A Semantic Field Approach To Symbols In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, written by F·Scott·Fitzgerald in 1925, is one of the greatest literary works in 1920s America. It is considered by critics as the core of Fitzgerald?s artistic achievement. The novel is analyzed by scholars through different perspectives, such as the writing techniques, the narrative point of view, the structure of the novel, etc. Besides, the outstanding artistic merit also lies in his original use of symbolism to depict his philosophical and moral views of his own times. This thesis is intended to offer a detailed and systematic analysis of symbolism as a literary technique in The Great Gatsby under the guidance of semantic field theory. According to the semantic field theory, words have different sorts of meanings such as connotative meaning, associative meaning, collocative meaning, etc. The symbolic meaning of a word could be traced to the semantic field that it belongs to. Only in a certain semantic field could readers comprehend the symbolic meaning of the word in the context. Thus the aim for using the word is achieved.The first part of the thesis makes an overall introduction to the semantic field theory, including the researches of the theory home and abroad currently, the definition of the theory, the category of the theory, its features and the application of the theory in different fields. Semantic field has been applied in several aspects such as words memory, words relations in discourses, etc. However, the exploration for its functions in explanatory capacity for figure of speech in literature is not sufficient. Nonetheless it doesn?t mean it?s not important. The second part probes into symbolism in literature and its application in The Great Gatsby. In literary works, proper use of symbolism could add value to the works and make the book meaningful. In The Great Gatsby, many symbols are used to express the theme of the novel, and they are mainly in three sorts: setting, color and location. All the words in different sorts successfully convey the symbolic meaning that the author intends to express. The third part makes an analysis of the symbolic meanings of the settings, colors and locations in The Great Gatsby under the guidance of the semantic field theory. Since the symbolic element and the symbolic meaning are supposed to share a common part of a certain semantic field, the elements such as the valley of ashes, the Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, time, and colors such as white, green and yellow could convey the meanings that reflect the theme of the novel.The final part of the thesis draws a conclusion of the research: it makes a study of the application of the semantic field theory in analyzing literary works from a unique perspective. This could contribute to further understanding of symbolism in literary works, thus for readers to better appreciate the works.