阅·思 | 【2023级8班】Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

 1

Color

Colors often will be used as colorful lights symbolize the emotion or the plot of the story. And here in The Great Gatsby, colors are decorated directly onto the environment and characters, which presents us a creative point of view.

Green: The green light on Daisy's pier is the core symbol, representing Gatsby's love for Daisy, his yearning for a better life and his American dream, while also suggesting the illusory and unattainable dream.

For examples:

1. Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. (p.18)

2. You always have a green light that buns all night at the end of you dock... Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as dose as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one. (p.77)

3. Michael wasn't even sure of its color-he told the first policeman that it was light green. (p.115)

White: closely associated with Daisy, symbolizing her purity and nobility on the surface, but actually empty, shallow, indifferent and selfish inside. Such as her white clothes, white sports car, White House and so on.

For examples:

"wan"（苍白的） face from Daisy to Gatsby--

At the beginning, the writer first described Daisy with a "wan, charming discontented" face. She dressed in white, with white and pale stuff around her, innocent and fragile.

At last, Gatsby become the same, with no one there from party came to his funeral, with blank in his heart.

Blue: The blue lawn of Gatsby's house and the driver in blue uniform symbolize dreams and non-secular factors, and also represent the world that Gatsby tries to create away from secular troubles, but it also shows depression.

For examples:

1. (the girl in yellow at the party)"... was gas blue with lavender beads. Two hundred and sixty-five dollars. (p.35)

2. A chauffeur in a uniform of robin's egg blue crossed my lawn... with a surprisingly formal note from his employer(Gatsby)... (p.33)

Yellow: The yellow car in which Daisy runs over Myrtle symbolizes wealth and the irresponsibility of the "upper class"; Daisy was called "The Golden Lady", highlighting the snobbery of wealth and the rich.

For examples:

1.The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. (p.33)

2. A tray of cocktails floated at us through the twilight and we sad down at a table

with the two girls in yellow and three men, each one introduced to us as Mr. Mumble . (p.35)

3.With enchanting murmurs Daisy admired this aspect or that of the feudal silhouette against the sky, admired the gardens, the sparkling odor of jonquils and the frothy odor of hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold -the-gate, It was strange to reach the marble steps and find no stir of bright dresses in and out the door, and hear no sound but bird voices in the trees. (p.75)

4.His bedroom was the simplest room of all-except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet dull gold. (p.76)

5.The rain was still falling, but the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea. (p.78)

6. All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the “ Street

Blues” while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low Sweet fever (p.126)

Grey: The gray tone of the Ash Valley, symbolizing shattered dreams, moral decay, and the lifeless state of life of people, representing the frustration and despair of the bottom of society.

For examples:

1. This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where grow like wheat into ridges an# hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men ash-gray who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. (p.18)

2. we talked for a moment about some wet, gray little villages in France. Evidently

he lived in this vicinity for he told me that he had just bought a.. (p.39)

3. But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better Impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby's hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him. (p.50)

4. The gray windows disappeared as the house glowed full of light. (p.78)

5. I remember the portrait of him(Cody) up in Gatsby's bedroom, a gray, florid mar

with a hard empty face... (p.83)

6.All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the "Beale Street Blues" while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low sweet fever. (p.216)

2

Location

There are a few of symbols of locations in our great classic A Dream of Red Mansion. For example, Yihongyuan of Jia Baoyu serves as the respect to women and girls and reflects Jia Baoyu's noble status and luxurious life; Xiaoxiangguan of Lin Daiyu suggests the image of constantly washing her face with tears and her tragic fate; Daoxiangcun of Li Wan then tells us of her yearning and pursuit for rural life. And here in The Great Gatsby, symbolism plays an important role in term of locations as well.

West Egg and East Egg: West Egg is the new rich area, representing the new rich who have accumulated wealth rapidly through non-traditional means;

For example:

"less fashionable of the two"

East Egg is a traditional rich area, symbolizing the old aristocracy with a long history and noble birth.

For example:

“The superiority of the east egg to the West egg, and be careful not to stain its pleasure."

Ash Valley: It is a dumping ground for industrial waste, representing the living environment at the bottom of society, symbolizing the victim of wealth and desire, highlighting the wealth gap and moral decay of society.

3

General People

We often write the hero as round character, the others being flat characters. However even the flat description has its meaning.

Moths: At Gatsby's party, the moth-like male and female diners symbolize the people who chase money and pleasure, they fly around wealth and power, and once they lose these attractions, they will quickly leave.

4

Characters' Names

Lastly, here came the names' meaning, which often holds the topic of the novel, and gives us inspiration always.

Gatsby: "Gatsby" stands for the persistent pursuit of dreams and endless desires. Born James Gatz, his name change symbolized his desire for a new identity and social status, an attempt to escape his impoverished past and achieve the American Dream. He throws lavish parties to attract the attention of his former flame Daisy, and his behavior embodies the frenzied pursuit of wealth and status of the era.

Daisy: It is a flower name in English--yellow in the middle and white around the flower, suggesting that money and emptiness coexist. She is beautiful on the outside and elegant in manner, but inside she is empty and selfish. She symbolizes the beautiful dream pursued by Gatsby, but also represents the illusory and unattainable dream, and finally pushes Gatsby to the tragic ending.

Nick: As the narrator of the story, his name "Nick" has the meaning of "gap, notch", suggesting that he is a bystander and outsider in this bustling world, with a sense of loneliness and a clear awareness of reality that he cannot integrate into. He witnessed Gatsby's dreams and tragedies, and maintained a rational and moral bottom line in the world of extravagance and wealth.

JordanBaker: This name comes from the Jordan sports car and Baker electrical appliances that were popular in the United States at that time, symbolizing the independent women of the new era. She is beautiful, intelligent and confident, but also cold and selfish, and maintains a game attitude towards feelings and life, reflecting the values and lifestyle of some new women in society at that time.

Conclusion