_了不起的盖茨比_中的象征意义探讨_英文_杨喜存

Artic le I D:1671-4067(2007)03-0075-03

Sy mbolis m i n The Great Gatsby

YANG X icun1HUANG X i aocheng2

(11F oreign A ffa irs O ffice,L anz hou P etroche m ica l Co llege of T echno logy,L anz hou730060,Ch i na;

2.P etro Ch i na the Second Constrction Company,L anzhou730060,China)

A bstract:The G reat Gatsby,is a work w ith strong practica l si g n ificance and trag ic flavor.

This paper,thr ough extracti n g and ana l y zing t h e sk illful e m ploy m ent o f sy m bo lis m i n aspects of characters and co lors i n the nove,l d iscusses the deep connotation that is i m parted to these sy m bo lic entities by the novelist and explains the decisi v e ro le of the sy m bolis m i n the nove l in shaping the fi g ures,deve l o ping the plot of the story,and deepen i n g the t h e m e o f the w ork.

K ey words:sy m bo lis m;characters;colors

CLC nu m ber:I042Docu m ent Code:A

1Introducti on

F.Scott Fitzgera l d,a fa m ous Am er i c an nove li s,t essayis,t screen w riter and dra m atis,t is a w riter ver y m uch of h is o wn ti m e.H is m asterp iece Th e G reat Ga tsby published i n1925i s a trag ic novel v i v idly te l-l i n g a story about a young m an,seeking for his drea m after retur n i n g to h is mo therland fro m the European battlefi e l d.H e w as fro m hav ing no thing to own i n g w ealth,and then w as dead.The novel is successful for its narrative sk il,l g raceful and de licate prose sty l e, and the e m ploy m ent of sy m bo lis m.No doubt the last one contributes much to it for the depth and broadness of the novel's the m e.In a certain deg ree,sy m bolis m runs thr ough the who le story.The i m ages,the charac-ters,and the co l o rs are a ll sy m bo ls and full of sy m bo lic m ean i n gs.Th is paper,thr ough ana l y zi n g t h e sk illful e m ploy m en t of sy mbolis m i n aspects of characters and co lors in the nove,l discusses t h e deep connotation that is i m parted these sy m bo lic entiti e s by t h e nove li s t and expla i n s the decisive role o f the sy m bo lis m in the novel i n shaping the fi g ures,developi n g the p l o t of the story, and deepen i n g t h e the m es o f the w ork.

2Sy mbolis m i n The G reat Gatsby

R ecei ved D ate:2007-05-23

Bi ography:Yang X i cun(1973-),m al e,born i n Gan s u,lect u rer 2.1The D efi n ition and Function of Sy m bol

/In literature a sy mbol is a thing that refers or suggests m ore than its litera l m ean i n g.0(袁宪军, 2004:229)It is an objec,t ani m ate or inani m ate,w hich goes beyond the ob jecti v e referent by evok i n g or sug-gesting to the reader a m eani n g on another leve,l a m eaning beyond itsel.f It goes beyond what the sign re-presen ts because it expresses a vast range of feelings and m eanings.Generally speak i n g,a literar y sy m bo l does not have a co mm on soc ial acceptance;it is a sy m-bo l the w riter adopts for the purpose o f h is wo r ks,and it is to be understood on l y i n the context o f that work. By using sy m bo ls the w riter conveys his m ean i n gs in a spec i a lw ay that w ill a llure the senses and e m oti o ns o f the readers.

2.2Sym bo lic Characters in The G reat Ga tsby

I n1920s,Am er i c a is i n the age o f ostentatious co m for.t/Am erican drea m0beca m e a k i n d o f be li e f and a pursuit of happi n ess.Am ericans believe that ever yone has equa l chance i n Am erica,can beco m e a m illionaire,and o wn happ i n ess.H o w ever,Fitzgera l d pours co ld w ater on the drea m1In the novel the author carefully characterizes a group of v iv i d and lifelike characters,and g i v es the characters deep sy m bo lized, connotati v e m eanings.Thr ough understanding and ex-pla i n i n g the sy m bo ls h i d den beh i n d the characters,w e can see G atsby s'noth i n gness and vu l g ar drea m,and a-l so see the l o ss o fAm erican va l u e syste m and the d isi-l lusion o fAm erican drea m.

2.2.1Jay G atsby

Gatsby as the her o i n the book is a trag ic charac-

第7卷第3期兰州石化职业技术学院学报V o.l7N o.3 2007年9月Journa l of L anz hou Pe tro che m ica l Co lleg e of T echno logy Sep.,2007