Dream&Illusion--Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

徐大文

（对外经济贸易大学，中国 北京 100029）

The Great Gatsby,published in 1925,is a short story taking New York and Changdao Island of the twenties of the 20th century as background,written by an American writer F.Scott.Fitzgerald,considered as the symbol of American literature in the “Jazz Age”.

The Great Gatsby tells a story that an idealist went after dreams and dreams withered away.The novel was narrated in the first person by a youth named Nick.Nick,the image of vagrant,went to New York from the west homeland with the feelings looking for spiritual incidence,got to know his neighbor--the leading character in the novel--Gatsby,and knew his trouble in spirit.Originally,Gatsby got off with Nick’s cousin Daisy during war and subsequently they loved each other,but he had no money to marry her,later Daisy married wealthy Tom,Gatsby was in anguish,firmly believed it was money that made Daisy betray the pure and chaste of mind,then he was determined to be a rich man.Through a few years’illegal deal after the war,he accumulated a large amount of wealth successfully at last.He built the luxurious house opposite to Daisy’s residence purposely,spent money like water,his house was ablaze with lights all night and full of guests,in order to give out silent calling to Daisy.Under arrangement of Nick,Gatsby met with Daisy,relived an old experience,and he hoped that Daisy broke with Tom in public.But Daisy hoved cold feet in front of Tom and had not taken a clear-cut stand.After a quarrel,Daisy bolted through steering Gatsby’s car and collided Tom’s mistress Marta to death.Gatsby was willing to bear the responsibility for an of fence in order to protect Daisy.Marta’s husband Wilson shot Gatsby.When Nick held the funeral for Gatsby,no past guests was present,Daisy and her husband had set out on a journey,the whole funeral is dreary and dull.Afterwards Nick learned of the truth that Tom incited Wilson privacy and caused Gatsby to die tragically.He had witnessed the unction,grimness and selfishness of rich men,cringed at them,then drifted again,returned to the homeland in great disappointment.

Fitzgerald,through Nick’s statement about this story, “who lived both in it and out of it,felt intoxicated as well as repugnant to everchanging life”,not only described people’s life and idea in the “Jazz Age”but also made his own moral evaluation.Through describing the course that Gatsby was a rustic and industrious person at the start,subsequently,he fantasized to become a rich man successfully,later became a false and stubborn criminal,finally moved towards the death,Fitzgerald let readers understand American youth’s blind chase for American dream in the twenties and the essence causing their dream evaporated.But Fitzgerald pursued the satisfaction on the money for his own lover,spent money like a lord,indulged in life,like Gatsby too,would necessarily see the evaporation of the dream.

There are many shortcomings in Fitzgerald’s early works.For example,the description of his works is more superficial and not so typical.But in his recent works,he overcomes those weaknesses which makes “the Great Gatsby” have a much obvious central idea.The work of“The Great Gatsby” is much more flexible in writing,reserved but most beautifully described.The “American dream” has been showed adequately in this novel through the artist form.In this novel,Fitzgerald uses the method which integrates realism and idealism.The figures in this novel are vividly portrayed,and they just like people you know and persons who are around you.The author pays more attention on the figures’mind,and he makes the figures alive.Different readers learn different things from the novel,and people in different times have different understandings of the novel.Fitzgerald is not good at giving specific and vivid description so the figures in his novel of“The Great Gatsby”just have an outline.But his figures always have a rich mind,because he is good at characterize them.So we can say that,Fitzgerald has done a good job on characterization of his figures.The successively use of symbolism is the greatest feature in his novel of “The Great Gatsby”.The use of symbolism makes readers have a more profound impression on the American dream,love and money along with the expansion of the story.

Symbolism used in this novel

symbolism is a kind of important literature ideological trend and school that rose in France at the end of the 19th century.Symbolism prevailed in various countries of Europe,involved each artistic department before the First World War.The writers of this school think any kind of things has meaning of idea that corresponded to it,external things and the people’s inner world respond to and agree with each other,people can excavate out their potential symbolic meanings from each of things,therefore put emphasis on using the object with material sense to hint delicate world of heart and communicate the two world.Wave.Delisle is a pioneer in the evolution of symbolic literature.He thought that all of the color,outline,sound,perfume have spiritual meaning,and this kind of meaning can reflect in the works through the author’s imagination.

Scene Symbolism

Generally speaking,a scene is aimed to provide a platform which has a special activity or purpose on confirming the existence of figures.And the scene also gives a background to the story.As the basis of one novel,the scene shows the development of the story to us.It tells us what the figures are doing,when and where dose the activity happen.From the scene,we can make an understanding on what the novel is talking about.“The valley of ashes”,as one of the scenes in the novel of “The Great Gatsby”,is a kind of symbolism.It not only shows us “when,where and who”,but also implies the background of the whole novel.

