《了不起的盖茨比》中 象征主义在角色塑造中的作用.doc

渭南师范学院本科毕业论文题 目： 了不起的盖茨比中 象征主义在角色塑造中的作用学院名称： 外国语学院 专业班级： 英语专业08级英本1班 毕业年份： 2012年6月 姓 名： 学 号： 指导教师： 职 称： 讲 师 渭南师范学院教务处 制渭南师范学院本科毕业论文（设计）开题报告论文（设计）题目了不起的盖茨比中象征主义在角色塑造中的作用学生姓名王 倩院系、专业、班级外国语学院英语专业08级英本1班毕业年份2012年6月学 号080241137指导教师王 润 娟职 称讲 师一、 拟开展研究的价值、意义 了不起的盖茨比表面是美国20世纪“爵士时代”两个年轻人的爱情故事，但其却揭示了美国梦的诱惑和破灭。主人公盖茨比出身贫苦，但雄心勃勃，暴富之后他经常在家举办大型豪华聚会，以显示其阔绰，目的是为了吸引五年前的恋人黛西并赢回她的芳心。由于利欲熏心，黛西嫁给了出身于富豪家庭的纨绔子弟汤姆布坎南，然而物欲的满足并没能填补黛西精神上的空虚与贫乏。在尼克的帮助下，与盖茨比重逢，但黛西已不是原来的黛西，她不再是盖茨比想象中的纯情女孩，而是一个愚蠢、自私、庸俗、美丽的躯壳。盖茨比的美丽旧梦终于被打碎了，但他还在做最后的挣扎，仍对黛西抱有一丝幻想，以至遭遇了更加凄惨可悲的结局。通过研究此作品中象征主义在颜色、事物中的体现，探讨象征主义在人物形象塑造中的重要作用,可以使人们更清楚地了解作者所要描述的人物性格及要表达的内容主题，使人们意识到要追求自我，实现人生真正的价值，而非盲目追求物质享受而忽略了真正意义上的精神享受，要通过合理正当的途径来实现自己的伟大梦想。二、研究步骤、方法及措施一、确定选题，搜集材料，听取老师的指导意见，确定论文题目。二、努力搜集写作材料，紧紧围绕主题进行材料的筛选和整理。仔细咨询指导老师，在老师指导下完成论文提纲的写作。三、围绕提纲开始进行论文写作，完成初稿，并及时交给老师批阅。四、及时与老师联系，完成论文二稿及三稿的修改写作及完善。五、积极准备论文答辩。三、论文拟定提纲一、引言二、颜色的象征主义意义（一）绿色（二）黄色（三）白色 （四）蓝色三、事物的象征主义意义（一）绿灯（二）灰谷（三）TJ埃克尔堡大夫的眼睛 （四）东、西卵四、象征主义在角色塑造中的作用五、结语四、主要参考文献Bloom, Harold. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003.Bruccoli, Andrew J. New Essays on The Great Gatsby. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Shanghai: Foreign Language and Research Press, 1995.Turnbull, Andrew. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Grove Press, 2001.吴建国. 菲茨杰拉德研究上海: 上海外语教育出版社, 2002.指导教师意见： 指导教师签字： 2011 年 9 月 24日主管院长意见： 主管院长签字： 2011 年 9 月 24 日注：开题报告是在导师的指导下，由学生填写。渭南师范学院本科毕业论文（设计）任务书论文（设计）题目了不起的盖茨比中象征主义在角色塑造中的作用学生姓名王倩院系、专业、班级外国语学院英语专业08级英本1班毕业年份2012年6月学 号080241137指导教师王润娟职 称讲师一、文献查阅指引（一）Bloom, Harold. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003.（二）Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Shanghai: Foreign Language and Research Press, 1995.（三）Turnbull, Andrew. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Grove Press, 2001.（四）Milford, Nancy. Zelda. New York: Harper Perennial, 2001.（五）吴建国. 菲茨杰拉德研究上海: 上海外语教育出版社, 2002.二、内容要求（一）综述简练完整，有见解。（二）立论正确，论述充分，结论严谨合理。（三）文章结构合理，语言流行，字迹工整，相关概念准确无误，参考文献规范，字数在5000-8000字左右。（四）论文结果有应用价值。三、进度安排第一阶段：（2011年8月282011年9月24），4周选题立意，收集资料，拟定提纲，谋篇布局，做好论文开题准备。第二阶段：（2011年9月25日12月17日），12周完成论文初稿及论证部分。第三阶段：（2011年12 月18日2012年2月25日），10周复查论文，准备开篇、结论部分，列出参考文献目录。第四阶段：（ 2012年2月26日3月31日），5周完成并打印论文第二稿。第五阶段：（2012年4月1日5月13日），6周完善论文，打印终稿，准备论文答辩。第六阶段：2012年5月16日论文答辩。四、起止日期 2011年 8 月 28 日 至 2012 年 5 月 16 日指导教师（签名） 系 主 任（签名） 教 学 院长（签名） 2011 年 8 月 28 日注：1. 任务书由指导教师填写、经系主任及教学院长审批后，在第七学期末之前下达给学生。2. 文献查阅指引，应是对查阅内容和查阅方法的指引，即查阅什么和怎样查阅。渭南师范学院本科毕业论文（设计）中期检查表院 系 班外国语学院英语系08级英本1班专 业英 语毕业论文（设计）题目： 了不起的盖茨比中象征主义在角色塑造中的作用学生姓名王 倩学 号080241137指导教师 王润娟职 称讲 师在此过程中，学生能按预定计划执行；收集资料、提纲确定已经完成，论文初稿完成。对其指导主要是帮助选题及查阅资料、修改提纲和论文的语言。学生写作态度认真端正，与导师见面4-5次，交流频繁，内容充分。指导教师签字： 2011年 12 月 17日审核意见： 系主任签字： 2011 年 12 月 19 日教学院长签字： 2011 年 12 月 19 日注：完成情况及改进意见由指导教师填写渭南师范学院本科毕业论文（设计）登记表论文（设计）题目了不起的盖茨比中象征主义在角色塑造中的作用学生姓名王倩院系、专业、班级外国语学院英语专业08级英本1班毕业年份2012年6月学 号080241137指导教师王润娟职 称讲师一、 论文摘要（中文）菲茨杰拉德是美国20世纪伟大的现实主义作家。在其代表作了不起的盖茨比中，他运用了丰富而精湛的象征主义手法，成功地将人物性格刻画的入木三分，主题表现的生动形象。本文通过研究此作品中象征主义在颜色、事物中的体现，探讨了象征主义在人物形象塑造中的重要作用。二、 论文摘要（英文）Fitzgerald is the great realism writer of America in the twentieth Century. In his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, he depicts profound characters and represents vivid expression of theme by the rich and exquisite symbolism. Through in-depth study of the symbolic meaning of colors and objects in the novel, the paper explores the function of symbolism in characterization.三、成绩评定指导教师评语全文结构基本合理科学，逻辑思路清晰，观点表达准确，语言流畅，论证方法较合理，参考的文献资料符合主题要求，从主题到内容符合专业要求，部分与本分之间衔接的比较紧密，但真正属于自己创新的内容还不是很多，个别概念比较模糊，总体上达到了学校对学位论文的各种要求。赞同指导教师签字： 2012 年 5 月 14 日评阅人评语：文章篇幅符合学院规定，内容完整，层次结构安排科学，主要观点突出，逻辑关系清楚，有一定的个人见解。文题完全相符，论点突出，论述紧扣主题。评阅人签字： 2012 年 5 月 15 日答辩小组评语：该生能在规定时间内比较流利、清晰地阐述论文的主要内容，能恰当回答与论文有关的问题。经答辩委员会全体投票一致同意通过答辩。