Symbolism in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gats《了不起的盖茨比》中的象征手法.doc

Symbolism in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby 了不起的盖茨比中的象征手法 OUTLINEIntroductionThe Great Gatsby narrates a young mans dream of pursuing love and money, however, after a series of his fantastic and romantic action, he finally disillusions. F.Scott Fitzgerald puts his own experience towards that time into the protagonists life, and vividly emerges the American Dreams deterioration by using symbolism, which connects the objective and the subjective, and fuses the individual with the outer world and the personal emotion with social environment. This paper will focus on how the symbolism achieves the above functions.I. The application of symbolism connecting the objective and the subjective 1.1 the symbolic meaning of several typical places 1.1.1 the special annotation in the valley of ashes and New York City 1.1.2 West Egg and East Egg, two of the most important locales, corresponding to the particular thematic idea or character types 1.2 the symbolic meaning of several typical objects 1.2.1 House and car symbolizing material wealth and individual status. 1.2.2 Colors bridging symbols and meanings.II. The application of symbolism surpassing the narrow individual world, typifying as well amplifying individual experiences. 2.1 To some degree, The Great Gatsby is an autobiographical novel.2.2 Fitzgeralds individual experience relating with the fall of American Dream. 2.2.1 Fitzgerald amplifying his individual experience 2.2.2 The American Dreams deterioration Conclusion In summary, Fitzgeralds application of symbolism in The Great Gatsby bears realistic significance at the Jazz Age. His concept about individual and society, ideal and dream has greatly surpassed his time and gained power of sublimation, as Howard Wolff said, “Fitzgerald is the spokesman and epitome of his generation, not satisfied with status quo, and of our generation as well.” Symbolism in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby了不起的盖茨比中的象征手法ABSTRACT The application of symbolism in The Great Gatsby connects the objective with the subjective in writing technique and in thought surpasses the narrow individual world, typifying as well amplifying individual experience, which is the reason of American Dreams deterioration.KEY WORDS: objective, subjective, symbolism, American dreams deterioration 摘 要了不起的盖茨比中，象征手法的运用，在写作技巧上融合了主客观；在思想上超越了狭隘的个人世界，既是个人经历的典型代表，也使其经历延伸化，延伸化的结果正是美国梦的衰落。关键词:主观，客观，象征手法，美国梦的衰落 Introduction The two decades between WWand WWwere a golden age of American fiction. Fitzgerald, as a member of “the lost generation”, published his The Great Gatsby in 1925 and confirmed his status as a chronicler and poet laureate in the Jazz Age. He was once credited by T.S. Eliot for “the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James, because Fitzgerald depicted the extolled grandest and most boisterous, restless, and merrymaking scene”, and through what he knew or indirectly experienced he discovered the disillusionment that “a generation grown up to find all God dead, all wars fought, all faith in man shaken”. Whats more, he depicted the postwar unprecedented boom of material revelry and at the same time presented the disappointment of the postwar generation for America, the concern for the loss of conventional values and ideals, and the regret for the disillusionment of American Dream.The Great Gatsby which narrated a young mans dream of pursuing love and money, however, after a series of his fantastic and romantic action, he finally disillusioned, is well-known as the most mature work of Fitzgerald, no matter in writing technique or in thought. He overcame the precious flaws and applied symbolism to present moral decline of his contemporary times from the view of Nick. The application of symbolism makes his work connect the objective and the subjective, surpass the narrow individual world, typifying as well amplifying individual experiences. Symbolism, as a unique artistic technique, has two important meanings according to the definition from Webster: One is to explain invisible things by using visible symbols; the other is the connection and relation between symbols and meanings. Hence symbolism in fiction aims to present the hidden things and thoughts under phenomenon. Fitzgerald himself had the experience, from an obscure poor to a new talent in the literary world, from overnight success to excessive hedonism, so he could vividly depict the mysterious and desirous wealth of Gatsby and unfold before our eyes a blazing picture of the Jazz Age. However, what makes Fitzgerald great is by no means the “authors voice” in the work, but his marvelous wit to symbolically connect the objective and the subjective, and fuse individual with the outer world and personal emotion with the social environment. From the understanding and annotation of the whole age, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920 as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music-epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night-resulted ultimately in the corruption of American values.I. The application of symbolism connects the objective and the subjectiveAccording to Websters definition of symbolism: symbolism is the connection and relation between symbols and meanings, however, symbols only have meaning when characters instill them with meaning.1.1 The symbolic meaning of several typical places Several typical places, including the valleys of ashes and New York City, West Egg and East Egg, are molded to unhide invisible things or to reveal the theme.1.1.1 The special annotation in the valley of ashes and New York CityThe valley of ashes, wasteland of ash heaps, is a picture of absolute desolation and poverty. It lacks a glamorous surface and lies fallow and gray halfway between West Egg and New York, where the mechanization of modern life destroys all the past values. The valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay hidden by the beautiful facades of the Eggs, and suggests that beneath the ornamentation of West Egg and the mannered charm of East Egg lies the same ugliness as in the valley. It also symbolizes the plight of the poor character in the novel, like George Wilson, husband of Toms lovers, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result. The modern world in Nicks view is that God is dead, and man makes a valley of ashes; he corrupts ecology, the American Dream and desecrates it. New York City is in every way the opposite of the valley of ashes-it is loud, garish, abundant, and glittering. While Tom is forced to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet in the valley of ashes, in New York he can appear with her in public, even among his acquaintances, without causing a scandal. Even Nick, despite being Daisys cousin, seems not to mind that Tom parades his infidelity in public. Comparing with the valley of ashes, New York is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive, thrillingly fast-paced and dazzling to look at but lacking a moral center. There is a “quality of distortion” to life in New York, and this lifestyle makes Nick lose his equilibrium. After witnessing the unraveling of Gatsbys