Ending of The American Dream——盖茨比

合集下载

《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦 the American dream in The Great Gatsby

《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦 the American dream in The Great Gatsby

《了不起的盖茨比》中所折射出的美国梦摘要《了不起的盖茨比》是菲茨杰拉德的一部名著。

作者通过描写盖茨比个人的困境与失败展现了那个时代的悲剧。

在小说中,盖茨比想要通过物质上的成功来赢得爱情,然而,他的梦想是建立于幻想,而不是现实,这是注定要失败的。

因为盖茨比是美国梦的代表,从某种意义上说,盖茨比的失败也预示了美国梦本身的破灭。

本论文首先介绍了作者与小说的主要情节,接着讲述了美国梦的根源与本质。

第三部分分析了盖茨比对财富梦及爱情梦的追求。

最后分析了盖茨比美国梦破碎的原因以及必然性。

关键词:美国梦;金钱;爱情;破灭AbstractThe Great Gatsby is on e of Fitzgerald’s masterpieces. The author presented the tragedy of that age by describing Gatsby’s personal dilemma and failure. In this novel, Gatsby wants to win love through material success. However, his dream is based on illusion rather than reality, which is doomed to fail. Gatsby is the representative of the American dream. In some senses, Gatsby’s failure also predicts the shattering of the American dream itself.This paper begins with an introduction about the author and the brief plot of the novel The Great Gatsby. Then it tells the origin and the essence of the American dream. After that, it gives an analysis of Gatsby’s pursuit of fortune and love dream. Finally, the paper points out the inevitable disillusion of Gatsby’s American dream and presents the factors of the tragedy.Keywords: the American dream; fortune; love; disillusionContents1. Introduction (1)2. The American Dream (2)2.1The Origin of the American Dream and its Development (3)2.2The essence of the American Dream and its Historical Background (4)3. The American Dream Reflected in Gatsby (5)3.1 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Fortune Dream (5)3.2 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Love Dream (6)4. D isillusion of Gatsby’s American Dream (7)4.1Gatsby’s American Dream and His Illegal Activities (8)4.2Gatsby’s American Dream and the Social Environment (9)4.3Gatsby’s American Dream and H is Innocence (10)5. Conclusion (11)References (13)1. IntroductionF. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers, whose works were the samples of the Jazz Age. He is widely regarded as the literary spokesman of the “Jazz Age”—an age between the end of the First World War and the outbreak of the Great Depression. In many ways, he expressed in his stories the disillusionment of the young generation with “the American dr eam”.Fitzgerald is also considered a member of the “Lost Generation” of the 1920s. He was born into a middle-class family in St. Paul, Minnesota in the American Midwest. In his short life, Fitzgerald experienced overnight fame and wealth in 1920s but suffered a lot in the 1930s. His first novel—This Side of Paradise was published in 1920 and became a best-seller, through which he got fame and commercial success. With a series of success of his writing, Fitzgerald had a high quality of life. In 1925, Fitzgerald managed to complete The Great Gatsby. This book brought him a critical comment and commercial failure. After that, with the pain of his personal life and the disappearance of the writing inspiration, he never wrote a well-known book any more. In 1940, he died of a heart attack when he was only forty-four.Different from other American writers who also had the American dream as the subject of their works, Fitzgerald impressed his readers from a new perspective.His works depicted the 1920s of America, the period of the high growth of America. With the richness of material, people’s spiritual life was corrupted, especially the life of the upper class. “Many critics have seen Fitzgerald’s artistic achievement in terms of his ability to depict the America n society, its history and its people.”(Tang Sooping, 1992:7)The Great Gatsby is a story told by Nick, a man from the Mid-West, going to New York to do business. He heard about his neighbor, a mysterious man called Jay Gatsby, who always held fabulous parties at his house. Gatsby was born in a poor family in the Middle West. During the time of serving in the army, Gatsby fell in love with Daisy, a wealthy girl. However, he was too poor to marryher. When the First World War broke out, Gatsby had to devote himself to the army. Daisy gave up waiting for him and got married with a rich young man Tom Buchanan. However, Daisy’s marriage was not that happy because Tom has betrayed their marriage. He had a mistress after their daughter was born. All these things inspired Gatsby’s desire to get married with Daisy. In order to win back his lost love, it took Gatsby just a few years to make a fortune through illegal business. He bought a mansion located on the opposite side of Daisy’s house with a river lying in between. Gatsby held parties every weekend, hoping that one day Daisy would come but she did not turn up even once. With the help of Nick, the cousin of Daisy, Gatsby met Daisy again five years after they broke away from each other. But now the lady in front of him was no longer the ideal lover in his dream. Instead, she became a selfish and vulgar woman. She refused to give up Tom but at the same time she did not refuse Gatsby.One day, Daisy drove Gatsby’s car after drinking and caused an accid ent in which T om’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson was killed. In order to protect Daisy, Gatsby decided to assume the responsibility. Finally Gatsby was shot by Myrtle’s husband. Only Gatsby’s poor father and Nick attended the funeral. Daisy did not feel any sadness and was on trip with Tom to Europe at that time.2. The American Dream and its Historical BackgroundThe American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals which includes freedom, the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. The term American Dream was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. He states, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature ofwhich they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” (Adams,1931: 214)It means that everyone, no matter what class he is in, can be successful through his own efforts. This ideology is based on the principle that one should be responsible for himself and seize every opportunity to gain success with courage and through hard work.The American dream has its own particular history background. Since Columbus found “the new continent”, the Europeans went to America for exploitation and colonialism. People in Europe got many kinds of harsh sufferings. They moved to the North American continent because they wanted to get rid of the sufferings in Europe, to be rich, and put into practice their values and philosophies of life. They wanted to escape the religious persecution and rebuild the religious belief.Going to America