成 绩(分数)答辩小组组长签字： 2012 年 5 月 16 日答辩委员会审核意见：答辩委员会主席签字： 2012 年 5 月 18 日The Function of Symbolism in Characterization in The Great GatsbyBy Wang QianA Thesis Presented to the Department of Foreign LanguagesWei Nan Normal University as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsfor the Degree ofBachelor of ArtsMay 20, 2012 Class: 2008-01Advisor: Wang RunjuanTable of ContentsI. Introduction.1II. Symbolism in Colors.2A. Green.2B. Yellow.3C. White.3D. Blue.4III. Symbolism in Objects.5A. Green light.5B. The Valley of Ashes.6C. The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg.7D. The East and West Eggs.8IV. Function of Symbolism in Characterization.9A. Jay Gatsby9B. Nick Carraway12C. Daisy Buchanan.13D. Tom Buchanan14V. Conclusion.15The Function of Symbolism in Characterization in The Great GatsbyAbstract: Fitzgerald is the great realism writer of America in the twentieth Century. In his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, he depicts profound characters and represents vivid expression of theme by the rich and exquisite symbolism. Through in-depth study of the symbolic meaning of colors and objects in the novel, the paper explores the function of symbolism in characterization.Keywords: The Great Gatsby; symbolism; colors; objects; characterizationii I. IntroductionThe Great Gatsby is the best work of Fitzgerald both in thought and in literary aspects. The novel tells a tragic story of Gatsby. Gatsby, a young man from the lower class of the West of the United States, tries to obtain his happiness and love through individual struggle, but is abandoned by the rich girl whom he loves. “Fitzgeralds successful use of a lot of symbols in the work becomes a banner of the work” (Bloom 53). It not only makes readers know characters deeply but also enhances the artistic expression of the novels theme. This paper discusses the function of symbolism in characterization in The Great Gatsby.“As a writer, the most important thing of Fitzgerald was his conscious dual personalities” (Turnbull 23). Fitzgerald was gifted of literature and art, but he was unable to refuse the temptation of luxurious life of upper class, leading a profligate life. He wanted reputation and wealth, but he didnt forget that he was a strict and serious writer. In the special times of the wildest and the most colorful world, he was in and out; because he was in, he experienced it and knew it very much; because he was out, he could calmly observe the changing of the social stream, truly describe the features of American society, and soberly recognize the irreconcilable contradiction between the rich and the poor. Moreover, Fitzgeralds life and works nearly intermixed with each other. “His life enlightened his works, just as his works formed his life” (Wu Jianguo 63).The Great Gatsby is the best novel of F. S. Fitzgerald. On the surface, it is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action took place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and was set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidences in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure.II. Symbolism in ColorsColors can symbolize many different things. Artists use colors in theirpaintings when theywant their readers to see what they are trying to express. For instance, ifan artist is trying to express sorrow or death, he often uses blacks, blues, and grays. Basically he uses dreary colors. The readers automatically feel what the artistis trying to express.When the artist uses bright colors, the readers feel warm and happy. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald is like anartist. He uses colors to symbolize many different intangible ideas in the novel.A. GreenGreen is the color of nature. It represents hope, beauty, spring and vitality. In the work, the author gives green the self-evident symbolic meaning - hopes and dreams.At the age of seventeen, Gatsby was in that shabby green jerseys. The color of green gives a person a kind of positive impression, and it is the symbol of dreams and hopes. Later, he fell in love with the local beauty, Daisy, during World War I. They took an oath devoutly, but because Gatsby did not have enough money to pay for the wedding expenses, Daisy married the millionaire, Tom Buchanan. Gatsby struggled from the