Abstract: In his masterpiece "The Great Gatsby", Fitzgerald used symbolic techniques to seriously criticize American society with legendary stories. Symbols give the novel a dreamlike color and lead readers to have a clearer understanding of American society in the 1920s and 1930s, when money measured everything. This article attempts to reveal the post-war "lost generation"'s disappointment in the United States and its worry and sorrow over the loss of traditional values ??through a careful reading of the novel and an analysis of the symbolic color.
Keywords: The Great Gatsby, symbol, color
Fitzgerald is an outstanding writer in the American literary world. As the spokesperson of the United States in the 1920s and a member of the lost generation, Fitzgerald outlined "the greatest and most indulgent scenes in history" in his works. At the same time, he saw "everything behind this era". All the gods have died, all the battles have been fought, and all human beliefs have been completely shaken'. In other words, it is the unprecedented prosperity of the American economy and the disillusionment that people feel after losing their traditional values ??in this special period after World War I.
One of his masterpieces, "The Great Gatsby", came out in 1925. It caused a sensation in the entire society and was highly praised by some famous writers and literary figures. In this novel, Phil. Zgerald used his rich imagination and unique writing style to depict all living things in the Jazz Age, especially the use of symbolic techniques, which made the work go beyond the limitations of a love story and endowed it with a broader social significance. - and the moral decay of people under the aura of the Jazz Age and the disillusionment of hope after losing their consistent faith. Nan Fan said in his article "The Symbolic Mode of Novel", "Symbols express or imply a certain idea with a specific concrete image. , analysis or emotion. "This kind of symbolic technique is used throughout the novel, which serves to illuminate and sublimate the theme, and makes some seemingly ordinary details intriguing and fascinating.
Fitzlad in "The Great" "Gatsby" uses various color symbolism vividly. These colors contain rich and profound symbolic meanings. This article will briefly analyze the color symbolism used in this novel to explore. Its symbolic meaning.
1. The symbolic meaning of white - purity and emptiness
The meaning of white in the novel plays an important role in shaping the characters and strengthening the theme. De uses white for Daisy. She wears a white dress, recalling her "white girlhood". White is a symbol of purity, which shapes Daisy into an "unattainable person" who exists in Gatsby's dream. , the magical princess" is the ideal and goal of purity that he pursues tirelessly.
However, while white symbolizes innocence and purity, it also has a completely opposite symbolic meaning. Because compared with other colors, white , is colorless. The basic characteristics of Daisy are the emptiness without color, content, and inner essence. The empty Daisy doesn’t know what to do all day long, and her life is wandering around. “Cute and charming in appearance, but romantic but parasitic and emotionally cold. Nick's understanding of her is that "this kind of people will retreat when they have the opportunity, return to the pile of money, and live a carefree life." And everything they destroy is left for others to clean up. "The tragic significance of Gatsby is that he placed his dreams on this empty, irresponsible and immoral body. His idealism is like the fluttering white yarn. Although pure and beautiful, its essence is Empty, unrealistic, and ethereal
2. The symbolic meaning of blue - melancholy, purity, calmness, faith
"Blue" means "melancholy" in English. ", depressed". The author uses blue, which symbolizes sadness and calmness, to contrast with the hustle and bustle represented by yellow, indicating the author's critical attitude towards the glitz, pursuit of material enjoyment and money worship of that era. The sky above "Grey Valley" The huge blue eyes of Dr. T.J. Ekberg on the huge billboard are looking at the "Valley of Ashes" and at the men and women in the world. Concerning the symbolic meaning of these eyes, the author has revealed it in Chapter 8. When George Wilson talked about his wife's deception, he said that she could deceive him, but she could not deceive God. God knows. Everything she did. McCleese noticed with surprise that as he said this, Wilson was looking into Dr. Ekberg's eyes on the giant billboard. God sees everything, He knows everything: He knows Gatsby. His dream is destined to be shattered, he knows the tragedy of the Wilson family, he knows the callousness of Tom and Daisy and the meaninglessness of people's endless pursuit of pleasure. The author designed the huge blue eyes of a doctor on the huge billboard. Paying attention to the details of the world shows his critical attitude towards people's lives and concepts of that era.
3. Yellow - noisy, noisy, tacky, money
Yellow is the color of gold. , giving the impression of money, noise, and worldliness. Regarding the color yellow, especially the connection between gold and money, as a symbol of wealth, gold appears repeatedly in Gatsby. It shows the protagonist's vulgar vanity of showing off his wealth.
At Gatsby's grand banquet, the band played a kind of music called "yellow cocktail party music". It was a loud, noisy, superficial and tasteless music that was very popular in the United States in the 1920s and reflected the At that time, everyone was pursuing pleasure and materialistic social reality. At the banquet, Gatsby never forgot to convey the message of wealth. He wore a white suit, a silver shirt, and a gold tie. His flashy and expensive car is light yellow in color. On a date with Daisy at Nick's house, he wears a gold tie and even shows her a gold comb. This clearly shows Gatsby's bold pursuit of pleasure and worship of money. Later, the yellow car crushed Mrs. Wilson to death and ultimately led to Gatsby's murder. The author seems to be implying that excessive worship and endless pursuit of money is one of the reasons that led to Gatsby's death. In short, yellow, which represents money, noise and worldliness, is used many times in the work to express the hustle and bustle of that era and people's worship of money.
To sum up, Fitzgerald was ingenious and used symbolic techniques to reveal the theme of the work and the fate of the characters well. The symbols he uses effectively convey the author's attitude and emotions. Sheen Lewis said in the article "The Formation of Imagery": The image in a poem is like a series of mirrors placed at different angles. When the subject comes over, the mirrors reflect different aspects of the subject from various angles. But they are not ordinary mirrors, but possess amazing magic: they not only reflect the subject, but give life and form to the subject, they are enough to make spiritual images visible. This is true of imagery in poetry, and it is true of imagery in novels. The vivid images in "The Great Gatsby" are like mirrors placed at different angles, reflecting the theme of the work from various angles and giving the theme a concrete image, making it unforgettable for readers.
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