gave them the aspiration of freedom, the opportunity to be rich. Besides, many unthinkable things in the Old World may turn into reality in this piece of land. From the view of Xing Yan(Xing Yan, 2004:49), “Opportunity follows one after another, and almost everyone will cause a national madness, the United States becomes a country of ‘milk and honey’. Therefore, a large number of people with an American dream swarmed here.”2.1 The Origin of the American Dream and its Development“The American Dream arose in the colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century, based on the assumption of each person, no matter what his origin was, could succeed in changing their social positions and making their dreams come true through their own efforts, and getting new, free and better life. It is what is often referred to as ‘Am erican dream’. ” (Zhao Hongwei, 2003: 2) The American dream is both a romantic expectation and a belief that with toil and devotion people will achieve what their desire. The American dream at its early stage was a Puritan desire for the freedom in religion and creation. However, it becomes broader in meaning along with the expansion to the American West. It includes the pursuit of happiness, the goal to be successful incareer, love and wealth. After the Civil War, the American dream has even more concrete meanings as people strongly believe that with hard work, they can create miracles such as from poor to rich.2.2 The essence of the American DreamAs for the American Dream, it is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work and strives. There are several notions behind the American Dream—equal opportunities provided for everyone; the success based on one’s own talents and efforts, and equal opportunity to achieve success.The dream has its constant element, but is ever-changing with the people and with the times. The American dream is seen as one for a better and richer life for everyone, a dream of having opportunities in terms of one’s ability. According to Li Hongwen (黎红雯, 2002:15), “For some, the American dream is a chance to build a successful business and become a millionaire. For others, the American dream is from the log cabin to the White House. For still other people, the American dream is the ladder from the rags to the riches. ”From Li’s view, people may have their own dreams, of which some are small ambitions and others could be great ones.For young students today, the dream might include getting higher education and devoting oneself to helping others. For the middle-aged people today, the dream may include a very high-paying job which one could retire at an early age and have a more satisfying lifestyle. “Everyone had a different idea for his or her American Dream; everyone’s American Dream may be t otally different from each other; that is what makes them all individuals. The dream may differ in that some people wanted to work hard and had financial success, or others might just want to have enough food and income to survive, and make their life simple, healthy and happy. ” (邓年刚,潭素钦, 1997:15)Almost every American has his own American Dream. Almost every American including immigrants and poor people has his desire for a better life. Such a life enables him to own a big house, have much money, delicious food and luxury cars, and enjoy freedom as well. Nomatter what his origin is, he could succeed in through his own efforts. With the success, he is able to get access to higher social position and better life.3. The American Dream Reflected in GatsbyIn the novel, Gatsby’s Amer ican dream was to win daisy’s love, and he spared no effort to do everything to regain the love of Daisy. In order to make his American Dream come true, Gatsby got money by doing illegal trade of alcohol. Also, in the pursuit of his love, he did whatever Daisy asked him to do even at the sacrifice of his precious life.3.1 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Fortune DreamOne part of Gatsby’s dream was to get rich. Gatsby was a man who lived in the lower class, he dreamed for getting recognition, he dreamed for social status, and the true love. But to improve his social status and gain recognition, he was in bad need of money. In his youth, he harbored the innocent wish to be successful by hard work. In order to succeed, he worked tirelessly to do many things and worked out a schedule, which bears the similarity of that of Benjamin Franklin. Gatsby’s schedule displayed his imagination or illusion of his own future, through which a link between his dream and the American dream can be perceived. Gatsby dreamed of becoming a great man. Even when he was a boy, he had his aspirations. He was not content with things as they are and he just wanted to work hard to change the situation.He forced him to get up early in the morning at 6:00 and began to study electricity at 7:15, worked from 8:30A.M. to 4:30 P.M.. “study needed inventions” (Fitzgerald,1993:176) in the evening. He also has a wonderful “general resolves”,(Fitzgerald ,1993:174) which set strict demands on himself, such as “no wasting time,no smoking, read one important book or magazine per week and save $500 per week” .(Fitzgerald, 1993: 174)In the novel, Gatsby was born in a poor family in the Midwest Court. On the contrary, Daisy, the girl that he loved always lived a luxuriant life since she wasborn, so it was her habit to live a life with high quality. To Daisy, it was hard to imagine how she could stand a difficult life without money. But Gatsby was just a poor soldier. If he had not pretended to be a man with great wealth to win Daisy’s love, Daisy would not have fallen in love with him at all five years ago. In Gatsby’s view, he believed money could buy him love and happiness. With such thought in mind, he did everything in order to make money. In just a few years, through illegal trade of alcohol and other dishonest businesses, he made a fortune.A poor young man turned into someone with wealth. Gatsby’s success in fortune was great.To show off his wealth, Gatsby built a house in the old aristocratic style. In the huge and brilliant house, Gatsby would hold fabulous parties at the weekend, which people of status would be happy to attend. They admired his property and wanted to be friends of him.It may seem as if Gatsby had made his fortune dream come true. However, he never succeeded in a real sense through his own hard work, courage, or his strong resolution. He just became rich by conducting illegal businesses, which defied the essence of the American dream.3.2 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Love DreamAnother part of Gatsby’s dream is his dream of love. When he was