Abstract:

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, a famous American novelist in twentieth century, occupies an important position in American literary circles. He is the writer of the “lost generation” and the poet of the “Jazz Time”. The Great Gatsby, a masterpiece of his works, is widely considered as a classic of American literature. At that time, this novel has an important influence on the society, which is allegorically reflected the theme of American dream during the “Roaring twenties”. Symbolism is widely and successfully applied in The Great Gatsby, It lays stress on the theme and makes Fitzgerald's work different in criticizing the American Dream. This thesis discusses symbolism in the works from perspective of colors, social contexts and characters, and reveals their symbolic significance. It finally concludes that symbolism plays a significant role in "The Great Gatsby".

Key Words: symbolism, Great Gatsby, American dream

摘要：

F.S.菲茨杰拉德是美国20世纪最重要的小说家之一，在美国文坛占据着重要的位置。他是“迷惘的一代”的代表作家，是“爵士时代”的桂冠诗人。《了不起的盖茨比》作为他最杰出的作品，被广泛的认为是美国文学的一个经典之作。在那个时代，这本小说对当时社会的影响很大。它寓言性的反映了在“咆哮的二十年代”时美国梦的主题。象征主义手法在《了不起的盖茨比》中运用的广泛而成功，突出了主题思想，也使菲茨杰拉德批判美国梦的作品风格极为与众不同，富有张力。本论文将从色彩的使用、背景的设置以及人物命运走向的设定分别对《了不起的盖茨比中》象征手法的运用进行讨论，揭示他们所分别象征的意义。最终得出结论，象征手法在《了不起的盖茨比》中所起的重要作用。

关键词：象征主义；了不起的盖茨比；美国梦

1. Introduction
Francis Scott Fitzgerald（September 24，1896,—December 21，1940）is a famous American novelist in twentieth century, occupies an important position in American literary circles. He is the writer of the “lost generation” and the poet of the “Jazz Time”. Fitzgerald is known around the world because of his short stories and novels, which mainly describe the situation of corruption of American dream and show the upper classes spiritual outlook in America's Great Depression during the 1920s. The most representative work is The Great Gatsby, and establishes his position in modern American literature. “The novel has nearly perfect unity of effect. Every image, every character, every symbol, every turn of the plot contributes to the theme and to the feeling one carries from reading it.” (Dalton & MaryJean, 2008: 1) Because of his experience and novels, Fitzgerald is known as the spokesman of the “Jazz Time”.