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3 Different Symbols in the Great Gatsby - 6 -
3.1 The Symbolism in Color - 7 -
3.2 The Symbolism in Settings - 10 -
3.3 The Symbolism in Characters - 12 -
4 The Symbolic Meaning in the American Dream and Disillusion of American Dream - 15 -
4.1 The Dream of Wealth - 15 -
4.2 The Dream of Status - 16 -
4.3 The Dream of Love - 16 -
5 Conclusion - 18 -
Bibliography - 19 -
1. Introduction
1.1 The Background of the Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby was a short story written by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story was based on the New York City and the Long Island in the 1920s. It is considered as the symbol of the “Jazz Age” in American Literature. This novel tells a story that a guy named Gatsby, who was a poor man from the lower class, dreamed to obtain the real happiness and love through his personal struggle, but eventually the dream shattered, and he himself had been killed due to other people’s frame-up. The whole encounters of Gatsby’s life were the true portrayal of the social life of Americans during the 1920s.
After the end of World War I and before the Great Depression came, the United Stated reached the unprecedented economic prosperity, and in the meantime, people’s moral changed dramatically under the new social background. There were singing and dancing all the time in order to celebrates the peace everywhere. The younger generation cast aside the traditional morals as well as values and lived a life of luxury and dissipation. The traditional moral rationale and religious beliefs fell collapsed under the impact of the new age. In 1925, The Great Gatsby was published, which reflected the life of the “Jazz Age” and performed the disillusionment of the “American Dream”. During the 21st Century, millions of copies of The Great Gatsby has been sold, and Gatsby, a constant best-seller, is required to be read in many high schools and college classes. In this story, Fitzgerald's poetic style as well as the romantic colors, depicts an American tragedy which was betrayed by the ideal.
The Great Gatsby is one of Fitzgerald’s most important literature works. It is not a long story, but it has a profound meaning due to Fitzgerald’s outstanding usage of symbolism skill. This novel has become an allegory of an age, and even an allegory about the American Dream.
1.2 The Summary of the Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby tells a story which is based on the narrative perspective of “I”, Nick. Nick was born in the west part of America, and he came to New York City to learn how to manage stocks aiming to make a great fortune. Nick lived in the Long Island, which was the neighbor of the hero of this story—Jay Gatsby. Gatsby was the most mysterious man that people at that age ever knew. He always organized splendid banquets in his palatial and garden-like house for free, which attracted hundreds and thousands of social celebrities to participate in this grand and gorgeous event. All the people admired Gatsby but there was nobody ever knew the real identity of Gatsby. Surprisingly one day Nick received an invitation to Gatsby’s banquet, and after he came to the party he found out that he was the only one who had ever been invited. At that party he formally met Gatsby and they started to know each other. After a few encounters, they gradually became friends, but as time passed by, Nick found out a secret that many years ago Gatsby fell in love with his cousin—Daisy, but at that time Gatsby was only a poor boy, thus making them hard to come together. And the most shocking truth was, Gatsby had never forgot Daisy, all the things he did and all the banquets he held was only to arouse Daisy’s interests and to meet her again. Under the help of Nick, Gatsby and Daisy finally met again on a day that rained heavily. Though Daisy was already married at that time, but when she saw all the things that Gatsby did for Daisy, the two heavily fell in love again. However, this was only the beginning of the tragedy. Once at a party, Daisy’s husband Tom noticed the unusual relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, he angrily exposed the fake experience of Gatsby as well as how he earned his money in an illegal way, while during the quarrel Daisy suddenly realized that she no longer loved Gatsby. Later on the way back to the city, Daisy accidentally ran over and killed the car dealer ’s wife, as well as her husband’s mistress—Myrtle. Due to Gatsby’s love towards Daisy, he stood up and protected Daisy. But eventually he was sadly killed by the car dealer because Tom’s frame-up. As a result, Gatsby lost his life while chasing his dream.