Abstract: The Great Gatsby is the representative work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the most famous American novelists of “the lost generation”. Fitzgerald successfully gives a vivid description of the young people’s pursuit of American dream and its disillusionment in the Jazz Age. In this novel, Fitzgerald artistically adopts the technique of symbolism to represent his abstract ideas and concepts. This article aims to discover the author’s skillful way of using symbolism. For example, many colors are cleverly employed to symbolize different intangible ideas. The geographical backgrounds, the climate, the valley of ashes as well as the East and West Egg all convey their symbolic meanings. Besides, those names like Gatsby and Daisy in this book all have their special meanings. 

Key words：symbolism, The Great Gatsby, American dream, color, climate

摘要: 菲茨杰拉德是美国迷失一代最著名的小说家之一，其代表作为《了不起的盖茨比》。他成功地描写人们追求的美国梦和爵士时代的梦想。在这部作品中，菲茨杰拉德巧妙地运用象征主义手法来表现抽象的概念和思想。本选题拟通过对《了不起的盖茨比》的研究发现作者对象征艺术手法的巧妙运用。比如，文中的颜色描写着重强调了小说的寓意并且暗示了人物的特定行为动作；地理位置、灰烬山谷以及东埃格和西埃格都有它无形的不同寓意；除此以外，小说中名字的本身，如盖茨比、黛西都有他们本身的象征意义。

关键字：象征主义，《了不起的盖茨比》，美国梦， 颜色，气候