论文 了不起的盖茨比.docx

论文 了不起的盖茨比.docx

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论文了不起的盖茨比

四川师范大学文理学院本科毕业论文

AnAnalysisofDisillusionmentofAmericanDreaminTheGreatGatsby

论《了不起的盖茨比》中美国梦的破灭

学生姓名张燕

院系名称外国语学院

专业名称英语（师范）

班级2008级1班

学号200814025224

指导教师陈雪瑶（讲师）

答辩时间2012-4-15

论《了不起的盖茨比》中美国梦的破灭

学生：

张燕指导教师：

陈雪瑶讲师

摘要：

美国著名作家菲兹杰拉德被称为“美国梦的代言人”，在他的小说中，我们难以区分是他的生活如一部小说还是他的小说就是他的一段真实的生活的写照，因为他已完全融入其中。

尤其是《了不起的盖茨比》，文中主人公盖茨比是为追求美国梦而最终牺牲了自己的典例，他渴望以自己的信念和勇气来获取物质以及爱情上的收获，然而由于他的梦想是一种对虚幻的渴望而不是建立在现实的基础之上的追求，最终导致了他美国梦的破灭，文中通过时间发展及不同人物个性特征向我们阐述了这一梦想破灭的各种原因。

关键词：

美国梦；破灭；原因

AnAnalysisofDisillusionmentofAmericanDreamin

TheGreatGatsby

Abstract：

F.ScottFitzgerald,iswidelyconsideredastheliteraryspokesmanofthe“AmericanDream”.Hisnovelsincludemanyaspectsofhisuniqueexperiencesinthatperiodoftime.Itisnoteasytodistinguishhisnovelandthereallife,whichhasalreadyinvolvedhimphysicallyandmentallyinit.Especiallyinhismasterpiece,TheGreatGatsby,whichwaspublishedin1925.Inthenovel,theherorevealedatypicalexampleofthosewhowereeagertopursuetheAmericanDreambutfinallyendedbysacrificingthemselves.Thoughhedreamedofachievingmaterialwealthandlovethroughhiscourageandhardworking,allthefactorsfromoutsideworldandtheindelibilityofhisdreamledtothedisillusionmentofit.Throughthedevelopmentofthestoryandcharacteristicsofheroes,FitzgeraldelaboratedavividpictureofthedisillusionmentofAmericanDream.

Keywords:

Americandream;disillusionment;reason

Contents

Introduction1

PartITheIntroductionofF.Scott.Fitzgerald2

1.1TheLifeExpericenceofFitzgerald2

1.1.1Fitzgerald’sBackground2

1.1.2Fitzgerald’sMarriage2

1.2LiteraryWorksofFitzgerald3

PartIIAmericanDreamanditsDisillusionment4

2.1TheAmericanDream4

2.1.1TheDefinitionofAmericanDream4

2.1.2TheEssenceofAmericanDream5

2.2DisillusionmentofAmericanDreamReflectedintheNovel5

2.2.1Gatsby’sAmericanDream5

2.2.2NickCarraway’sAmericanDream7

2.2.3Tom,DaisyBuchananandJordanBaker’sAmericanDream7

PartIIITheCauseofDisillusionmentofAmericanDream9

3.1TheJazzAgeandtheRoaringTwenties9

3.2SocialEnvironmentandPeoplefactors9

Conclusion11

Bibliography12

Introduction

F.ScottFitzgeraldwasborninanotrichfamily,sohewantedtoearnlotsofmoneytobecomerichtoenjoyhighqualitylife.ThetempoofhislifeslackenedashislifewasshreddedbyZelda’sinsanityandhisownself-destructivealcoholism.ThroughyearsofemotionalandphysicalcollapsehestruggledtorepairhislifebywritingforHollywood-producingatthesametimeaseriesofstoriesthatexposedhishumiliationthere.HebecameoneofthegreatestwritersinAmericanliteratureandwrotemanyworksinhislifetimetomanifesttheliferealityofthattime.Hewasaspokesmanfortheso-calledJazzAge.

