小议《了不起的盖茨比》中的爵士时代(英文)

ContentsAbstract (1)摘要 (1)1. Introduction (1)2. The Background of Jazz Age (3)2.1 The Definition of Jazz Age (3)2.2 The Causes for Jazz Age (4)2.2.1 World War I. (4)2.2.2 The Generation Gap (5)2.3 The Features of Jazz Age (6)2.3.1 Egoism (6)2.3.2 American Dream (7)2.4 The Reflection of Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby (8)2.4.1 Money Dream for Gatsby (8)2.4.2 Emotional Dream for Gatsby (9)2.4.3 Egoism of Daisy and Tom (9)3. The Characters of Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby (11)3.1 The Wilson Couple (11)3.2 The Buchanan Couple (12)3.3 Gatsby in the Eyes of Others (14)3.4 Analysis the Tragedy of Gatsby (15)4. Conclusion (17)References (18)AbstractThe Jazz Age is named by the famous American novelist Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who considers the Jazz Age as the best time as well as the worst time.The Great Gatsby, one of his representative works, portrays Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Myrtle, Wilson, and the environment and the state in which they live. This paper presents the background with typical features of the Jazz Age, through describing living and status of the characters in the novel. By describing the causes and characteristics of the society appearance, this paper focuses on the analysis of the image and structure of the main characters in the novel, as well as the expression of sorrows for the protagonist' s ending, then reveals the theme of the human nature changes of the time. Through the analysis, we can find that the original beautiful, fascinating, inspiring people to continue to progress in the aim, American Dream, has undergone a qualitative change, finally became synonymous with the pursuit of money. The American society of the 20s was transformed into a dirty, ugly, deformed and money-worship society, which was vividly shown in the novel.Keywords：The Great Gatsby; Fitzgerald; Jazz Age; American Dream; Egoism摘要爵士时代是由美国著名小说家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德命名的。

他认为爵士时代是最好的时代, 也是最怀的时代。

他的代表作之一《了不起的盖茨比》描绘了盖茨比、黛西、汤姆、莱特尔、威尔逊的人物形象, 以及他们生活的环境和状态。

本文通过描述小说中人物的生活和地位，呈现出爵士时代典型的背景面貌。

通过对社会面貌的成因和特点的阐述, 着重分析了小说中主要人物的形象和结构, 并为主人公结局表示悲哀, 揭示了这是一段人性变化的时代主题。

分析时代面貌, 我们可以发现, 原来美丽、迷人、鼓舞人心的人们继续进步的目标, 美国梦, 经历了质的变化, 最终成为追求金钱的代名词。

取而代之的是肮脏、丑陋、畸形和拜金主义的20年代美国面貌。

关键词：《了不起的盖茨比》；菲茨杰拉德；爵士时代；美国梦；利己主义1.IntroductionThe Great Gatsby is a novel written in 1925 by Fitzgerald, a famous American writer, reflecting the “impetuous 1920s” in the 20th century. The prototype of Gatsby’sartistic image in the novel is based on its author Fitzgerald. The author’s self-image and personal experience are the projection of the construction of the beautiful vision of American dream, the fatal temptation of its construction, and distortion of American dream, even be destroyed and shattered with the development of times. Fitzgerald was born into a poor family of businessmen. His poverty made him suffer from a sense of inferiority. He began to write furiously and became famous for This Side of Paradise, which made Fitzgerald, who was less than 24 years old, an overnight star of American literature, achieve to marry his fond girl, Zelda. Due to this novel, it laid the position of Fitzgerald as the leader and poet laureate of the “Jazz Age”. A week later, Mr. Famous married the young, charming and rich Zelda in New York, becoming an enviable couple. They are active in the society of New York, indulging and reveling in love, young lives and the joy of success, living parties of nightlife, toasting, and later living in Europe for years.But behind Fitzgerald’ s enviable marriage is a life that makes him unable to enjoy so forever. The extravagance of his wife makes him need to keep writing to earn basic living money, so that he tries his efforts to maintain their glamorous life. Later F’s wife was often taken to a psychiatric hospital for multiple episodes of mental illness, and Fitzgerald took to drink. Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in L.A. on December 21, 1940, at the age of 44.Fitzgerald’s works often focus on the desire for youth and idealism. From Fitzgerald’ s own experience and personal narrative, we know that he believes this is the characteristics of Americans in his time. His works also dealt with the fickleness of feeling and the sense of loss, which were the inevitable fate of people at that time he considers. He has felt the breath of life and emotional rhythm of the jazz age, full of enjoyment in drinking and toasting, as well as has experienced the luxury and the emptiness and helplessness in it. Therefore, based on his own love and marriage, Fitzgerald wrote a tragic story of “Jazz” love, The Great Gatsby. He felt the changes in times and got similar experience with Gatsby’s. Thus, it is designed to record the emotions of the individual, including their suffering, and to alert American to wake up from the illusory dream by the reflection of social phenomena in The Jazz Age.While