Symbols in the Great Gatsby

【Abstract】This paper analyzes the symbols in the book “The Great Gatsby” which include some particular places， objects， characters， settings and actions. These symbols are considered to have values different from what they are symbolized and most of them are connected to the theme of the novel-the corruption of the American dream.

【Key words】symbol； the Great Gatsby； dream

As Fitzgerald’s masterpiece， the Great Gatsby shows the maturity of his composing thoughts and his artistic features. One important feature is the use of symbols in the novel. “The book is a juxtaposition of scene and symbol from beginning to end； it is 'metaphysical’ in the modern sense.” The symbols can be seen throughout this book and is portrayed on several different levels in a variety of ways. Accordingly， a look into symbols in the novel may help readers better understand the novel.

In the novel， there is a green light which appears several times：

...he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way，...and distinguished nothing except a single green light， minute and far away. （ 49 ）

“It wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay.”said Gatsby “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dork.”（88 ）

Possibly it had occurred to him that colossal significance of that light...， ...Now it was again a green light on the dork....（102 ）

Gatsby believed in the green light， the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. （139）

It is this “minute and far away”green light that almost accompanies Gatsby through his life and stimulates him to struggle for ever. The green color is always connected with hope. Here in the novel， the green light is Gatsby's hope- the hope of a reunion with Daisy. Gatsby has spent most his life longing for his dream. To be good enough for her， he adopts all kinds of means， and he even makes his fortune by bootlegging. He wants to use the money and prosperity gained to eventually have a second chance to get together with Daisy. He has never been satisfied with what he has already had. Even when he has his large house filled with kinds of luxuries， interesting people and all of their attention， he still longs for Daisy. He creates in his dreams for the future a place for her. And so absolutely obsessed by the idea of winning Daisy， he projects all his faith and hope into this green light， forgetting that he cannot approach Daisy merely by nearing her physically. He doesn't realize his inability to turn back the clock. （Can you repeat the past？ why of course you can！ 124） And he doesn't realize what he has been pursuing is just a meaningless dream， a bitter illusion. As long as Daisy was beyond his reach， the green light on dock was a resplendent symbol of desire. In fact when Gatsby meets Daisy again and feels her love for him return， it becomes once again a mere “green light on a dork. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.” Fitzgerald clearly makes Gatsby into the Faustian man， the man who must have an object of desire. Once Gatsby loses his hope， there is nowhere to go， nothing to live for. Green is also significantly associated with the green light and the “green breast of the new world”， thus connecting the hope if Gatsby with that of America itself. It also represents the pursuit of the American dream. And when Nick talks about the green light at the end of the book， “It eluded us then， but that's no matter―tomorrow we will run faster， stretch our arms out farther...”（ 139 ） the green light connected with all the people.- Though Gatsby fails in his dream， others follow his footprints and ever run faster. His dream is thus universalized into American dream.

In this novel Fitzgerald also gives each location where the action takes place a symbolic meaning. The valley between West egg and New York City is such a symbolic place. It was a valley of ashes-fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens， where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally...through the powdery air. （49） These ashes are caused by the wastes of modern industry and factories and are produced in the production of wealth. The whole valley symbolizes a world whose inhabitants are so spiritually lost that they worship only money and wealth. The promise of happiness， hope and freedom has been corrupted by the emptiness of a dream based on wealth. The valley shows a spiritual desolation of modern civilization and the corruption of the American dream. Its gray appearance also shows the darker side of life on the East coast-the troubles of the poor. They are the losers in the cruel fight for wealth， and it is at the expense of these losers those fortunate ones get their prosperity. They are the victims of the rich. Only these poor men live in the dirty ashes. George Wilson is such a kind of poor man， who loses his liveliness and has to live depending on the rich （people like Tom）. It's really a depressing place， where Daisy kills Myrtle with Gatsby's car and where George Wilson finally decided to murder Gatsby. The valley of ashes is really filled with meanings that go beyond the plot.