a soldier in the Army, he fell in love with a rich girl Daisy. But he understood that he was not able to marry such a girl from a wealthy family and of higher social status. Daisy married Tom who had money and status though she did not love the man at all. Gatsby never stopped his love for Daisy; instead, he could not help recalling her, his first love.The most significant to Gatsby was to repeat the past with Daisy day and night and to get the lost pure love. As soon as he had money, Gatsby started to be in chase of his love to repeat the past. To fulfill his love dream, the first thing he did was to buy a luxurious house in front of Daisy’s house across the bay. Then he held parties every weekend night to draw Daisy’s attention. He believed that Daisy may come over to his mansion one day. However, Daisy never turned up. So Gatsby asked Nick to invite Daisy to his house for a tea. At last he had achance to express his love to Daisy and got Daisy back from Tom.In the novel, his love to Daisy is true and pure. When he saw Daisy again, he was even speechless. After Gatsby reappeared with his wealth and his loyal love for her, she seemed to be touched and tried to resume her relationship with him, without any guilt to her husband. For Daisy, what she really wanted was not a romantic lover with no status, but a man who could give her a comfortable life and a respected social standing.Gatsby did not change his mind of marrying Daisy even when he became an adult. Daisy was the first and the only woman whom he loved in his life. His love for Daisy kept him away from other women and “he would never so much as look at a friend’s wife.”(Fitzgerald, 1993:47) That’s the reason why “no girls would swoon backward on Gatsby at his parties.” (Fitzgerald, 1993:33) Gatsby had been so devoted to her. He loved her so much that he was simply blind of her essential defect—Daisy gave more concern to status and luxury life..Gatsby’s dream of love was closely associated with his dream of money. He believed that the money could help him get everything, but he did not regard the pursuit of money as the ultimate goal. The reason that he was after money was just for his love dream. The dream of being rich and the dream of winning the love of Daisy are integrated. The former is a means and the latter is his ultimate goal, without which the former may never become true. Without money Gatsby and Daisy could never have the opportunity to rekindle old dreams. With a lot of money, Gatsby would be more confident in his pursuit of his love dream.4. Disillusion of Gatsby’s American DreamJay Gatsby, the embodiment of the American dream,was doomed to fail because the American political ideals contradicted the actual existing social system.In the novel, Fitzgerald described and contrasted the difference between East and West Egg, showed the separation between the upper class and the lower class, Gatsby spent his whole life making money and winning status so that hecould win Daisy back. That’s what motivated him to move to West Egg, and made money by any means. After that, he held extravagant parties every weekend, did what Daisy asked him to. Gatsby’s success in fortune was great. So was his strong will for love and to achieve his life goal. He finally became the upper class’s deputy. No matter how wonderful his parties were, he could not change his poor family background.Gatsby did not know clearly what kind of girl Daisy was. What Daisy wanted was not love but a guarantee of comfort and wealth in life. Owing to his unrealistic dream, Gatsby ended up with tragedy. As for Gatsby’s death, it may seem that he deserved the punishment for what he did. Yet he sacrificed himself for Daisy who did not even turn up at his funeral. And the saddest thing was that Daisy, did not feel any regret o r sorrow for Gatsby’s death, she went traveling with his husband Tom. There was nothing left for Gatsby. All the things he got have gone with his death, including his wealth and love. “Daisy goes together with her husband to another city happily while Gatsby is murdered mistakenly, improves that all his great characterize means nothing. In other words, Gatsby’s final American Dream, which is to win Daisy, is totally a failure.” (杨慧群, 2002:3)The shattering of his dream of love is a reflection of the breaking of American dream. Owing to his unrealistic dream, Gatsby ended up with tragedy.Living in that age, Gatsby had in his mind the value orientation. He thought the American dream embodied the personal success or self-fulfillment for those hard-working people. His idea of success was measured by money, which was misleading. In his view, success was the glamour brought about by huge wealth. The American dream in his time was somewhat hollow for people were mainly after money. In this sense, Gatsby’s dream, just as the American dream, is just an illusion4.1 Gatsby’s American Dream and His Illegal ActivitiesAmerican dream is essentially a spirit to inspire people to make progress and it has a positive meaning. In 1920s, after the World War I, the American dream were decadent, corrupt, and the original hard work, frugality, temperance andother values were weak. America society came into the stage of monopoly capitalism. The American society developed rapidly with its economy booming. As Americans became money worshippers, they became greedy. Money was the only goal which they were striving for. So 1920s was a time without any belief, a time for lost generation, and a time of tragedies.“America was going on the greatest, gaudiest spree in history and there was going to be plenty to tell about it. The whole golden boom was in the air—its splendid generosities, its outrageous corruptions and the tortuous death struggle of the old America in prohibition. In such a debauched social context, what the traditional American dream advocated to strive for success through hard work turned out to be futile. Gatsby was greatly influenced by the instruction of the traditional dream.”(陈卓, 2009:143)Yet, no matter how hard he worked to gain material success, Gatsby gained wealth through dishonest conduct. He involved himself in the illegal trade of wine, through which he made his fortune. In this sense, he did not follow the doctrines of American dream. He made his way into a world where nothing is more important than money, where moral integrity is sacrificed.Fitzgerald presented before his readers the disillusion of American dream, which is seen as the synonym for money. With money as an important ingredient of the dream, it is quite natural that people may become greedy and crazy for money. The novel—The Great Gatsby may seem to be shallow with much description of parties and jazz in 1920s. However, by probing into the novel, it can be seen that the story is a social commentary on the corruption and the disillusive effect of materialism on various people. Gatsby is a typical example who turned from rug into riches with corrupted morality. But money was not his final goal. His final goal was to win the love of Daisy with his wealth.4. 