we are reading, we find that The Great Gatsby is written in Nick’s perspective, so that we readers can have a more objective observation of Gatsby’s upper-class society and the mood of the characters in the novel. Nick considers and describes himself as “both in and out of the matter”. The novel begins wit h Nick coming to the east to meet Gatsby, and ends with “cleaning up the mess”, burying Gatsby back to the Midwest. Fitzgerald used Nick’ s eyes to show the so-called “Jazz age” in the United States. He not only made a portrayal of the extravagant of the bourgeois, but also chased that kind of life himself. However, the author, after all, is loyal to life, feeling of this is a world of gorgeous surface but cruelly bloody, so he let the readers hear the gunshots. He condemned the rich people represented by Tom through Nick’ s words. He filled Nick with romantic passion and a bright future, which was clearly expressed in the last few paragraphs of the novel. Nick actively involved in the event of making Gatsby and Daisy date. There is no doubt that Nick is the key figure in Gatsby’ s reunion with Daisy, thus promoting the development of the plot. In the end, Nick witnessed the demise of three characters Gatsby, Myrtle and Wilson, which he never expected to happen.2.The Background of Jazz Age2.1 The Definition of Jazz Age“Jazz Age” appeared in Fitzgerald’ s novel “The Tale of the Jazz Age”for the first time. It is a new term coined by Fitzgerald, named after the rise of jazz, while the rise of jazz benefited from the skyrocketing wealth of people at that time. Fitzgerald portrays this period as the most enjoyable and flamboyant era in American history, which later became the name of an era. Viewing from the historical timeline, it refers to the short period from the end of the First World War to the onset of the economic crisis of the 1920s and the rapid development of the US economy.In the prosperous the 1920s, economically developed, when most Americans gained the material benefits of World War I, they started to enjoy their life with unprecedented enthusiasm and pleasure in an unbridled manner. They consider themselves to be in the most brilliant times in human history and indulge in it. Theybelieve that this era will continue indefinitely. The social structure changes that people have undergone in behavior and psychology: The rapid expansion of the middle class, the expansion of personal consumption, the change of the fashion of life, the change of people’ s moral conce pt. “This is an era of puritanism and alcohol release, as well as an era of psychological analysis, jazz music and teenage girls becoming coquettish and frivolous; it is an era of challenging innovation, being attached to the idyllic life of the past, and an era of widespread development and commercial prosperity of new technologies-cars, airplanes, movies, The indulgent pleasures of radio and modern cities. ”2.2 The Causes for Jazz Age2.2.1 World War I.The background of the novel is positioned in the “Jazz Age” of the drunkenness. It was a short period of prosperity in the United States after World War I. After the end of World War I, the United States became the most powerful country in the world at that time. In the initial stage of the war, the United States declared its neutrality and did not participate in war. We can see from the development trend of the war that the United States takes advantage of others fight and wins the war. The US government has gained economic prosperity at that time because of its keen business acumen. At the beginning of the war, except for a few Nordic countries that remained neutral, most European countries were involved in the war, and even some Middle Eastern countries fought in the war. However, for the countries involved, the loss brought by war cannot be measured in terms of things and people sacrificed, and it is difficult to materialize and measure the value of national development in the later period. But the United States used its “neutral” vantage point to provi de a large quantity of military supplies for the fighting, serving as a arsenal for both sides, which quickly expanded military production and heavy industry production in the United States, while also expanding the economic capital of the United States. Not only the US government's commercial trade, a large amount of US private capital has also begun to trade overseas, they all smell business opportunities, everybody knows that when the European countries aretoo late to react, this is a good time to accumulate strength indeed. With keen insight, the United States, through the opportunity of important seaport countries to participate in the war, to seize the initiative for maritime trade, actively take over trade with countries, seize the important resources in the hands of all regions, expanding the strength of national resources, such as Brazilian coffee, Mexican oil, Chilean tin ore and so on. Therefore, at the end of the war, the United