of American to usAmerican Dream. Like Nick in the novel, the author found

23、the new lifestyle alluring and appealing; like Gatsby, he has long been yearning for the very rich. Then Fitzgerald found himself in this era, like Nick, for one thing, he is captivated by the fast-tempo, Carousing lifestyle of New York. For another thing, he finds that lifestyle absurd and destruct

24、ive. In many respects, the novel indicates Fitzgeralds effort to face his incompatible feelings about the Jazz Age. Just like Gatsby, Fitzgerald can do everything for his lover, even the woman leads him toward everything he disdained.The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest literary works of that per

25、iod, in which the American economy upswings, bringing extraordinary levels of prosperity to the states. Prohibition was the political forbiddance of producing, transporting and selling alcoholic beverages. The Eighteenth Amendment was imposed in 1917 and was abolished in 1933. It gives birth to mill

26、ionaires by bootlegging. The hip flask, filled with “bootleg” whiskey and displayed openly, soon became a familiar symbol of the era. Every community of any size had their “speakeasies” where both imported and homemade alcohol cold be purchased. The World War I left America in a state of chaos, and

27、the people who fought the war turned to furious and excessive living to compensate. The staid conservatism and timeworn values of the previous decade were turned on their ears, as money, opulence, and exuberance became the order of the day. It is not only a great story, but an insight into the flaws

28、 of real life during the “Roaring Twenties”. ( Byan Bryan, 1991: 80)1.2 Previous Research on The Great GatsbyCritics have generally agreed that The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is the crowing achievement of Fitzgeralds literary career. It evokes not only the ambiance of the jazz-age searching fo

29、r the American dream of wealth and happiness, but also the larger questions of fading traditional values in the face of increasing materialism and cynicism.Early reviews of Gatsby were mixed, and relatively few copies actually had sold before Fitzgeralds death in 1940. Many critics, most notably Ern

30、est Hemingway, were put off by the fact that Fitzgerald had been known as a writer of stories for popular magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. It was not until a revival of Fitzgeralds works in the 1950s that the novel began to attract serious criticism. For the five ensuing decades, Gatsby has

31、 continued to attract critical attention and reappraisal. Critics have praised Fitzgeralds tightly woven narrative, and many have focused on the position of the narrator, Nick Carraway, and the subjective limitations of his observations of Gatsbys saga. Although Gatsby was for many years called “a n

32、ovel of the Jazz Age”, critics have agreed that it has a much more universal meaning, not the least of which is a trenchant critique of materialist American society much like T.S. Eliots The Waste Land. The appearances of at least four biographies in the 1990s and early 2000s is an indication that i

33、nterest in Fitzgeralds novels remains unabated. Earlier critics of Gatsby emphasized biographical and cultural influences on the novel, and formalist approaches dealt with the novels structure, point of view, symbols, use of language, and so on. From the 1980s to the 200s, a variety of approaches, b

34、oth heavily theoretical and non-theoretical, have been evident in critics commentaries. While many have continued to explore biographical influences or comparisons with other authors, or to use New Critical analyses, others have increasingly employed such techniques as deconstruction, feminist criti

35、cism, and discourse analysis to uncover hidden meanings in the text.Now people still keep reading the novel. Many people analyze it though different perspectives, such as the stylistic perspective or structuralism,“By using these narrative skills Fitzgerald makes the reader possible to keep some aes

36、thetic distance from the events and the characters in the story.”(Liu Li, 2008: 45)A lot of the critical attention has been on the themeAmerican Dream. “ The American Dream has ultimately becomes corrupt with gradual overemphasis laid on its material. Fitzgerald keenly detects the tendency of corrup

37、tion in the 1920s and gives somber reflection on in his novel The Great Gatsby ” (Hua Suyang, 2002：12)“Binary oppositions underlie the content of The Great Gatsby, and the pattern of actions structures the narrative of each character. As one picture is seen and appreciated form different perspective

38、, quite different sceneries would be enjoyed. Structuralism opens another window for us.”(Zhang Junling, 2002：38)Besides the excellent technique and style in narrative form and structure, its outstanding artistic merit also lies in Fitzgeralds original and successful use of symbolism in the novel to

39、 depict his view, especially of his own times. And this thesis studies the symbolism in The Great Gatsby. Symbolism, as a unique artistic technique, has two important meanings according to Webster: one is to explain invisible things by using visible symbols; the other is the connection and relation

40、between symbols and meaning. Hence symbolism in fiction aims to present the hidden things and thoughts under phenomena. The employment of symbolism plays a key role in the novel. The application of symbolism made this work surpass the narrow individual world, connecting the subjective with the objec

41、tive. Symbolism transcends the plot, the characterization and moral message of the story. The employment of symbolism brings the themes of the novels to a new height and contributes to its popularity. It was possible to see the relationship between the symbols and themes, what the hidden meaning of

42、the story is.II. Symbolism2.1 The Definition of SymbolismThe dictionary defines the word symbolism as, “the use of symbols to represent ideas, especially in art and literature”. (A S Hornby, 2011:1792) Referring to symbolism, says the Encyclopedia Britannica, originated in the rebellion of some Fren

43、ch poets of the late 19th century against the rigid conventions governing both technique and theme in traditional French poetry. They launched a literary movement that is late called the Symbolist Movement. The symbolist artists sought to express their emotion through the subtle and suggestive use o

44、f highly symbolized language. Their goal was to create an art that would convey the poets own “inner dream”. The evocative power of language was stressed, and the images and characters were presented in starling ways. This movement in the literary field and symbolist works had a strong and lasting i

45、nfluence on the European and American literature of the 20th century.Just as dialogue and plot work on the surface to move the story along, symbolism works under the surface to tie the storys external action to the theme. In the development of the fictional narrative, the allegory is often produced

46、through symbolism, giving the event, the person a new meaning, and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence, or not so one-to-one. In this way symbolism serves as a bridge connecting the visible with invisible, and thus reveals the meaning the author is tending to convey.Symbolism off

47、ers the reader a concrete object that actually has a broader, abstract meaning to the story. This object can be a person, an animal or something else. All these “objects” carry with them a wide range of association that stand for something that is beyond any accurate explanation. Symbolism, therefor

48、e, is an integral component of fiction, because it enriches the narrative subtly.In addition, symbolism is a satisfactory way to present the theme of a story; meanwhile it is emotionally satisfying, because it makes things easier on the readers part, giving them a role to play in interpreting the story and an opportunity to share the authors own emotional exp