2 Gatsby’s American Dream and the Social EnvironmentThe darkness and emptiness of the capitalist society account for the shattering of Gatsby’s American dream. When Gatsby was serving in the army,Daisy, the girl whom he loved, promised to wait for him till he made his fortune so that they could be married. But when Gatsby came back, Daisy had married Tom Buchanan, a millionaire, whom she did not have an affection. Gatsby was seriously hurt and decided to win back his love.Gatsby’s motive to make a fortune was driven by his attempt to get a step closer to Daisy again. Gatsby believed that if he wanted to win Daisy’s heart, he needed to be more affluent in wealth and more successful than Tom.Tom Buchanan, a representative of the solid wealthy class,was corrupt,but not weak. He would not allow his authority to be challenged.In the eyes of Tom and Daisy, no matter how much money or power Gatsby may possess, he was still “nobody from nowhere” because he has “no comfortable family standing behind him.” (Fitzgerald, 1993:95) The competition between Tom and Gatsby was not only a battle between rivals for love, but also a battle between representatives of the two different social classes.In the novel, the difference between East and West Egg can be perceived as a dividing line between the upper and the lower class, the four geographical locations in the novel ranging from East and West Egg to New York City fit a special theme or a typical character. West Egg lived people like Gatsby, who were indulged in extravagant life. They were representatives of the newly emerged rich alongside the established aristocracy of the 1920s. East Egg was the place for people such as the Buchanan, who were enjoying great wealth and high status as well. They were the symbol of the old establishment and aristocracy with ongoing dominance in American society. Gatsby’s romantic idealism does not fit in with those in East Egg. He tried hard to climb up the social ladder but he could not get himself fit in or really accepted due to his shabby background. In such a society, it was rather hard for Gatsby, a man from East Egg to melt himself with those symbolizing the old establishment and the old aristocracy. From this perspective, his American dream in the pursuit of love was hard to come true. 4.3 Gatsby’s American Dream and His InnocenceThe disillusion of Gatsby’s American dream may be related to his personalfactor. Gatsby’s love for Daisy was to the extent of obsession. It was really touching, but he chose the wrong person to love for. In his heart, Daisy was beautiful and innocent, and she represented all the merits in the upper class of America. Gatsby had in his mind the perfect image of Daisy, and treated her as the avatar of dream. However, Daisy was not the perfect girl he imagined. Born in a rich family, Daisy was used to the extravagant life. Even “her voice is full of money”.(Fitzgerald, 1993: 119) In the eyes of Daisy, love, when confronted with money, retreated to an inferior position. She believed in materialism and wanted to live in comfort. However, out of his innocence, Gatsby failed to see through her even upon his death. In addition, he did not see clearly the gap between Daisy and him—the status or the two different classes. He was naïve enough to believe that with his effort, he could be materially rich and hence he could gain status afterwards. He was naive enough to believe that with wealth and status, he was able to make his American dream of love come true.His life ended up in tragedy which had it root in his blind pursuit of love and fantasy. Besides, the lack of clear understanding of the upper middle class society was factor for the shattering of his dream. Though he became rich, it was unlikely that he would get access to the upper society.5. ConclusionFitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a significant novel in the history of the American literature.It is the mirror of an era, the Jazz Age. People of that time tend to believe in wealth, which corrupts the original belief of American Dream. They consider money as a simple method and a tool o n one’s way to success. Gatsby is just the miniature of the American society of that age reflecting the distortion of the American dream itself. Gatsby works hard for his dream and is ruined by his dream. It is his American Dream that makes him succeed, be destroyed and died pathetically in the end. Therefore, Gatsby’s tragedy is related to that age he was in, and Gatsby’s traged y also indicates the shattering of the American dream. American Dream affects generations of Americans. No matterhow it changes, its theme is the pursuit of freedom, equality, the realization of one’s own dream, and a high quality life.The Great Gatsby criticizes the society in which people are after money and low in morality. By taking a close look at the novel, Gatsby’s failure in the pursuit of his dream arises from mainly three factors. Firstly, Gatsby gained wealth from doing illegal businesses. Secondly, he naively thought he could enter the upper class in a society where equality between people was hard to realize. Finally, he was so innocent as to love a wrong person who was just selfish, and money-worshipping. In the corrupted American society at that time, Gatsby would not be able to make his dream come true since he would not be accepted by the upper society despite that he possessed great wealth. With no recognition by the upper society, he would not be able to win Daisy back. To a great extent, his failure in his pursuit of love dream is a sign of the shattering or the failure of the American dream.Reference[1] Adams, J.T. The Epic of America. New York: Greenwood Press, 1931.[2] Fitzgerald, F. S. The Great Gatsby. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1993.[3]Tang soo ping. York Notes on the Great Gatsby. York: Longman York Press, 1992.[4]Xing Yan. An Outline of American Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.[5]Zhao Hongwei. Disillusionment of Gatsby’s“American Dream” From the Perspective of Society--Analysis of “The Great Gatsby”. Harbin :Journal of Harbin University, 2003( 6).[6]陈卓.《了不起的盖茨比中的美国梦》.魅力中国,2009(3).[7]黎红雯.《了不起的盖茨比,一部阐解美国梦的述作》.华南师范大学学报,2002(15).[8]邓年刚,谭素钦.《再论美国梦》.湖北民族学院学报,1997(1).[9]杨慧群.《菲兹杰拉德的小说<了不起的盖茨比>浅析》.江苏广播电视大学学报, 2002(2).。