States changed from a capital-importing country before the war to a capital-exporting country, and the debtor country became a creditor country. This war money has made it rich for a few years and expanded its economic strength.2.2.2 The Generation Gap“Thanks for” World War I, the United States gained economic prosperity at that time. From political, economic, and military trends, we usually consider that when a country is in a period of rapid development, there are usually two ways to analyze its social status -- a newly rich consumer society, confident inflation; But at the same time many people live with the insecurity of poverty and prejudice. Or both: a society that desperately wants to embrace modernity; Retro and conservative tendencies form another interventionist force. Social status depends on which side wins.What did the United States look like at that “p rosperous period”? In the 1820s, the United States embarks on the development of industrialization, while rich and diverse industrialization attracted a large number of people to the cities, and the scale of the cities expanded accordingly. A typical feature used to describe economic prosperity is that cars were in fashion here- not a luxury for the few at all. All kinds of goods were quickly produced and then consumed by wealthy people, a few upstarts. The range of consumption applied to all manner of built, manufactured, and crafted goods, from hulking skyscrapers to intricate jewelry.Where did plenty of upstarts start? During this period, there was a new law promulgated as well, the Prohibiton, limiting economic development from macro perspective. The United States forbade the production and sale of liquor. The directimpact is that this move only fueled the drive to defy authority. All of us know that the more you don’t have, the more precious it is. According to the statistics of The National Bureau of Economic Research, the drinking level of alcoholic beverages was reduced to about 30% before the prohibition. Due to scarce liquor or law placing it illegal, making it become an exclusive item for the rich, which is unfair for others. Hence liquor becomes a feature used to describe class status in society. There have been places in society where people have privately consumed liquor, named Speakeasy, underground trading places for alcoholic beverages. Although it was said to be “underground”, in fact, they are also in blatant sales, in charge of the inspection of the police has been bought early, even some places was taken over the smuggling and sale of alcoholic beverages. In “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby did the smuggling of liquor. Some people perceived business opportunities in time, which directly benefited them who dared to hop at the edge of the law. Who could celebrate without alcohol? Illegal “bootlegged” gin and corn liquor “mills” were soon easily available, and “gangsters”, such as Chicago’s infamous Al Capone, made millions through its distribution and sale. Enterprising individuals concocted their own liquor at home, and the phrase “bath tub gin” became part of the vocabulary. That vocabulary also included terms such as “Speak Easy”, and “joint”, nicknames for bars where people could obtain illegal liquor.Fast development of cities and bulging wallets of people rapid changes the economic growth rate, vice versa. The greater the difference in economic levels, the more social contradictions there are, especially existing in different consumer attitudes between generations. New things in society, including new laws, have rapidly widened the gap between generations, under different cognition. The younger and older generations of American society seem unable to understand each other. Women with jazz, short skirts, short hair and smoking in public are incomprehensible to older generations. It is the generation gap that enhances the beautiful, enjoyable characters of jazz age.2.3 The Features of Jazz Age2.3.1 EgoismFitzgerald describes this era as “a new generation coming of age who will find the Gods dead and all faith in man shaken; All they know is that this era is headed for the biggest, most flamboyant orgy in history.” Traditional values have been subverted, and people gradually transform into people with personal interests. People are immersed in the pleasure of enjoyment and pursue fame, wealth, status and enjoyment so that they even consider obtaining by any means, which finally becomes their life goals. But from a sociological perspective, we cannot deny the egoism completely, in fact this kind of egoism to a certain extent has accelerated the American economic development. At that time, the United States not only seized the opportunity to occupy overseas markets, but also sold resources to the Allies among the participating countries. The United States lent money to Britain and France during the war and took advantage of the declining competitiveness of European belligerents in the world market to expand