bottom of society not for the enjoyment of luxury life, but for the pure love. In his mind, Daisy was a symbol of all the beautiful things in his dreams, hopes and goals, and was the embodiment of love. After Gatsby made a windfall, he still kept Daisy in mind, and spent a lot of money attracting Daisy back to him. For Gatsby, to get Daisys love became his only dream and pursuit. However, in the process, Gatsby ignored the crucial point, i.e. the approach of exchanging love with wealth and status went against the essence of love. Finally, he died for Daisy, for his ideal.B. YellowYellow recurs as a symbol of power, wealth and status in the novel. In order to regain his love, Gatsby sent rich information to Daisy in every hour and moment: a magnificent and expensive car, which he took, was light yellow; and the tie was golden when he met Daisy. On weekends, cars, food, bars and so on were all yellow at the luxury, grand and brilliantly illuminated banquet in Gatsbys garden, and even the music was yellow cocktail music. Later, in the villa, Gatsby unexpectedly displayed gold comb to Daisy. All of these yellow or gold symbolize a noisy and money-first atmosphere. In such an environment, a person who wants to succeed must rely on the power of money. Undoubtedly, Daisy and her husband Tom are slaves to money in the novel. Money is the foundation of Daisys love; enjoyment is the rule of her life. To Daisy, wealth is more important than love. On the day of her wedding, she flatly abandoned poor boy Gatsby who deeply loved her and married Tom, the rich man who had status but was a playboy. Wearing a necklace worthy of $ 30 000 that Tom gave her, she married him. Five years later, seeing Gatsby was getting richer, suddenly she burst into tears. Daisy, who was rich in goods, but abnormally empty in spirit, had nothing to do all day. In the novel, the noise and money symbolized by yellow, show the characteristics of that era and the fate of the characters.At the same time, the symbol of money, power and wealth is always associated with death in the novel. Because of Toms disputing against Gatsby, on the way back, Daisy, in a state of nervousness, purposelessly drove Gatsbys yellow car to knock down Mrs. Wilson who suddenly ran on the street. Gatsby was such as a leaf fell into the yellow jungle when he was killed by Wilson and fell into the swimming pool. This connection implies that money is the real source of the evil and leads us to move towards death.C. WhiteIt is generally believed that white symbolizes innocence and purity. The first time when Nick met his cousin Daisy at Tom and Daisys home, she was dressed totally in white. The house and its furnishings were also tuned in light shades. This fact might be interpreted as beauty, cleanness, wealth, innocence, virginity and also laziness. Daisys color is white. She wore white dresses and recalled her white girlhood, and this use of color helped her to characterize her as the unattainable enchanted princess who became personified as Gatsbys dream.White is also a symbol of terror, death, evil and nothingness. White also contains the very strong irony here. When Daisy first met Gatsby, she wore white clothes, and drove a white racing car. The white symbolizes Daisys purity and beauty on the surface, but actually it is a symbol of Daisys empty heart. After she married, Daisy lived in the white palace building and the curtain was also white. These white also symbolizes Daisys spiritual emptiness and vegetation after her marriage. Even Daisys name is the name of a kind of white flower and this shows her emptiness and flimsiness. In the material world of eastern part, her desire for money and material twisted her into a kind of greedy, selfish and vain vulgar woman. The luxious house Gatsby bought was white and his suit was also white on the date with Daisy. Gatsby was also lonely, and except pursuing to get Daisy again, he had no other pursuit. After he obtained a large amount of material wealth, the luxury