了不起的盖茨比美国梦的幻灭与追求读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦的幻灭与追求读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦的幻灭与追求读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德创作的一部以 20 世纪 20 年代的纽约市及长岛为背景的小说。

这本书深刻地描绘了那个时代“美国梦”的幻灭与追求,给读者带来了无尽的思考。

故事的主人公盖茨比出身贫寒,但他从小就对自己的未来充满了憧憬,渴望通过自己的努力和奋斗跻身上流社会,获得财富、地位和爱情。

在他的心中,有一个美丽而遥远的梦想,那就是与他心爱的黛西重逢,并与她共度一生。

为了实现这个梦想,盖茨比不择手段地积累财富。

他通过非法的生意活动迅速暴富,在长岛购置了一座豪华的别墅,举办了一场场奢华的派对。

他希望通过这些派对吸引黛西的注意,让她重新回到自己的身边。

然而,当他终于与黛西重逢时,他发现一切都已经物是人非。

黛西已经嫁给了一个富有的纨绔子弟汤姆,她虽然对盖茨比的财富和深情感到心动,但却无法放弃自己现有的生活和地位。

在小说中,菲茨杰拉德通过细腻的描写和深刻的分析,展现了“美国梦”的虚幻和脆弱。

盖茨比以为财富可以买到一切,包括爱情和尊严,但他最终发现,自己所追求的东西只不过是一场空。

他的财富和地位并没有得到上流社会的真正认可,他在他们眼中始终是一个局外人。

而黛西,这个他心目中的女神,也不过是一个自私、浅薄、虚荣的女人,她根本无法理解和欣赏盖茨比的真情实意。

“美国梦”一直是美国文化的核心价值观之一,它强调个人通过努力和奋斗可以实现自己的梦想,获得成功和幸福。

然而,在《了不起的盖茨比》中,菲茨杰拉德却向我们揭示了“美国梦”的阴暗面。

在那个物欲横流、道德沦丧的时代,人们为了追求财富和地位不择手段,失去了人性的善良和真诚。

所谓的“成功”往往是以牺牲自己的灵魂和尊严为代价的,而最终得到的也不过是一场空欢喜。

小说中的人物形象鲜明而生动,除了盖茨比和黛西之外,还有许多其他令人印象深刻的角色。

比如汤姆,他是一个典型的富家子弟,傲慢、自私、残忍,他对黛西的不忠和对盖茨比的陷害,充分暴露了他的丑恶嘴脸。

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦

《了不起的盖茨比》中所折射出的美国梦摘要《了不起的盖茨比》是菲茨杰拉德的一部名著。

作者通过描写盖茨比个人的困境与失败展现了那个时代的悲剧。

在小说中,盖茨比想要通过物质上的成功来赢得爱情,然而,他的梦想是建立于幻想,而不是现实,这是注定要失败的。

因为盖茨比是美国梦的代表,从某种意义上说,盖茨比的失败也预示了美国梦本身的破灭。

本论文首先介绍了作者与小说的主要情节,接着讲述了美国梦的根源与本质。

第三部分分析了盖茨比对财富梦及爱情梦的追求。

最后分析了盖茨比美国梦破碎的原因以及必然性。

关键词:美国梦;金钱;爱情;破灭AbstractThe Great Gatsby is one of Fitzgerald‟s masterpieces.The author presented the tragedy of that age by describing Gatsby‟s personal dilemma and failure.In this novel, Gatsby wants to win love through material success. However, his dream is based on illusionrather than reality, which is doomed to fail. Gatsby is the representative of the American dream. In some senses, Gatsby‟s failure also predicts the shattering of the American dream itself.This paper begins with an introduction about the author and the brief plot of the novel The Great Gatsby. Then it tells the origin and the essence of the American dream. After that, itgives an analysis of Gatsby‟s pursuit of fortune and love dream. Finally, the paper points out the inevitabledisillusion of Gatsby‟s American dream and presents the factors of the tragedy.Keywords: the American dream; fortune; love; disillusionContents1. Introduction (1)2. The American Dream (2)2.1The Origin of the American Dream and its Development (3)2.2The essence of the American Dream and its Historical Background (4)3. The American Dream Reflected in Gatsby (5)3.1 Gatsby‟s Pursuit of Fortune Dream (5)3.2 Gatsby‟s Pursuit of Love Dream (6)4. Disillusion of Gatsby’s American Dream (7)4.1Gatsby‟s American Dream and His Illegal Activities (8)4.2Gatsby‟s American Dream and the Social Environment (9)4.3Gatsby‟s American Dream and His Innocence (10)5. Conclusion (11)References (13)1. IntroductionF. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the twentieth century‟s greatest writers, whose works were the samples of the Jazz Age. He is widely regarded as the literary spokesman of the “Jazz Age”—an age between the end of the First World War and the outbreak of the Great Depression. In many ways, he expressed in his storiesthe disillusionment of the young generation with “the Am erican dream”.Fitzgerald is also considered a member of the “Lost Generation” of the 1920s. He was born into a middle-class familyin St. Paul, Minnesotain the American Midwest. In his short life, Fitzgerald experienced overnight fame and wealth in 1920s but suffered a lot in the 1930s. His first novel—This Side of Paradise was published in 1920 and became a best-seller, through which he got fame and commercial success. With a series of success of his writing, Fitzgerald had a high quality of life.In 1925, Fitzgerald managed to complete The Great Gatsby. This book brought him a critical comment and commercial failure. After that, with the pain of his personal life and the disappearance of the writing inspiration, he never wrote a well-known book any more. In1940, he died of a heart attack when he was only forty-four.Different from other American writers who also had the American dream as the subject of their works, Fitzgerald impressed his readers from a new perspective.His works depicted the 1920s of America, the period of the high growth of America. With the richness of material, people‟s spiritual life was corrupted, especially the life of the upper class. “Many critics have seen Fitzgerald‟s artistic achievement in terms of his ability to depict the Amer ican society, its history and its people.”(Tang Sooping, 1992:7)The Great Gatsby is a story told by Nick, a man from the Mid-West, going to New York to do business. He heard about his neighbor, a mysterious man called Jay Gatsby, who always held fabulous parties at his house. Gatsby was born in a poor family in the Middle West. During the time of serving in the army, Gatsby fell in love with Daisy, a wealthy girl. However, he was too poor to marryher. When the First World War broke out, Gatsby had to devote himself to the army. Daisy gave up waiting for him and got married with a rich young man Tom Buchanan. However, Daisy‟s marriage was not that happy because Tom has betrayed their marriage.He had a mistress after their daughter was born. All these thing s inspired Gatsby‟s desire to get married with Daisy. In order to win back his lost love, it took Gatsby just a few years to make a fortune through