industrial and agricultural production and export commodities. Therefore, self-interest played a positive role in the rise of capitalism. Although lauding its positive influence, it actually aimed at rationalizing the exploitative feature of bourgeois self-seeking at the expense of others and legitimizing bourgeois individualism.2.3.2 American DreamAmerican dream is a belief that people can have a better life in the United States if they make unremitting efforts. The core meaning of American dream is that everyone can have a better life in the United States, no matter he or she is born rich or poor, as long as he or she makes unremitting efforts. Such belief can be traced back to the large-scale immigration of Europe to North America and the development period for the southern and western of the United States. Such ideology has basically become the spiritual pillar of the founding of the United States for more than three hundred years. However, with the passage of time and the development of capitalist economy, American dream has gradually changed, that its root cause is the formation of egoism. In Fitzgerald’ s “The Jazz A ge”, American dream has morphed into a dream of making money. The definition of “a better life” has also morphed into a morbid pursuit of money and the luxury of high society. Society is like a rough and surging current,taking people towards the other side of legendary happiness, any force facing the counter current seems so small and powerless, and who will struggle to go up against the current? The perplexity and pleasures of the younger generation made them slaves of materialism, and gradually went to the emptiness of spirit and the void of emotion in the life of the bright and glowing.2.4 The Reflection of Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby2.4.1 Money Dream for GatsbyStudying at the portrayal of Fitzgerald’ s “The Great Gatsby” for Gatsby’ s life, it is not hard to find that Gatsby’ s American dream has actually taken root in his heart since he was very young. Gatsby read a book on Cowboy Cassidy when he was very young, and wrote on the last page of the book about his determination and plan to improve himself through hard work, such as “Read one improving book or magazine per week”, etc. From this short sentence, we can understand that the childhood Gatsby is willing to carry out actions to pursue and strive for good things. He wants to improve himself by reading useful books or magazines, so as to realize his dreams. When he grew up, Gatsby chose to join the army, which reflected his ideal and ambition, desiring to serve for his country, as well as showing his talent and changing his destiny. American dream is undeniably tempting for a new generation. After the War, Gatsby “had his chest full of medals won on the battlefield”, and “ went into the bullet house in Wine Brand, 43rd Street, looking for a job, he had not eaten for two days”…he paid his labor, go south, and fought on the battlefield, he was not an incompetent - he handsome, gentle, smart, ambitious, but at last he still had nothing. In the absence of a way out, he had to take risks. Wily’ s snake took a fancy to him, claiming to have Gatsby “picked up from the gutte r”,“raised from scratch” and “sent him to great use” and thus “made him who he was”. In this way, a talented, persistent, kind-hearted, full of fantasies of youth, finally fell into the trap of capitalism. Gatsby’s origina l American dream finally deteriorated.2.4.2 Emotional Dream for GatsbyGatsby’ s American dream actually describes the extreme desire of “material wealth” and “interest dream” in the late America Dream. Gatsby organizes the biggest parties of the area in his gorgeous house in order to gather almost all the residents of West and East Egg. Wealth made that poor Gatsby become a sensational people, attracting reporters to visit him now, as well as a variety of New York celebrities, popular movie stars, a certain prince, and even the old rich of East egg town. The men and women of the fashionable society, “have fun on his lawn”,“uninvited coming over hundred person each time”. But we know that all of these activities are intended to attract the attention of his love, Daisy, his main and only target. In Gatsby’ s heart, Daisy is a symbol of his American Dream, an ideal he has pursued throughout his life firmly.In order to get his ideal love, Gatsby tried to cater to his lover, Daisy, by pretending to be born in a rich family, and to put on an educated crown in Oxford. He disguised himself and lived at the town of West Egg. Across a sea from Daisy’ s palace at East Egg, Gatsby’s palace-style villa was no inferior than her colonial-style building of King George. He was delusional about relying on material means to attract his old lovers in anticipation of a continuous love with her. It is true that the power of money is enormous, Gatsby has regained the love he has lost, and his “love” has returned to him. Howev er, although the Love of