dream and presiding over the appalling spectacle of Gatsbys funeral, Nick realizes that the fast life revelry on the East Coast is a cover for the terrifying moral emptiness that the valley of ashes symbolizes.1.1.2 West egg and east egg, two of the most important locales, corresponding to the particular thematic ideas or character types.The relationship between geography and social values is an important motif in The Great Gatsby. West and east are two opposing poles of values: one is pure and idealistic, and the other is materialistic. The western states, including the Midwest, represent decency and the basic ethical principles of honesty, while the East is full of deceit emptiness and moral decay. The difference between East Egg and West Egg is a similar contrast in culture. Though each is home to fabulous wealth, and though they are separated only by a small expanse of water, the two regions are nearly opposite in the values they endorse. East Egg represents breeding, taste, aristocracy, and leisure, while West Egg represents ostentation, garishness, and the flashy manners of the new rich. East Egg is associated with the Buchanans and the monotony of their inherited social position, while West Egg is associated with Gatsbys gaudy mansion and the inner drive behind his selfmade fortune. The unworkable intersection of the two Eggs in the romance between Gatsby and Daisy will serve as the fault line of catastrophe. Each of the four important geographical locations in the novelWest Egg, East Egg, the valley of ashes, and New York Citycorresponds to a particular theme or type of character encountered in the story. West Egg is like Gatsby, full of garish extravagance, symbolizing the emergence of the new rich alongside the established aristocracy of the 1920s. East Egg is like the Buchanans, wealthy, possessing high social status, and powerful, symbolizing the old upper class that continued to dominate the American social landscape. The valley of ashes is like George Wilson, desolate, desperate, and utterly without hope, symbolizing the moral decay of American society hidden by the glittering surface of upper-class extravagance. New York City is simply chaos, an abundant swell of variety and life, associated with the “quality of distortion” that Nick perceives in the East. Additionally, the East is connected to the moral decay and social cynicism of New York, while the West (including Midwestern and northern areas such as Minnesota) is connected to more traditional social values and ideals.1.2 The symbolical meaning of several typical objectsObject is like place, having typically symbolical meaning to reveal obscure things, which facilitate readers to master the novels realistic significance. 1.2.1 House and car are the symbolizing material wealth and individual status Gatsbys house which was “a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville” suggests that Gatsby, the man who had achieved instant richness, imitated old aristocrats and tried to merge into upper classes, which shows his vanity and vulgarity; Toms “Georgian colonial mansion” is the represent of his status as a hereditary aristocrat; Nicks house, which was “squeezed between two huge places” and was “a weatherbeaten bungalow” suggests his position and his envy toward money when his first settling in west Egg. Gatsbys mansion was “sparking new under a thin beard of raw ivy” while Toms had the lawn“drifting up the side in bright vines”, subtly suggesting their common moneypursuit psychology and as well symbolizing the existing difference between them, who respectively represented their own classs population and history elements. Selfmade millionaires like Gatsby, though from illegal means to achieve wealth, are after all“thin”and quite a few; however, the property inherited and selforiented selfish parasites are “bright” and thriving.Car is like house, tending to be associated with the materialism of American Dream. Nick only had a shabby car; Wilson lived on carrepairing; Tom fooled Wilson by using his bait; Gatsby had two nice yellow cars to receive guests. To Gatsby, car is not only a means of showing off but also a means of redeeming his primary lover Daisy. However the traffic accident of Mrs. Wilson caused by the car brought about the ruin of Gatsby and Wilson, which were what they finally paid for love. The two different idealists, for their respective ideals, were killed by their own ideals who both loved Tom. Therefore car, as the symbols of material wealth, at the same time becomes the symbols of ruin, implying the disillusionment of ideals based on material. American Dreams ruin, to most extent, is on one hand the result of excessively chasing materialistic indulgence, on the other hand the result of ignoring the existing of spiritual pleasure. 1.2.2 Colors bridging symbol and meaningColors, in the realistic world, are often used to represent peoples mood. For instance, blue is equal to melancholy; white is the synonym of being pure; and yellow is associated with coward. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald excels in impressing people deeply by the application of a series of colors, which serve as a bridge, connecting symbols and meanings.At Nicks first arrival at Buchanans mansion, there was “a bright rose-colored space” in front of him. “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seeded to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags twisting them up towards the frosted wedding cake of the ceiling, and the rippled over the winecolored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea”. Daisy and Jordon were “both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.” In this scene, there are a lot of sensual hues, such as rosy color, white (clothes or cake), green (grass), winecolor, and blue (sea), constituting an imagist picture in which the most noticeable are the two ladies in white, white is the symbol of purity and in Gatsbys eyes, Daisy “in white” is the pure Goddess and his restless pursuit. However, compared with other colors, white has no hue. No color. No content. No essence. These are from the main character of Daisy. This symbol of void is with Daisy all the time because she didnt know “what will we plan?” all the day. Daisy belongs to the kind of frequently appearing heroines in Fitzgeralds work who was “with lovely and appealing appearance, romantic but parasitic and apathetic.” And Nicks opinion about her was that “They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and left other people clean up the mess they had made.” Its no doubt that the significance of the tragedy of Gatsby lies in that he attaches all hope to the void, irresponsible and immoral body and his idealism is like the rippling and fluttering dresses which are essentially void and empty despite their purity and beauty. II. The application of symbolism surpassing the narrow individual world, typifying as well amplifying individual experience Except for symbolism of places and objects, the symbolism of hero also evidently plays a vital role throughout the novel, representing in the two detail aspects below.2.1 To some degree, The Great Gatsby is an autobiographical novel. Many events from Fitzgeralds early life appear in his m