TheGreatGatsbyisregardedashismasterpiece.FirstpublishedonApril10,1925,thestoryissetinLongIsland'sNorthShoreandNewYorkCityduringthesummerof1922.ThenoveltellsofGatsby,anidealist,whotriestorecapturehislostlovebutinvainandisfinallydestroyedbytheinfluenceofthewealthypeoplearoundhim.ThestorydealswiththefailureoftheAmericandreamaspersonifiedintherichandbeautifulwomanDaisywhobelongstocorruptsociety.TheGreatGatsbyevokesahauntingmoodofaglamorous,wildtimethatseeminglywillnevercomeagain.Itisaboutthelossofanidealandthedisillusionmentthatcomeswiththefailureisembodiedfullyinthepersonaltragedyofayoungman（Gatsby）whose“incorruptibledream”is“smashedintopiecesbytherelentlessreality”（Fitzgerald,8）.

Gatsby’sfailuretorealizehisidealsymbolizesthedisillusionmentofhisAmericanDream.Also,Gatsby’sintensityofdreamrepresentsastateofcommitmentwhichtakeshiminsearchofhispersonalgrail;Gatsby’sfailuremagnifiestoagreatextenttheendoftheAmericanDream.

PartITheIntroductionofF.Scott.Fitzgerald

1.1TheLifeExpericenceofFitzgerald

FrancisScottKeyFitzgeraldisoneofthemostoutstandingAmericanauthorsinthetwenties,andTheGreatGatsbyishisbestwork.

1.1.1Fitzgerald’sBackground

F.ScottFitzgeraldwasbornin1896intoaSt,Paulmiddle-classfamily.AfteranunsuccessfulundergraduatecareeratPrinceton,heenteredtheArmyasasecondLieutenantandwhileintrainingcamphemetthebeautifulgirlwhowastobecomehiswife.HemarriedZeldaSayreashisliterarycareergotofftoameteoricstartin1920.Throughthe1920swhenmoneyseemedplentifulandpostwarmoralityencouragedarecklesspursuitofhappiness,heandZeldatraveledinEuropeandNewYork,actingouttheglamorouslife-stylehewroteofinhismostpopularmagazinefiction.Hewasaspokesmanfortheso-calledJazzAge,settingapersonalaswellasliteraryexampleforagenerationwhosefirstcommandmentwas:

Dowhatyouwill.ThespeedofhislifeslackenedashislifewasshreddedbyZelda’sinsanityandhisownself-destructivealcoholism.HefellfromfavorasawriterwhentheindulgentdecadeofhistriumphwentdownundertheimpactofaworldwideDepressioninthe1930s.

1.1.2Fitzgerald’sMarriage

ItisabsolutelythetoughteenageyearsandmarriagelifethatmadeFitzgeraldexperiencethedifficultiesandfrustrationsofthelife.Soweshoulddiscoversomereflectionsofthestoryfromtheauthor’slife.

TherelationshipbetweenFitzgeraldandZeldawentsodramaticthatevenhimselfoncesaid,“SometimesIdon’tknowwhetherZeldaandIarerealorwhetherwearecharactersinoneofmynovels”（Fitzgerald,1）.

ZeldawasthedaughterofajudgeinMontgomery,Alabama,abeautifulsocietygirl.ThoughshetoldFitzgeraldthatshelovedhimsomuch,buthertooexpensivelifelefthimunabletosupporther.TheyhaveexperiencedbreakingupbutfinallygotengagedagainwiththesupportofFitzgerald’ssuccess.ItwasalsoatthistimethatFitzgeraldwrotemanyofhisshortstorieswhichhelpedtopayfortheirextravagantlifestyle.Butwhenthemisfortunecame,in1930swhenZeldabecameincreasinglytroubledbymentalillness.Theirlifebecameharder.Itwashismarriageandhisonerouslifeofmakingmoneytosupportherthataffectedhiswritingtremendously.Fitzgeraldwastormentedvirtuallyallhislifebythefactthathecouldnotconcentrateonhisworkingandtheimprovementofhisartingeneral.