Gatsby is low-key, the cruel reality of society is unable to accommodate his illusory dream. His love is full of poetic and extraordinarily idealistic. His strategy is based on impressionism through public displays of wealth. All his aims are just a glance of his lover who seemed to belong to him in the past. The meaning of extension is to win back his former lover, Daisy, who is now married to Tom Buchanan.2.4.3 Egoism of Daisy and TomIn fact, Gatsby saw his relationship with Daisy too sacred. He has been in his dream actually, and maybe he knows well but does not want to wake up reality. When Gatsby regained his former love with money, he was very satisfied that he couldn’t wait to let Daisy clarify this love in public that she never loved Tom, but loved him, and the two would be together forever. Not satisfied to win Daisy’s love, heunrealistically insists that she could deny her former love for Tom and return to the pristine virginity she possessed when Gatsby first met her. It was a delusion, reluctance to believe in reality, which was just a thought that was ridiculous joke for Daisy’ s legal husband. When Tom Buchanan irritated and humiliated Gatsby a veteran trafficker, satirized his “Oxford origin”, Gatsby’s “looks like it’s just killing a person” reaction made Daisy stunned. Learning about Gatsby got illegal and unprotected wealth, she lost her trust and appreciation for Gatsby. She definitely regrets having a thought of eloping with Gatsby. She was so annoyed that killing someone by accident during her driving because of too much emotional in temper. After the accident, she was good at being a woman, turning to her husband and Gatsby immediately. There were two different actions of them. Gatsby took the initiative to bear the blame for her, while Tom used the car accident to teach Wilson to commit a murder, which eventually led to the tragedy of Gatsby, who was shot by angry Wilson. Tom, out of jealous, aims to remove the possibility of dating for Daisy and Gatsby. Daisy, out of holding her position, accepts the trend of the event. It is a tragedy that Daisy knew clearly, but she didn’t stop it.How do we evaluate Gatsby’ s American dream? He was loyal to his country, but failed to realize his original American dream, not to mention his political ambitions, or his deserved respect. Later, he realized the “money dream” by illegal means. As for the erotic dream, he was deep in the self-thought of love, so that the dream is glorious, hard to chase or even never chase. This is the Jazz Age, but also the era of apathy. Personal interests first, who will struggle to go against the current?For Daisy, Gatsby’s social status has a great contrast with his spiritual state, which is inconsistent with the values of society at that time. This generation knows how to enjoy, chasing money and selfishness. Pursuing materialism is the mainstream of society. However, Gatsby did all the efforts to achieve material level, but there has been no change in his spirit. He is simple, pure, idealistic, romantic, and poetic. Compared with vanity and indifference Daisy, Gatsby is clean, naively think that the distance between himself and Daisy is money. He does not understand the classdifference between him and Daisy. This is what he has set since the moment he was born. He can’t change it anyway, nor could money.Gatsby never wanted to believe that it was just a dream, or that he knew it was a dream, but he didn't want to wake up. Spiritual emptiness and emotional voids are the ultimate destination of Gatsby. This dream of love is like the green light on the dock of Daisy, where he stares every night and he does believe in this romantic green light, but in fact it is also elusive and hopeless. This is because in the bourgeois society, because of weighing of balance, the marriage must be determined by the class status of both parties. Daisy is shallow, selfish, and vain. “The voice is full of money.” She is a “beautiful little fool”, and she is surprisingly good at weighing the interests! She could not give up the noble Madame Buchanan to marry a humble smuggler! Gatsby will never think that his love will cruelly and ruthlessly take his life and have no sorrow. After Gatsby’s death, the author symbolizes Gatsby’ s life with a pile of fallen leaves floating in the pool—how bleak and worthless. It is the egoism of Daisy and Tom that killed Gatsby who became a poor scapegoat.3.The Characters of Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby3.1 The Wilson CoupleIn The Great Gatsby, the subtle emotional entanglements among the upper-class young people sitting in the luxury mansion are an important element of this era, and the story revolves around its enjoyment and profligacy, in contrast to the working class’s diligent sustenance. The main color of the environment in which the working class survives is always gray. They work in the ash of the slums abandoned by the capitalist civilization with the author writing “Ash filled into