symbolism.ppt

Symbolism雷小燕（Sarah）1-SymbolnAs normally used in literary study,symbol suggests a connection between the ordinary sense of reality and a moral or spiritual order.e.g.A red rose can be a symbol of love or beauty.2-SymbolismnThe practice of employing symbols is called symbolism,a term also used to describe a group of symbols within a particular text.nJust as characterization and dialogue and plot work on the surface to move the story along,symbolism works under the surface to tie the storys external action to the theme.3-Brief IntroductionnSymbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts.nIn literature,the movement has its roots in Les Fleurs du mal(The Flowers of Evil,1857)by Charles Baudelaire.The works of Edgar Allan Poe,which Baudelaire greatly admired and translated into French,were a significant influence and the source of many stock tropes and images.4-nEarly in the development of the fictional narrative,symbolism was often produced through allegory,giving the literal event and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence.e.g.John Bunyans Pilgrims Progress5-nAllegory is undoubtedly the simplest way of fleshing out a theme,but it is also the least emotionally satisfying because it makes things a little too easy on the reader.nThe best works of literature are those in which an element of mystery remains-those which lend themselves to a variety of interpretations.6-Important Symbols in The Great GatsbynTimenThe Valley of AshesnDr.Eckleburgs EyesnThe green light7-TimenFitzgerald uses time to emphasize the correlation between love and money.Throughout the book,time has been a major factor in the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby.8-Timen“Cant repeat the past?Why of course you can!”.nIt seems that Gatsby cannot grasp the concept that time changes everything,including people;and that the Daisy he see today is no longer the same as the Daisy that he used to love.Time has erases Daisys love for Gatsby and replaced it with a realistic desire to fit in with society through her marriage to Tom Buchanan.9-Timen“his head leaned back so far that it rested against the fact of a defunct mantelpiece clock”.nThe act of leaning against a defunct clock,can be interpreted as Gatsby using time as support;yet time,in turn,has failed him.nSince“Time is money”,Fitzgerald is criticizing how people are unconsciously allowing money to interfere with their lives,and even worse:their love.10-The Valley of AshesnThis is a valley of ashes a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens;where ashes take 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.11-The Valley of AshesnBy describing the Valley of Ashes as a dumpster for modern industrial wastes,Fitzgerald demonstrates the decay in human values that results from the competition for wealth.nIt also symbolizes the plight of the poor,like George Wilson,who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.12-The Valley of Ashesn“This is a valley of ashes a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat”.nFarm is a source of food;and food is a source of life;by replacing food with industrial ashes,Fitzgerald eludes to how modernization is beginning to turn people away from humane characteristics.13-Dr.Eckleburgs EyesnBut above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it,you perceive,after a moment,the eyes of Doctor T.J.Eckleburg.The eyes of Doctor T.J.Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high.They look out of no face but,instead,from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent noseBut his eyes,dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain,brood on over the solemn dumping ground.14-Dr.Eckleburgs EyesnThe eyes may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland,though the novel never makes this point explicitly.nThe connection between the eyes and God exists only in Mr.Wilsons claim,“God knows what youve been doing,everything youve been doing.You may fool me but you cant fool God!”15-Dr.Eckleburgs EyesnDr.Eckleburgs eyes represent the higher power that oversees the upper class society as the root of ethical and moral corruption.The fact that Dr.Eckleburgs eyes is watching over Valley of Ashes and not East Egg or West Egg could mean that God is only watching and protecting the poor people living there who are not yet corrupted.It could also mean that God is watching over the utter destruction by money and he plans on punishing the people who causes it.16-Green LightnGreen light first appears when Gatsby stares across the bay towards a green light at the end of a dock,and later this light stands on Daisy Buchanans dock.nThis green light symbolizes the green light to go for Daisy.nGreen is the color of hope,so this green light represents Gatsbys hope to meet Daisy again and a chance to win her back.“Gatsby believed in the green light”17-18-