Overlooking the valley of ashes are the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg plastered to a billboard. “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic... They look out of no face， but， instead， from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existence nose. （49） The billboard was once erected there as an advertisement for an optometrist， who later moved away. The eyes on it are always mentioned whenever Nick is there and when every important event occurred there. They seem to watch over everything.（Just as George Wilson cries 'God sees everything”.127） They are symbolic of God's eyes. But now the billboard has obviously been abandoned， so the eyes of God are faded， symbolizing the shifting of the civilization from religion to materialistic gain or the death of the American dream through moral degradation. People in the Twenties devote themselves to striving for prosperity. They do not regard religion as important as they have several years before. Most of them would like to move into cities for comfortable life， enjoying such luxuries as cars， manufactured goods and so on. As they enjoy the new wonders of city life， they cared little about their past or future. What they wanted was to live life to the fullest at present just as Tom， Daisy and those people coming to Gatsby's party. All of them live in a dream in which they lose their souls and they ignore the existence of God. But Fitzgerald doesn't let everyone ignore God's existence； he lets God be the ultimate observer and judge on all the happenings. He puts the eyes of God in the valley of ashes and near Wilson's garage because it is in that place some wrong acts take place， Tom's affair， Myrtle's death and George Wilson's decision of murder， all of which go unpunished. God looks over the situation and the actions of his creatures objectively and makes his own judgment. The author also lets the eyes look on and remind the characters of the guilt that they forget to have for what they have done. We know this from George Wison's last conversation with Mirtle before her death. You may fool me but you can not fool God. God sees everything. （126） Fitzgerald also describes the eyes as blue color to symbolize the corruption of the spirit of the commercialized society and the destruction of the reality of the lost generation.

In this novel， Fitzgerald also uses particular characters as symbols to enrich the content. The most important one is the symbol of the character Gatsby. He is the symbol for the whole American experience. Gatsby， a brave and determined youth from the Midwest， is always optimistic about his future and his dream to Daisy. He strives his way， legally or otherwise， up from a farming community to a position as figurehead of high society. In order to gain his goal- to reunite with Daisy， he uses materialism as its means. With the money he has earned for several years， he builds a big house in the West Egg， holds big parties and uses other luxuries to attract Daisy. But when Daisy in his arm， the enchantment that has surrounding her disappears. His goal proves to be just an illusion of youth and beauty. “Gatsby always tries to transform the facts by an act of imagination. His threadbare， self-dramatization， unremitting selfishness， and attempts to make something out nothing are the same kind as those of the waste-land society.”Gatsby's personal experience is similar to the experience of America up to the first 20 years of this century. In the same way， American people pursue American idealism with the belief that wealth will bring happiness. They also use up all means， but when they really own millions of dollars， they find in fact those material possessions are meaningless at all. And because of this， the fresh landscape of America in the end has been changed into a depressing “valley' of ashes just like Gatsby is destroyed by his illusions of Daisy. So， Gatsby represents those who pursue the American dream. These people have great ideals and devote themselves to the ideals but in the end only meet their tragic end. Just as A.E.Dyson says，”...Carraway finds in Gatsby's tragic awakening a symbol of the disenchantment of mankind as a whole- and end on a not which， transcending both Gatsby's personal fate， and the folie-de-grandeur of the American which he also represents， achieves a universal tragic vision.

To summarize， there are quite a few important symbols in this novel， including particular objects， characters， settings and actions. They are all viewed as having values different from whatever is being symbolized. Almost all of them are connected to the theme of the novel-the corruption of the American dream. And they are used to convey Fitzgerald's ideas to the reader in a different way. When reading， we are forced to think， make connections and finally have a better understanding of the whole novel. This is the reason why the Great Gatsby attracts more and more readers today and in the future.

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作者简介：徐琰（1975.12-），女，汉族，江苏人，硕士，副教授，研究方向是英语国家社会与文化。