illegal business. He bought a mansionlocated on the opposite side of Daisy‟s house with a river lying in between. Gatsby held parties every weekend, hoping that one day Daisy would come but she did not turn up even once. With the help of Nick, the cousin of Daisy, Gatsby met Daisy again five years after they broke away from each other. But now the lady in front of him was no longer the ideal lover in his dream. Instead, she became a selfish and vulgar woman. She refused to give up Tom but at the same time she did not refuse Gatsby.One day, Daisy drove Gatsby‟s car after drinking and caused an accident in which Tom‟s mistress, Myrtle Wilson was killed. In order to protect Daisy, Gatsby decided to assume the responsibility. Finally Gatsby was shot by Myrtle‟s husband. Only Gatsby‟s poor father and Nick attend ed the funeral. Daisy did not feel any sadness and was on trip with Tom to Europe at that time.2. The American Dream and its Historical BackgroundThe American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals which includes freedom, the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. The termAmerican Dream was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. He states, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in w hich life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature ofwhich they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, r egardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” (Adams,1931: 214)It means that everyone, no matter what class he is in, can be successful through his own efforts. This ideology is based on the principle that one should be responsible for himself and seize every opportunity to gain success with courage and through hard work.The American dream has its own particular history background. Since Columbus found “the new continent”, the Europeans went to America for exploitation and colonialism. People in Europe got many kinds of harsh sufferings. They moved to the North American continent because they wanted to get rid of the sufferings in Europe, to be rich, andput into practice their values and philosophies of life. They wanted to escape the religious persecution and rebuild the religious belief.Going to America gave them the aspiration of freedom, the opportunity to be rich. Besides, many unthinkable things in the Old World may turn into reality in this piece of land. From the view of Xing Yan(Xing Yan, 2004:49), “Opportunity follows one after another, and almost everyone will cause a national madness, the United States becomes a country of …milk and honey‟. Therefore, a large number of people with an American dream swarmed here.”2.1The Origin of the American Dream and its Development“The American Dream arose in the colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century, based on the assumption of each person, no matter what his origin was, could succeed in changing their social positions and making their dreams come true through their own efforts, and getting new, free and better life.I t is what is often referred to as …American dream‟. ” (Zhao Hongwei, 2003:2)The American dream is both a romantic expectation and a belief that with toil and devotion people will achieve what their desire.The American dream at its early stagewasa Puritan desire for the freedom in religion and creation. However, it becomes broader in meaning along with the expansion to the American West. It includes the pursuit of happiness, the goal to be successful in career, love andwealth. After the Civil War, the American dream has even more concrete meanings as people strongly believe that with hard work, they can create miracles such as from poor to rich.2.2The essence of the American DreamAs for the American Dream, it is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work and strives. There are several notions behind the American Dream—equal opportunities provided for everyone; the success based on one‟s own talents and efforts, and equal opportunity to achieve success.The dream has its constant element, but is ever-changing with the people and with the times. The American dream is seen as one fora better and richer life for everyone, a dream of having opportunities in terms of one‟s ability. According to Li Hongwen (黎红雯, 2002:15), “For some, the American dream is a chance to build a successful business and become a millionaire. For others, the American dream is from the log cabin to the White House. For still other people, the American dream is the ladder from the rags to the riches. ” From Li‟s view, people may have their own dreams, of which some are small ambitions and others could be great ones.For young students today, the dream might include getting higher education and devoting oneself to helping others. For the middle-aged people today, the dream may include a very high-paying job which one could retire at an early age and have a more satisfying lifestyle.