The Great Gatsby
Discussing the symbolic meaning of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a fiction written by Francis Fitzgerald,reflecting the collapse of the American dream and the Jazz age in the 1920s. Since I had only read the first five chapters of this fiction, I chose to discuss the symbolic meaning of the colour, article and the scene in this book.
The author made extensive use of symbolism, of which color symbolism is the most representative. Through colour description, the author have deepen the tragic colour of this book. In this book, the protagonist Gatsby was surrounded by many colorful characters. For example, Daisy is the representative of white. She is associated with white. For example, when Gatsby met Daisy five years ago, there was a white convertible behind her. And five years ago, Daisy wore a white dress and lay lazily on the sofa. And Daisy always wore white dress when she dated with Gatsby. White is not only the symbolization of purity. It also symbolizes emptiness and indifference. Daisy looked noble and pure, just like a holy angel. But in fact, she was ruthless, money-oriented, and frivolous, like a demon.What ’ s more, green is also a symbolic colour. There is a green light in front of Daisy ’ s house, and Gatsby often stares at the light. The green light symbolizes the beautiful ideals in his heart, and also symbolizes his persistent pursuit of status, money and love. In addition, the light from the green light is looming in the fog, which is also symbolizes that his pursuit is nothing but a phantom in the end.
As far as I am concerned, the symbols of article in this book are shown on the house and clothes. The decoration of the house implies people ’ s class. For example, Gatsby ’ s purchase of the villa symbolized his strong desire to integrate into the upper class. He represented the new bourgeoisie.However, Tom ’ s villa hinted at his status as an old nobleman. He represents the old-fashioned upper class. In addition, the clothes in the book are also items with profound symbolic significance. It represents people ’ s desire for upper class society. For example, when Daisy visited Gatsby, Gatsby took out a lot of expensive clothes. Clothes has become a tool for Gatsby to show off his wealth to others. The author exposes the social outlook of the jazz age through symbols.
The description of the scenes in the book is also based on the real American background. As we all know, the colonies in the eastern United States were the birthplace of the early American culture. After the War of independence, although they were separated from the United Kingdom in politics, they still have the shallow of the colonies period in terms of ideology and culture. The civilization and culture in the west of American have not been impacted by history and are constantly being developed. Therefore, What the West presents is a state of passion and enterprising spirit. Therefore, the significance of east and west in the book not only refers to the two colonies, but also a symbol of the two styles of traditional society and modern society, as well as the conflict between conservative and innovative values.
To sum up, in the book The Great Gatsby , the author used a lot of symbolism to serve the portrayal of the characters in the book. In the book, the symbolic intentions of colors, articles and scenes perfectly show the disillusionment of the Jazz Age and American dream.
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