象征主义在《了不起的盖茨比》中的运用SymbolisminTheGreatGats英语论文

1、河南科技学院新科学院河南科技学院新科学院 20122012 届本科毕业论文届本科毕业论文 symbolism in the great gatsby 象征主义在了不起的盖茨比中的运用 symbolism in the great gatsby contents acknowledgments .i abstract in english .ii abstract in chinese.iii i. introduction .1 1.1 fitzgerald and the great gatsby.1 1.2 previous research on the great gatsby.3 i

2、i. symbolism.5 2.1 the definition of symbolism.5 2.2 symbolism in literature works .6 iii. symbolism in the great gatsby.8 3.1 symbolism in colors.8 3.1.1 green .8 3.1.2 white.10 3.1 symbolism in settings.11 3.1.1 east egg and west egg .11 3.1.2 the valley of ashes.13 3.1 symbolism in animals.15 3.1

3、.1 the dog.15 3.1.1 the moth .16 iv. the effects of symbolism in the great gatsby.17 4.1 the effect of symbolism in colors.17 4.2 the effect of symbolism in settings.18 4.3 the effect of symbolism in objects19 v. conclusion.19 bibliography .21 acknowledgments this paper could not have been completed

4、 without the help of a number of people. here i would like to express my sincere, heartfelt gratitude to those who have figured 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 i

5、ndebted to my supervisor zhang xuena, who has afforded me pithy scholarly advice and corrected my paper patiently. i am also 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

6、and my parents support me materially and spiritually. they bought me some journals and books related to my paper. i am really grateful to my family. abstract francis scott key fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the twentieth centurys greatest writers and considered as a member of the“lost gener

7、ation”of the twenties. the great gatsby is widely accepted as a classic of american literature. it is not only a great story, 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 fi

8、rst part introduces fitzgerald and the great gatsby. the second part describes the symbolism of the specific meaning, and the 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 grea

9、t gatsby. the fifth part is the conclusion, this part gives the prominence to the theme again, and explains fitzgeralds special 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

10、 also lies in fitzgeralds original and successful use of symbolism in the novel to depict his view, especially of his own times. 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 gatsb

11、y. key words: fitzgerald, the great gatsby, symbolism 摘摘 要要 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

12、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：关键词：弗司格特菲茨杰拉德， 了不起的盖茨比 ，象征主义 i. introduction 1.1 fitzgerald and the great gatsby francis scott fitzgerald (september 24, 1896

13、december 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 widely regarded as one of the twentieth centurys greatest writers and considered as a member of the “lost generation” of the 1920s. the great ga

14、tsby is widely accepted as a classic of american literature, which is published in 1925. the 1920s proves the most influential decade of fitzgeralds development. fitzgeralds marriage is mixedboth destructive and constructive. fitzgerald draws largely upon his wifes intense and flamboyant personality

15、 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 review 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 d

16、isappeared shortly after my marriage, and also scraps of letters, which though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar. in fact, mr. fitzgeraldi believe that is how he spells his nameseems to believe that plagiarism begins at home” ( bruccoli, 2000: 6 ). but the impact of zeldas personalit

17、y 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 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

18、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 makes friends with his neighbor, the mysterious jay gatsby. gatsby, the title character and protagonist of the novel, is entertaining hundred

19、s of guests at lavish parties. gatsby tells nick that he falls in love with nicks cousin, daisy. however, daisy married affluent tom buchanan. gatsby persuades 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. gatsb

20、y 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 the 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 fatall

21、y 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 no forwarding address. fitzgerald can animatedly describe the mysterious and desired wealth of gatsby, as he had the experiencesfrom an indist

22、inct 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 voice” in the novel, but symbolically weld the outer- world with the individual and the social environment with the personal emotions inconce

23、ivably. 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 the new lifestyle alluring and appealing; like gatsby, he has long been yearning for the very rich. then fitzgerald found himself in this er

24、a, 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 destructive. in many respects, the novel indicates fitzgeralds effort to face his incompatible feelings about the jazz age. just like gatsby, fitzge

25、rald 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 period, in which the american economy upswings, bringing extraordinary levels of prosperity to the states. prohibition was the political forbi

26、ddance of producing, transporting and selling alcoholic beverages. the eighteenth amendment was imposed in 1917 and was abolished in 1933. it gives birth to millionaires by bootlegging. the hip flask, filled with “bootleg” whiskey and displayed openly, soon became a familiar symbol of the era. every

27、 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 the people who fought the war turned to furious and excessive living to compensate. the staid conservatism and timeworn values of the previ

28、ous 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 of real life during the “roaring twenties”. ( byan bryan, 1991: 80) 1.2 previous research on the great gatsby critics have generally agree

29、d 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 for the american dream of wealth and happiness, but also the larger questions of fading traditional values in the face of increasing materi

30、alism and cynicism. early reviews of gatsby were mixed, and relatively few copies actually had sold before fitzgeralds death in 1940. many critics, most notably ernest hemingway, were put off by the fact that fitzgerald had been known as a writer of stories for popular magazines like the saturday ev