“Everyone had a different idea for his or her American Dream; everyone‟s American Dream may be totally different from each other; that is what makes them all individuals. The dream may differ in that some people wanted to work hard and had financial success, or others might just want to have enough food and income to survive, and make their life simple, healthy and happy. ” (邓年刚,潭素钦, 1997:15)Almost every American hashis own American Dream. Almost every American including immigrants and poor people has his desire for a better life. Such a life enables him to own a big house, have much money,delicious food and luxurycars, and enjoy freedom as well. Nomatter what his origin is, he could succeed in through his own efforts. With the success, he is able to get access to higher social position and better life.3. The American Dream Reflected in GatsbyIn the novel,Gatsby‟s American dream was to win daisy‟s love, and he spared no effort to do everything to regain the love of Daisy. In order to make his American Dream come true, Gatsby got money by doing illegal trade of alcohol. Also, in the pursuit of his love, he did whatever Daisy asked him to do even at the sacrifice of his precious life.3.1 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Fortune DreamOne part of Gatsby‟s dream was to get rich. Gatsby was a man who lived in the lower class, he dreamed for getting recognition, he dreamed for social status, and the true love. But to improve his social status and gain recognition, he was in bad need of money. In his youth, he harbored the innocent wish to be successful by hardwork. In order to succeed, he worked tirelessly to do many things and worked out a schedule, which bears the similarity of that of Benjamin Franklin. Gatsby‟s schedule displayedhis imagination or illusion of his own future, through which a link between his dream and the American dream can be perceived. Gatsby dreamedof becoming a great man. Even when he was a boy, he had his aspirations. He was not content with things as they are and he just wanted to work hard to change the situation.He forced him to get up early in the morning at 6:00 and began to study electricity at 7:15, worked from 8:30A.M. to 4:30P.M.. “study needed inventions” (Fitzgerald,1993:176) in the evening. He also has a wonderful “general resolves”,(Fitzgerald ,1993:174) which set strict demands on himself, such as “no wasting time,no smoking, read one important book or magazine per week and save $500 per week” .(Fitzgerald, 1993: 174)In the novel, Gatsby was born in a poor family in the Midwest Court. On the contrary, Daisy, the girl that he loved always lived a luxuriant life since she wasborn, so it was her habit to live a life with high quality. To Daisy, it was hard to imagine how she could stand a difficult life without money. But Gatsby was just a poor soldier. If he had not pretended to be a man with great wealth to win Daisy‟s love, Daisy would not have fallen in love with him at all five years ago.In Gatsby‟s view, he believed money could buy him love and happiness.With such thought in mind, he dideverything in order to make money. In just a few years, through illegal trade of alcohol and other dishonest businesses, he made a fortune.A poor young man turned into someone with wealth.Gatsby‟s success in fortune was great.To show off his wealth, Gatsby built a house in the old aristocratic style.In the huge and brilliant house, Gatsby would hold fabulous partiesat the weekend, which people of status would be happy to attend. They admired his property and wanted to be friends of him.It may seem as ifGatsby had made his fortune dream come true. However, he never succeeded in a real sense through his own hard work, courage, or his strong resolution. He just became rich by conducting illegal businesses, which defied the essence of the American dream.3.2 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Love DreamAnother part of Gatsby‟s dream is his dream of love. When he was a soldier in the Army, he fell in love with a rich girl Daisy. But he understood that he was not able to marry such a girl from a wealthy family and of higher social status. Daisy married Tom who had money and status though she did not love the man at all. Gatsby never stopped his love for Daisy; instead, he could not help recalling her, his first love.The most significant to Gatsbywas to repeat the past with Daisy day and night and to get the lost pure love. As soon as he had money, Gatsby started to be in chase of his love to repeat the past. To fulfill his love dream, the first thing he did was to buy a luxurious house in front of Daisy‟s house across the ba y. Then he held parties every weekend night to draw Daisy‟s attention.He believed that Daisy may come over to his mansion one day.However, Daisy never turned up. So Gatsby asked Nick to invite Daisy to his house for a tea. At last he had achance to express his love to Daisy and got Daisy back from Tom.In the novel, his love to Daisy is true and pure. When he saw Daisy again, he was even speechless. After Gatsby reappeared with his wealth and his loyal love for her, she seemed to be touched and tried to resume her relationship with him, without any guilt to her husband. For Daisy, what she really wantedwas not a romantic lover with no status, but a man who could give her a comfortable life and a respected social standing.Gatsby did not change his mind of marrying Daisy even when he became an adult. Daisy was the first and the only woman whom he loved in his life. His love for Daisy kept him away from other women and“he would never so much as look at a friend‟s wife.”(Fitzgerald, 1993:47) That‟s the reason why “no girls would swoon backward on Gatsby at his parties.”