Abstract

Fitzgerald is a famous writer of American 20th century. One of his greatest works The Great Gatsby, describing a real social picture of the 1920s America, does not only deeply reveal the disillusionment of the “American Dream”, but also reflects the author’s exploration and reconsideration on a social ideal of pursuing the “American Dream”. This thesis will analyze the fiction through the perception of symbolism. It mainly includes three aspects. Firstly, it introduces the definition of symbolism and symbolism in literature; next, it analyzes symbolism in The Great Gatsby including object symbols, color symbols and character symbols. At last, it discusses the effects of symbolism in The Great Gatsby, which aims to explain the reason why The Great Gatsby can reflect the deep social motivation is that the fiction has been widely and successfully used symbolism, in order to reveal the theme.

Key words: The Great Gatsby; symbolism; color; object; character

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction1

2. Symbolism2

2.1 The definition of symbolism2

2.2 Symbolism in literature works.3

3. Symbolism in The Great Gatsby4

3.1 Symbolism in colors4

3.1.1 Green4

3.1.2 Yellow.5

3.1.3 White6

3.2 Symbolism in objects6

3.2.1 East Egg and West Egg6

3.2.2 The valley of ashes.7

3.2.3 Car7

3.3 Symbolism in characters.8

3.3.1 Symbol of Daisy.9

3.3.2 Symbol of Gatsby.9

3.3.3 Symbol of Tom.10

4. Effects of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby.10

4.1 The Effects of symbolism in colors.11

4.2 The Effects of symbolism in objects11

4.3 The Effects of symbolism in characters.12

5. Conclusion13

References.14