31、ening 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 continued to attract critical attention and reappraisal. critics have praised fitzgeralds tightly woven narrative, and many have focuse

32、d 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 novel 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

33、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 interest in fitzgeralds novels remains unabated. earlier critics of gatsby emphasized biographical and cultural influences on the novel,

34、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, both heavily theoretical and non-theoretical, have been evident in critics commentaries. while many have continued to explore biographica

35、l influences or comparisons with other authors, or to use new critical analyses, others have increasingly employed such techniques as deconstruction, feminist criticism, and discourse analysis to uncover hidden meanings in the text. now people still keep reading the novel. many people analyze it tho

36、ugh different perspectives, such as the stylistic perspective or structuralism,“by using these narrative skills fitzgerald makes the reader possible to keep some aesthetic distance from the events and the characters in the story.”(liu li, 2008: 45) a lot of the critical attention has been on the the

37、meamerican dream. “ the american dream has ultimately becomes corrupt with gradual overemphasis laid on its material. fitzgerald keenly detects the tendency of corruption in the 1920s and gives somber reflection on in his novel the great gatsby ” (hua suyang, 2002：12) “binary oppositions underlie th

38、e 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, quite different sceneries would be enjoyed. structuralism opens another window for us.”(zhang junling, 2002：38) besides the excelle

39、nt 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 times. and this thesis studies the symbolism in the great gatsby. symbolism, as a unique art

40、istic 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 between symbols and meaning. hence symbolism in fiction aims to present the hidden things and thoughts under phenomena. the employme

41、nt 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 objective. symbolism transcends the plot, the characterization and moral message of the story. the employment of symbolism brings the the

42、mes 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 the story is. ii. symbolism 2.1 the definition of symbolism the dictionary defines the word symbolism as, “the use of symbols to rep

43、resent ideas, especially in art and literature”. (a s hornby, 2011:1792) referring to symbolism, says the encyclopedia britannica, originated in the rebellion of some french poets of the late 19th century against the rigid conventions governing both technique and theme in traditional french poetry.

44、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 of highly symbolized language. their goal was to create an art that would convey the poets own “inner dream”. the evocative power

45、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 influence on the european and american literature of the 20th century. just as dialogue and plot work on the surface to move the s

46、tory 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 through symbolism, giving the event, the person a new meaning, and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence, or n

47、ot 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 offers the reader a concrete object that actually has a broader, abstract meaning to the story. this object can be a person, an an

48、imal 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, therefore, is an integral component of fiction, because it enriches the narrative subtly. in addition, symbolism is a satisfactory way

49、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 experience. 2.2 symbolism in literature works just as characterizati

50、on and 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. early in the development of the fictional narrative, symbolism was often produced through allegory, giving the literal event and its allegorical cou

51、nterpart a one-to-one correspondence. in john bunyans pilgrims progress, for example, everything and everyone stands for something else. the protagonist christian, to no ones surprise, stands for every christian reader; his goal, the celestial city, stands for heaven; the places through which he pas

52、ses on his waylucre hill, vanity fair, and the like - stand for the temptations bunyan felt that christian readers were likely to encounter on their journey to salvation. even the names of christians fellow travelersmr. feeble- mind, great-heart, and the likerepresent not individual characters but s

53、tates of being. (john bunyan, 2005: 124) allegory is undoubtedly the simplest way of fleshing out a theme, but it is also the least emotionally satisfying because it makes things a little too easy on the reader. we feel that we are being lectured to; its almost as if the author is stopping every sen

54、tence or two to say, “now pay special attention to this, because if you dont remember it, you wont get the point.” essentially, allegory insults our intelligence. allegory also, however, limits our perceptions. the best works of literature are those in which an element of mystery remainsthose which

55、lend themselves to a variety of interpretations. strict allegory seldom does this, which is why religious allegory is generally less satisfying than the scriptural story on which it was based. to take allegory to the next higher level, we arrive at something that for want of a better term can be cal

56、led symbolism. at this level, there is still a form of correspondence, and yet it is not so one-to-one, and certainly not so blatant. whereas allegory operates very consciously, symbolism operates on the level of the unconscious. this does not mean that the author himself is unconscious of the proce

57、ss of creating symbolismmerely that we, as readers, accept its input without really understanding how it works. in shakespeares hamlet, for example, we discover that hamlet is fascinated with actors and acting. upon reflection, an astute reader realizes that this is because hamlets whole life has be

58、come unreal; he is being haunted by the ghost of his father, his father turns out to have been murdered by his uncle, his mother has married his fathers murderer. the motif of the actors is a symbol for the unreality of hamlets life. similarly, near the beginning of f. scott fitzgeralds novel the gr

59、eat gatsby, there is the famous scene of the valley of ashes where tom buchanans mistress myrtle lives. although fitzgerald never says so, it is clear that the valley of ashes represents the real state of toms soul; although to the outside world his residence is in a mansion on the beautiful bay at

60、east egg, where everything is opulent and expensive and tasteful, the inwardly rotten, spiritually desiccated tom really lives where his “heart” does, in a grim ashen valley presided over by a billboard decorated with a huge pair of bespectacled eyes. the eyes represent god, who sees toms actions an