1.2LiteraryWorksofFitzgerald

TheRoaringTwentieswasaperiodofliterarycreativity,andworksofseveralnotableauthorsappearedduringtheperiod.SuchasEarnestHemingway,ErichMariaRemarqueandF.ScottFitzgerald,Etc.Literaryworksinthatperiodoftimemirrorpeople’sexperiencesandattitudeofthe1920s.Wecouldseeitfromthefollowingexamples:

AllQuietontheWesternFrontbyErichMariaRemarquerecountsthehorrorsofWWIandalsothedeepdetachmentfromGermancivilianlifefeltbymanymenreturningfromthefront.

ThisSideofParadisebyF.ScottFitzgeraldportraysthelivesandmoralityofpost-WorldWarIyouth.TheSunAlsoRisesbyErnestHemingwayisaboutagroupofexpatriateAmericansinEuropeduringthe1920s.Allinallwritersandtheirworksinthoseyearswerehauntedwithcomplicatedsensationswhichhaveshownusallthedifficultiesandfrustrationsintheirlife.

PartⅡAmericanDreamanditsDisillusionment

2.1TheAmericanDream

BeforewetakealooktothecausesandeffectsofthedisillusionmentofAmericandream,let’sfirsttrytounderstandthedefinitionandcontentofAmericanDream.

2.1.1TheDefinitionofAmericanDream

Indifferentsocialandhistoricalbackgrounds,theconceptsofAmericanDreamaredifferent,andfordifferentpeople,theyhavedifferentunderstandingsofAmericanDreamandthewaystopursuetheirAmericanDreamarealsovarious.Thedefinitionoftheso-calledAmericanDreamcanbedistinguishedinbroadsenseandnarrowsense.Fortheformer,AmericanDreamistheequality,freedomanddemocracyinthelandoftheUnitedStates.Thelateronemeans,everyoneinAmerica,ifonlyworkhardandnevergiveup,hecouldachievehisdreamandcouldliveabetterlifeinthispieceofland,thatistosay,peopleshouldmaketheirefforts,suchasdiligence,courageanddeterminationtorealizedreamsratherthandependonthehelpfromothers.

ThistermthatAmericanDreamwasfirstusedbyJamesTruslowAdamsinhisbookTheEpicofAmericawhichwaswrittenin1931.Hestates,“TheAmericanDreamisthatdreamofalandinwhichlifeshouldbebetterandricherandfullerforeveryone,withopportunityforeachaccordingtoabilityorachievement.ItisadifficultdreamfortheEuropeanupperclassestointerpretadequately,andtoomanyofushavegrownwearyandmistrustfulofit.Itisnotadreamofmotorcarsandhighwagesmerely,butadreamofsocialorderinwhicheachmanandeachwomanshallbeabletoattaintothefulleststatureofwhichtheyareinnatelycapable,andberecognizedbyothersforwhattheyare,regardlessofthefortuitouscircumstancesofbirthorposition.”Thisideologyisbaseditselfontheprinciplethatoneshouldberesponsibleforoneself,andtakingeveryopportunitytogainsuccessbycourageandhardworking.

2.1.2TheEssenceofAmericanDream

AsfortheAmericanDream,itisabeliefthatabetterlifecouldbeachievedthroughhardworkandstrives.ThereareseveralelementslieintheAmericanDream:

theUShasprovidedequalopportunitiesforeveryone;thesuccessbasedonowntalentsandefforts,notthebackgroundandextraction;everyonewasbornequally;andeveryonehashisownrighttoachievesuccess.

“ForanyAmericannomatterwhathisoriginwas,couldsucceedinchangingtheirsocialpositionsandmak