Dream & Illusion

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Dream & Illusion

作者：徐大文

来源：《科技视界》2013年第14期

【Abstract】The Great Gatsby， published in 1925， is a fiction taking New York and Changdao Island of the twenties of the 20th century as background， written by an American writer F.Scott.Fitzgerald， consider ed as the symbol of American literature in the “Jazz Age”. The Great Gatsby tells the love story between young Gatsby and rich Daisy. In the paper， we will mainly discuss the application of symbolism in the article emphatically， make analyses of some aspects such as scene， things and colors in the novel. The failed love story between Daisy and Gatsby is linked up by these symbolic strings， and their love story makes the theme deepened because of the use of symbolism. The whole story symbolizes the evaporation of the American dream except the symbols of the concrete things.

【Key words】Symbolism；American dream；Money；Love；Evaporation

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 purpos ely，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 offence 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.