In the beginning of Chapter 2,there’s a wonderful description about“the valley of ashes”.The description on “the valley of ashes” is following as below:It is “A 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,with a transcendent effort,of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”This valley is covered by midst,and is lost in ashes.It is just a symbolic representation of both the social environment which is abnormal and the desert of mind on human beings.

After the world war Ι,American society turns into a materialistic group.Americans lose their faith and become lost in the materialistic world.They forget where their original spirit is and they no longer hold a will for the future.They are so confused that they finally lose their minds.They failed to be themselves and there’s a name which has been given to them--the “Lost Generation”.They become persons who are utterly worthless and lead their lives without having faith and belief in mind.They don’t have a sense of virtue and don’t know which is right and which is wrong.What remains in them is just the gratification for money and a materialistic desire.Daisy is a cutesy girl in the novel of“The Great Gatsby”.The author uses a simplified sentence to describe her nature: “Her voice is full of money”;When referring to Tom,the author make a symbolic description,that is “Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart.”;Jordan Baker- “She was incurably dishonest”;The guests at Gatsby’s banquet are just like“moths”,they enjoy Gatsby’s hospitality externally but spread the bizarre accusations privately.The “ashes” is just “what preyed on Gatsby,what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.”So,when Gatsby “had come a long way to this blue lawn”, “his dream had seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”On the other hand,“the dark fields… rolled on under the night”.So we can say that,the“valley of ashes” is background of the whole novel.It is a miniature version of the social environment and going through the novel from start to finish.

Object Symbolism--Cars:

“It was a rich cream color,bright with nickel,swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes,and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a hundred suns.Sitting down behind many layers of glass in a sort of green conservatory we started to town.”

During a time when cars were just beginning to become common,Gatsby’s car is used as a symbol of the crass materialism of the 1920s.Factory-made cars were normally black,so Gatsby’s specially-made car displays his wealth and delight in material possessions.

Also used in The Great Gatsby is the bad driving motif.Jordan refers to herself as a careless driver,but says she’ll be all right,so long as she does not meet anyone as careless as herself;and there is an incident of bad driving after one of Gatsby’s party.

---Dr.T.J.Eckleburg’s Eyes:

“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”

In the vast wasteland of the Valley of Ashes stands a solitary landmark:a billboard with an advertisement for an optometrist.Fitzgerald chose these huge,flat,empty eyes to symbolize a dead God staring blindly out at the moral decay of humanity and the meaningless garbage that our lives have become.The fact that Fitzgerald chose to represent God by a lifeless pair of eyes shows his belief that we no longer have a belief in God--that He is lifeless.

Color Symbolism

People link youth,vigor,spring and hope to green customarily.But in this novel,Fitzgerald entrusts to green with the brand-new symbolic meaning.Daisy’s green light on the Changdao Island is undoubtedly a main image in the book.Gatsby’s faith,just on that green light,is his future fairyland,the dream throughout his life,Gatsby looks at it alone often in the evening,stretch out both hands and want to embrace it--The symbols of youth and love seemed to be Daisy’s incarnation.Though all these seemed to go far gradually,Gatsby still tried to seize it.Gatsby intended to hold the grand party in that luxurious white marble villa all through the night opposite to Daisy’s house on the west ovum island every weekend,entertained the guests.He wanted to show off his wealth and illustrious social status to attract Daisy to his own side again.however,in this course,Gatsby had neglected the essential point that attempting to gain love through wealth and position comes up against the true essence of love.He can only get unction from the woman convened back through money.At the end of the novel,Nick remembered the green light that Gatsby believed in,seemed close before eyes,it was scarcely possible for him to grasp it,but within sight but beyond reach in fact,his dream had already far passed.

When Nick saw cousin Daisy at Tom’s home for the first time,Daisy was white all over,the glory given out on her body made the whole house shroud in a kind of shallow light tone.White belonged to Daisy in the novel Undoubtedly.It was exactly this kind of purity,beauty,virginity that attracted Gatsby deeply,the young girl image wearing floating white clothing made an indelible impression on his heart,which became a dream that can’t be reached all the time.Though under arrangement of Nick,Gatsby saw sweetheart Daisy finally,but what woke Daisy’s former affection up was not Gatsby’s unreasoning passions,but his luxurious life style and sumptuous furnishings in his villa.Daisy at this time had already no longer been Daisy at that year,the environment has already corroded her completely.In the material world of the east,the aspiration of the money and material desire had already twisted her into an greedy,hollow,selfish vulgar woman.Even if more wealth,Gatsby cannot save her degenerate soul either.See from another angle,white symbolized lazy,shallow,ignorant,useless,this was Daisy’s essential.Gatsby’s American dream is unable to be intact,satisfactory forever.In order to gain Daisy’s love,he made money desperately,after obtaining a large amount of money and material possessions,luxurious and extravagant life can not conceal his inanition.Sighing for pure Daisy in the past turned into spiritual prop to support him.