houses”, “Gray people”, “Gray lorries crawled along an invisible track”, “ This piece of gray land and a faint dust that always enveloped the sky”,“The thing that swallowed Gatsby’ s mind was traced after his dream disappeared, turbid dust.” The autho r is to insinuate the spiritual world of man and the whole society as poor, lonely and desolate as this land of ashes. The Wilson couple in the book are typical of the tragic figures that reflect this era. Wilson,“With blonde hair, pale face and a listless look,” was forgiving and numb as poverty was spurned and betrayed by his wife. The traditional virtues of his dedication, diligence and thrift became worthless in the context of the society at the time. As a person at the bottom, Myrtle is dissatisfied with the hard life with him. The terrible living environment and the current atmosphere of enjoyment remind the “vibrant” woman all the time. Only the upper-class society can meet her material desires. It was this sense of hedonism that was driven Myrtle to betray her diligent and loyal husband and become Tom’s mistress. She knows clearly that her relationship with Tom is a pure exchange of flesh and money. “The moth” still caught in the fire. She buys fashion magazines, cosmetics, perfumes and other luxury items, and imitates the lady to buy a dog. She thought she could change her status lowly by filling the splendid New York apartment Tom had rented for her with large and inappropriate furniture. However, in the eyes of Tom, who was born in the elite class, she was just a plaything that she bought for money, and she had no right to speak. The novel reflects the conflict between the sense of hedonism at that time and the traditional morality represented by her husband Wilson. This is a conflict of values in The Jazz Age.If Wilson is a typical representative of labor tools under the repression of a distorted capitalist society, Mrs. Wilson is the victim of the money supremacy. The Wilson couple, who struggled in the ruins, could not control their own destiny. They all lived in the cage of capitalist society. For Myrtle, the luxuriously decorated apartment is the cage of things, and she is the prisoner who is willing to serve. Finally, the tragedy of Mrs. Wilson’s death under the wheel stems from her own, for she doesn’t care about her husband’s love or have family responsibilities, she wants to integrate into the upper class by closing the rich instead. The wealth and status have become the only surviving value of Myrtle. This is a malformed value. Among the malformed values, the pursuit of Myrtle will end in failure.3.2 The Buchanan CoupleTom is a selfish, ungrateful, and unethical aristocratic. In his view, the privilege of aristocrats like him is justified, and no other forces can be tolerated to share. This is not an anomaly. He represents many aristocrats actually in jazz age. There is an insurmountable gulf between Gatsby and the aristocratic world represented by Tom, and no matter who dares to talk about equality, he is bound to be put to death. Thus, although Gatsby had erected a ladder with illegal money, he could not occupy the equal status of the upper class to share their "Magic and Milk". No matter how he extravagant, how to change his name and car, he is still from the bottom of the society, for the upper class does not recognize the upstart. They get two ways of life, reflected in the class gap, which is also insurmountable, and therefore always attacked and marginalized.Tom is a hypocritical and morally corrupt aristocratic. After marrying Daisy to New York, he began hooking up with the wife of Wilson, the owner of the vehicle repair line. And when he discovered his wife and Gatsby's secret, he tried to make a family guardian: “Nowadays, people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and the next you’ll know, we’ ll throw everything overboard, and we’ ll have intermarriage between black and white!”Tom’ s hypocritical and cunning face jumped on the paper. By contrast, we see Gatsby in the trend of chasing money, but spiritually he is still a simple and pure person. Becoming rich is a measure to win back his lover. In pursuit of the only lover in his dream, he will not stop chasing her at any cost. Even before he died, he was still watching fondly with the green light of the night on Daisy’s wharf, which reflected his sincere, simple character and persistent pursuit of dreams.Tom is a cruel aristocratic. He used the car accident to incite Wilson to commit the crime, which eventually led to the tragedy that Gatsby was shot by angry Wilson. All was in Daisy’ s eyes, she does nothing, but let the tragedy happen. She had loved Gatsby, a love that could not stand the test of reality. It was fragile, irresponsible and hurtful. This is because Daisy love for wealth more than the pursuit of individual love between marriage. In order to protect herself, she, selfish and ruthless, must change her tune, never fall into emotional troubles and obligations.。