and extravagance, nightlife could not conceal his emptiness and then white was also a very strong irony here.D. BlueBlue symbolizes broadness and quietness. Young Gatsby was honest and hardworking, therefore he won the captains trust. In the captains eyes, Gatsby was clever and sensible, reliable and ambitious, and he bought Gatsby a blue navy suit. The color of blue symbolizes that Gatsby is magnanimous and tolerant in his character. He inherited a great deal of wealth from the captain, but his opponents snatched it. Gatsby didnt take revenge but summed up the experience and lessons and understood the society gradually. The kindness and broadness of his heart is reflected in his blue navy suit.The color of blue also strengthened Gatsby and Daisys fantastic feelings. In his blue garden, Gatsby invited all guests, and the guests enjoyed his wine, predicted, guessed and talked about his past, his behavior. However, Gatsby always smiled at such things and always treated his guests with his great zeal and tolerance. He hoped that one day Daisy, a girl who liked balls very much, would go to his ball. All the night balls in the blue garden were Gatsbys tools to pursue his dream. In this blue garden, Gatsby was patiently waiting for the arrival of his dream.At the same time, the color of blue reflected in the little man named George Wilson was a pronoun of gloom, symbolizing sullenness, melancholy, depression, loneliness and sadness. When Wilson first appeared, the author said that he was pale yellow hair, lacking of enthusiasm, anemia, homely in appearance. The author also mentioned particularly that he had blue eyes. In the story, Wilson was always a pointless and faineant man, and he was also looked down upon by his wife and was treated like a fool by Tom. In this situation, blue rendered his melancholy and sadness.J. Eckleburgs eyes, appearing six times in the book, were blue, as if he were thinking, and looking down the dark ash heap with gloomy expression. It is a symbol of misfortune and disaster. At the key point of the plot, it seemed that this pair of blue eyes resurrected and saw Gatsby talking with Tom face to face and also predicted that Wilson would kill Gatsby. Symbolism in Objects Besides the colors analyzed in the previous part, there are also some objects which contain symbolic meaning. As mentioned by Bloom, “Several important sites are mentioned in The Great Gatsby. These sites not only tell the place where the story happened, but also contain a special symbolic meaning” (Bloom 62).A. Green lightAt the end of Daisys dock, there was a green light, but to Gatsby it became the embodiment of his dream for the future, and it beckoned to him in the night like a vision of the fulfillment of his desires. The author links Gatsby and the green light together three times.The first appearance of green light was in a moonlit night. In his own house, Gatsby put his arms to a green light at the end of Daisys dock; it was so small and far. For Gatsby, it was not only a green light, but also his missing lover, the goal of his pursuit and the hope of his happy life. Catching the green light would grasp the future and hope. The second time was when Daisy visited Gatsbys house, he told her about the green light: “If it wasnt for the mist we could see your home across the bay,” said Gatsby. “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock” (Fitzgerald 74). The third time was in the last chapter. After the death of Gatsby, Nick remembered the green light that Gatsby believed in. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that is no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms fartherAnd one fine morning”(Fitzgerald 145). It seemed to be close at hand, but couldnt by caught, within sight but beyond reach, and his dream had already gone far away.The green light is used for navigation, which means safety, reliability and unhindered access. In Gatsbys eyes, it was the navigation lamp of his life, making him feel like that t