Abstract: Through the perspective of Symbolism, this thesis analyzes the novel in three aspects: object symbolism, setting symbolism, and character symbolism, and is composed of five parts. The first part is a brief introduction of Fitzgerald and his works, especially The Great Gatsby, as well as the symbolism. The second part is about some representative objects, such as Gatsby’s mansion, the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and so on. The third part concerns the symbolic meaning of some important settings, such as East Egg, West Egg and the valley of ashes, etc. The fourth part analyzes the three main characters, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Fay Buchanan and Nick Carraway and their symbolic meanings to show the theme. The final part makes a conclusion to reveal the spiritual hollowness in the money-oriented and pleasure-driven society and the disillusionment of American Dream in the 1920s.

Key words: Symbolism, object, setting, character, American Dream

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Introduction-1

1 Object Symbolism-3

1.1 Gatsby’s Mansion ---- Gatsby’s Fate-4

1.2 The Green Light ---- Gatsby’s Dream-4

1.3 Hopalong Cassidy ---- Gatsby’s Reference-6

1.4 The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg ---- God’ s Eyes-7

2 Setting Symbolism-8

2.1 The East Egg and West Egg ---- the East and West-8

2.2 The Valley of Ashes ---- The Waste Land-9

2.3 The Rains ---- The Reflection of Gatsby’s Mood and A Baptism-10

3 Character Symbolism-10

3.1 Jay Gatsby ---- The New Rich and Dreamer-10

3.2 Daisy Fay Buchanan ---- An Innocent Princess and Golden Girl-12

3.3 Nick Carraway ---- The Observer and Participant-13

Conclusion-14

Bibliography-15

Acknowledgements-18