The Great Gatsby and The American Dream《了不起的盖茨比》和美国梦.docx

The Great Gatsby and The American Dream《了不起的盖茨比》和美国梦.docx

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TheGreatGatsbyandTheAmericanDream《了不起的盖茨比》和美国梦

TheGreatGatsbyandTheAmericanDream

《了不起的盖茨比》和美国梦

Acknowledgements

Iwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetoallthosewhohelpedmeduringthewritingofthisthesis.Firstly,aspecialacknowledgementshouldbeshowntoLecturerFangQiang,whofromwhoselecturesIbenefitedgreatly.HishastaughtmeforawholeyearinthestudyofthecauseofTheSocietyandCultureofMajorEnglish-SpeakingCountriesAnIntroduction.Throughthestudyingofthiscause,Igotabasiccomprehendabouttheculturebackgroundsofthewestcountries,and,definitely,itmadeagreatcontributiontothefurtherstudyoftheAmericanliterature.Secondly,IwouldliketothankLecturerSongYun,whotaughtmethecauseofSelectedReadingofBritish&AmericanLiterature.FromthiscauseIgotarelativedeeperunderstandingoftheAmericanpoetriesandnovels,what’smore,itdirectlydoesmegoodinthewritingofthisthesis.Lastbutnotleast,IamparticularlyindebtedtomySupervisorWuXinjia.Fromthebeginningtotheendofwritingthisthesis,shehasshowngreatpatienceincheckingandapprovingmythesis,givingmeprofessionalsuggestions.Lastofall,Iwanttore-expressmyfeelingofgratitudetoallthepersonwhohavegivenmeahandincompletingthisthesis,includingmyteachers,tutorandclassmates.Thanks!

TheGreatGatsbyandtheAmericanDream

Abstract

FrancisScottFitzgeraldisoneofthemostprominentAmericannovelistsofthe20thcenturyandhismasterpieceTheGreatGatsbyislistedamongthemostfamous20th-centuryAmericannovelsconsideringofitsliteraturemerits.ThenovelmainlytellsatragicstoryofJayGatsby,amanwhooriginallywashumbleandpoor,butfinallybecameextremelywealthythroughillegalbusinessmeans.Hehasdevotedallhislifeintorealizinghisdream,topursuehisfirstloveDaisyBuchanan,awoman,whoisfullofcharmbutshallow,selfishandaspiremoney.TruthisthatunderthegeneralcorruptivesocialcircumstanceofJazzyAge,theonlyanswertoGatsby’sdreamwasimpossibilityanddistinction.Thenovelportrayedavividpictureofthe1920s’America,sucharoaringtimethattheeconomywasunprecedentedflourishingontheonehandandthespiritualaspectwasaastonishingdesolationontheother.Thehumanities’corruptionanddestruction,duetotheiruncontrolledpursuitofmaterialsuccessandcompleteignoranceofspiritualimprovement,causedaconfusedstateofthatage.ThisthesistriestocombingTheGreatGatsbyandtheAmericanDreamtoreprovethatJayGatsby’stragedyisascribedtotheharshrealityofAmericansocietyduringtheJazzAgeandre-emphasistheinevitabilityofthedisillusionmentofAmericanDream.Fromtheliteratureworldbacktothemoderngreedysociety,TheGreatGatsbystillhasastrongpracticalsignificance,togivepeopleawarningthatmoneyarenotequaltohappiness,tocallbackthetraditionalAmericanmoralvalue.

Keywords:

AmericanDream;Fitzgerald;JazzAge

《了不起的盖茨比》和美国梦

摘要

弗朗斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德是二十世纪美国杰出的小说家，他的杰作《了不起的盖茨比》极具文学价值，被列为二十世纪美国最著名的小说之一。

小说主要讲述了一个关于杰·盖茨比的悲剧故事。

出身卑微而贫穷但最终因非法经营而大发横财的盖茨比，倾其一生去实现他的梦想——追求他的初恋情人黛西·布坎南，一个外相迷人但肤浅自私的镀金女人。

事实上在爵士时代普遍堕落腐败的社会情况下，对于盖茨比梦想的唯一答案是不可能和幻灭。

该小说形象地刻画了二十世纪的美国，一个一方面经济达到了空前的繁荣而另一方面精神领域却是极度荒芜的喧嚣时代。

因对物质成功的极度追求和对精神进步的完全无视导致人性的堕落和毁坏，造成了那时整个时代的迷茫。

该论文将《了不起的盖茨比》与美国梦相联系，通过对小说人物的剖析和对美国梦的深度研究，重证杰·盖茨比的悲剧是爵士时代美国社会的严酷无情所致,更加强调美国梦幻灭的必然性。

从文学世界回到贪婪的现代社会，《了不起的盖茨比》仍然具有强大的现实意义，警告世人金钱不等于幸福，重唤传统美国道德观念。

关键词：

菲茨杰拉德；美国梦；幻灭

Contents

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………..….I

Abstract…..………………………………………………………….……………...II

摘要……….……………………………….………………….……………….….III

Chapter1Introduction……………………………………………….….…….......1

1.1FitzgeraldandTheGreatGatsby.........................................................1

1.2TheMeaningofthisTopic....................................................................2

Chapter2TheDevelopmentofAmericanDream..........………………....…..........3

2.1Theorigin…..………………………...………......................….…….3

2.2Thedevelopment………..……….………………….….......................3

2.3Thedisillusionment...................……………………………….….…..4

Chapter3TheconnectionofTheGreatGatsbyandtheAmericandream.............5

3.1JayGatsbyandhisAmericanDream.....................................................5

3.2MyrtleWilsonandherAmericanDream...............................................7

Chapter4Conclusion..................................................................................................9