Red and white were fundamental tone of color in Daisy and Tom’s villa.Since white symbolized personality characteristics of Daisy,red can show Tom’s individual character:selfish,arrogant,barbarous,cruel.The superior family’s social standing background made Tom swollen with pride and supercilious,Fitzgerald described in the novel like this,he always pushed away everybody blocking in front of him barbarously,the image of the red crude and rash bull showed forth in his writing.Though he married Daisy,he often met with the lover secretly.After perceiving the personal relationships of wife and Gatsby,unexpectedly took her in front of Gatsby,in order to prove Gatsby unable to cause the injury to himself.This showed that he was false and conceited.While learning of his wife colliding his lover to death without intention,out of envying Gatsby,he instigated his lover’s husband to kill his rival in love cruelly.In view of essence,he was the real murderer whose hands were red with blood.Red ended the molding of Tom’s image in the novel.

Symbolism and American Dream

The use of symbolism is ubiquitous in this novel,in addition to the symbols of the concrete things,what the story itself signifies is the evaporation of the American dream.

“American Dreams” refers to achieving one’s goal through unremitting efforts.Most people consider America to be the best place to pursue personal success.And among the many places of America,the east coast region is the best choice,because it develops in an early time and grows faster.The figures in “The Great Gatsby” mostly come from the poor central and western regions.The leading character Gatsby is a kind of person who striving to the top of society all by himself.He is an intelligent and competent young man,broad-minded towards friends but single-minded to love.He earns a big fortune through the efforts he has made and is successful to be a member of the top society.

Nick comes to the developed east region with the same“American Dream”in Gatsby.In order to step into the top society,he has tried everything he could,but unfortunately becomes lost in the materialistic world.To some degree,his sweetheart Beck in dream is similar to the lover of Gatsby.Nick makes a rational decision and ends the relationship with Beck,but Gatsby fails to do so.Using Nick’s own words: “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues,and this is mine:I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

And in the eyes of the author,the so-called success of the American dream that the whole story symbolizes is nothing more than made up of two parts:money and love.A large amount of description in the article has reflected the importance of the love and American dream with money in the mind of Gatsby.

Wealth

Fitzgerald gives a detailed description of the luxurious banquet which is a waste of money.There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights.In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft,or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound,drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam.On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus,bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight,while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains.And on Mondays eight servants,including an extra gardener,toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears,repairing the ravages of the night before.

Gatsby’s immediately accumulated fortune is a reflection of the excessive inflation of wealth after the world war Ⅰ.And the death of Gatsby implies the beginning of a deep social and mental crisis.The restless society is not only a symbolism of collective energetic but also is morbidity which caused by the sudden inflation of wealth.

Love

The love for Daisy is Gatsby’s dramatic “heaven”.The Don Quixote style romance moves us a lot.His efforts on pursue of ideal is really“great”,and so is his spirit of dedication.That shows the value of being alive and it cannot be criticized.Fitzgerald says that: “They’re a rotten crowd.You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” We may laugh at Gatsby,because he doesn’t know that “heaven” is just an unrealistic existing.He considers wealth to be the way leading to “heaven” but doesn’t realize the truth of its elusiveness.He waits outside Daisy’s house all night long in order to protect Daisy from being hurt.He wants to give everything he has to Daisy without knowing that Daisy is not loving him any more.In a plot,Daisy accepts her husband’s suggestion,imputing the automobile accident happened to Tom to Gatsby.It is a tragedy caused by the materialistic society.The rich who are arrogant and selfish destroyed the belief and faith of Gatsby.

Gatsby survived from the shot of Wilson.But that is not the main point.His heart is dying when he is waiting for Daisy’s call.Although he risks not leaving,he knows that,Daisy will not come. “He has been knitting a beautiful dream for both Daisy and himself,but now,the dream is broken.He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass.”He finally realizes that,his dream is broken and his efforts have turned into a waste.The past can not be recalled and so are the old dreams.When confronted with the reality，Gatsby is a loser completely.As a result,Gatsby’s body together with his spirit dies.Gatsby’s luxurious life which lasts 20 years is just a miniature of American society and Gatsby’s unrealistic dream and will is just the symbolism of that.

Superficially,《The Great Gatsby》is a fail love story between a couple,however,the range that the theme of this novel contains is much wider than this,not so romantic either.Though all plots of 《The Great Gatsby》took place during a few months of the summer of 1922,and was put in a limited geographical area near Changdao Island of New York,but it is the highly symbolic introspection of American of the whole twenties of the 20th century.The application of symbolism is a great characteristic of the novel even more,the author uses various scenes,objects and colors to symbolize the evaporation of the American dream in an unprecedentedly prosperous and material-surplus era.

And the resemblance between the story in this novel and life experiences of the author,with many personal feelings in the author’s life especially,lets readers see the importance of the money and love in Fitzgerald’s life.But the money and love symbolize the American dream in Fitzgerald’s heart exactly.It’s a pity that his life ruined along with the American dream,like the death of Gatsby in his works.