WorksCited………………………………………...………………………...........10

TheGreatGatsbyandtheAmericanDream

Chapter1Introduction

1.1FitzgeraldandTheGreatGatsby

TheGreatGatsby,anexcellentAmericannovel,whichwasfirstpublishedon1925.ThewriterofTheGreatGatsbyisF.SFitzgerald,borninSt.Paul,Minnesota.HehasplayedanimportantroleintheAmericanliteratureduringthe1920sand1930s.Hewasregardedastherepresentativewriterinthe“Lostgeneration”andalsothemostsuccessfulpoetinthe“JazzAge”.Aboutthenovel,“Forhalfacentury,ithasheldahighplaceamongtwentieth-centurynovels.Itsnumerousre-printingsaroundtheworldanditssuccessivepresentationsonfilmhavemadeGatsbyasidentifiableanAmericanfigureasHuckFinn.Ithasrevivedthetwenties,setcurrentfashions,andprovideddialogueforthreegenerationsofdevotedreaders.Intheserespectsalone,thequestionofitsliterarymeritssetaside,itqualifiesasagreatAmericannovel”（Bruccoli57）Themainplotofthenovelisthat:

AyoungmannamedNickCaraway,whocametoNewYorkCityinspringof1922.HebecameinvolvedinthelifeofhisneighboratLongIsland,JayGatsby,averywealthyman,whoheldlavishpartieseverySaturdayandattractedhundredsofguests.GatsbyrevealedtoNick,thathefellinlovewithNick'scousinDaisybeforethewar.Butatthattimehewaspoor.Later,DaisymarriedTomBuchanan,arichbutboringmanofgoodsocialposition.GatsbylostDaisybecausehehadnomoney,butnowhehastheeconomicpower.HepersuadedNicktobringhimandDaisytogetheragain.GatsbytriedtoconvinceDaisytoleaveTom,who,inturn,revealedthatGatsbyhasmadehismoneybyillegalmeans.SothetwomenaskedDaisywhomsheloved.Daisybegantosobhelplessly:

“Ididlovehimonce-butIlovedyoutoo.”Astonishedandflurried,DaisyrushedoutdrovingGatsby'scar,butunexpectedly,DaisyhitandkilledTom'smistress,MyrtleWilson,unawareofheridentityatthatmoment.GatsbyconfineditwashewhoknockeddownthevictiminordertoprotectDaisy.However,afterTomknewthetruthwhichwastoldbyDaisy,forthesakeofmaintaininghisbenefits,TomtoldMyrtle'shusbandWilsonitwasGatsbywhokilledhiswife.WilsonmurderedGatsbyandthencommittedsuicide.NicktriedtoinformTomandDaisy,butonlytobetoldthecouplehadleftthecity.Ultimately,itwasNickwholefttoarrangeGatsby'sfuneral,onlyGatsby'sfatherandoneformerguestattended.NickreturnedtothehisMidwesthome,reflectingonGatsby'sdreamsandthesadandcyclicalstoriesofthepast.

1.2TheMeaningofthisTopic

ThegreatsuccessofTheGreatGatsbyhasbroughtagreatamountofpraisingandstudyofothernovelistsandcritics.Formorethanahalfcentury.Differentscholarshaveadopteddifferentmeanstoexplorethedeepmeanings,suchastheanalysesoffemalecharactersinTheGreatGatsby,theanalysisoftheGreatGatsbyfromLukács’sRealisticViews,theLiterarySymbolisminTheGreatGatsby,theMusicalStudyofTheGreatGatsbyandsomealsotookaprospectofcolorsciencetoanalysisthemajorroles.AccordingtothepreviousstudiesweknowthatTheGreatGatsbyisgenerallyacritiqueoftheAmericandream.TheAmericancultureatthatagewasmisinterpretedbypeopleanditscharacteristicwasastrongemphasisonthegoalofmonetarysuccessbutaweakemphasisontheimportanceofthelegalmeansforthepursuitofsuccess.So,here,thereasonwhyIchoosethistopictostudyisthatasayoungEnglishlanguagelearnerinanewtwenty-onecentury,Ibelievethroughthestudyofthisgreatnovel,wegenerationcannotonlylearnalotaboutthewesternculturebutalsoaplentyoflessonsaboutmoney,dream,success,love,thustosetarightmindtoachieveourvalueofself-existence.Thisthesiswillbecompletedbyameansofcombiningthetraditionalhistoricalapproachesandtheapproachofthestudyofthemaincharacteristics,triestore-explorethereasonwhythedreamswerecollapsed,whatwastherealAmericandreamandthegreatlessonthenovelhaslefttothecurrentsocietyandpeople.

Chapter2TheDevelopmentofAmericanDream

2.1TheOrigin

Whatis“theAmericanDream”?

TheAmericanDreamisanationalethosoftheUnitedStates,asetofidealsinwhichfreedomincludestheopportunityforprosperityandsuccess,andanupwardsocialmobilityachievedthroughhardwork.AndinthedefinitionoftheAmericanDreambyJamesTruslowAdams,“lifeshouldbebetterandricherandfullerforeveryone,withopportunityforeachaccordingtoabilityorachievement”regardlessofsocialclassorcircumstancesofbirth.

HistoricallytheDreamoriginatedinthe17thcentury.Atthattimethereareobviousreligiousdivergences,duetothis,somePuritanssufferedseriouspersecution,thus,theythoughtthatEnglandwastoocorruptedandhopelessanddecidedtoseparatethemselvesfromEngland.In1620,35Puritansand67non-PuritanstooktheshipMayflowerforNorthAmerican.Beforetheyreachedtheirdestination,oneofthePilgrimFathersdrewupanagreementwhichwascalledtheMayflowerCompactandwassignedby41ofthepassengers.Theyformedtheirownreligiouscommunityandsetupacivilgovernment.Purit