(Fitzgerald, 1993:33) Gatsby had been so devoted to her. He loved her so much that he was simply blind of her essential defect—Daisy gave more concern to status and luxury life..Gatsby‟s dream of love wasclosely associated with his dream of money. He believed that the money could help him get everything, but he did not regard the pursuit of money as the ultimate goal. The reason that he was after money was just for his love dream. The dream of being rich and the dream of winning the love of Daisy are integrated. The former is a means and the latter is his ultimate goal, without which the former may never become true. Without money Gatsby and Daisy could never have the opportunity to rekindle old dreams. With a lot of money, Gatsby would be more confident in his pursuit of his love dream.4. Disillusion of Gatsby’s American DreamJay Gatsby, the embodiment of the American dream,was doomed to fail because the American political ideals contradicted the actual existing social system.In the novel, Fitzgerald described and contrasted the difference between East and West Egg, showed the separation between the upper class and the lower class, Gatsby spent his whole life making money and winning status so that hecould win Daisy back. That‟s what motivated him to move to West Egg, and made money by any means. After that, he held extravagant parties every weekend, did what Daisy asked him to. Gatsby‟s success in fortune was great. So was his strong will for love and to achievehis life goal. He finally became the upper class‟s deputy. No matter how wonderful his parties were, he could not change his poor family background.Gatsby did not know clearly what kind of girl Daisy was. What Daisy wanted was not love but a guarantee of comfort and wealth in life. Owing to his unrealistic dream, Gatsby ended up with tragedy. As for Gatsby‟s death, it may seem that he deserved the punishment for what he did. Yet he sacrificed himself for Daisy who did noteven turn up at his funeral. And the saddest thing was that Daisy, did not feel any regret o r sorrow for Gatsby‟s death, she went traveling with his husband Tom. There was nothing left for Gatsby. All the things he got have gone with his death, including his wealth and love. “Daisy goes together with her husband to another city happily while Gatsby is murdered mistakenly, improves that all his great characterize means nothing. In other words, Gatsby‟s final American Dream, which is to win Daisy, is totally a failure.”(杨慧群, 2002:3)The shattering of his dream of love is a reflection of the breaking of American dream. Owing to his unrealistic dream, Gatsby ended up with tragedy.Living in that age, Gatsby had in his mind the value orientation. He thought the American dream embodied the personal success or self-fulfillment for those hard-working people. His idea of success was measured by money, which was misleading. In his view, success was the glamour brought about by huge wealth. The American dream in his time was somewhat hollow for people were mainly after money. In this sense, Gatsby‟s dream, just as the American dream, is just an illusion4.1 Gatsby’s American Dream and His Illegal ActivitiesAmerican dream is essentially a spirit to inspire people to make progress and it has a positive meaning.In 1920s, after the World War I, the American dream were decadent, corrupt, and the original hard work, frugality, temperance andother values were weak. America society came into the stage of monopoly capitalism. The American society developed rapidly with its economy booming. As Americans became money worshippers, they became greedy. Money was the only goal which they were striving for. So 1920s was a time without any belief, a time for lost generation, and a time of tragedies.“America was going on the greatest, gaudiest spree in history and there was going to be plenty to tell about it. The whole golden boom was in the air—its splendid generosities, its outrageous corruptions and the tortuous death struggle of the old America in prohibition. In such a debauched social context, what the traditional American dream advocated to strive for success through hard work turned out to be futile.Gatsby was greatly influenced by the instruction of the traditional dream.”(陈卓, 2009:143)Yet, no matter how hard he worked to gain material success, Gatsbygained wealth through dishonest conduct.He involved himself in the illegal trade of wine, through which he made his fortune. In this sense, he did not follow the doctrines of American dream. He made his way into a world where nothing is more important than money, where moral integrity is sacrificed.Fitzgerald presented before his readers the disillusion of American dream, which is seen as the synonym for money. With money as an important ingredient of the dream, it is quite natural that people may become greedy and crazy for money. The novel—The Great Gatsby may seem to be shallow with much description of parties and jazz in 1920s. However, by probing into the novel, it can be seen that the story is a social commentary on the corruption and the disillusive effect of materialism on various people. Gatsby is a typical example who turned from rug into riches with corrupted morality. But money was not his final goal. His final goal was to win the love of Daisy with his wealth.4. 2Gatsby’s American Dream and the Social EnvironmentThe darkness and emptiness of the capitalist society account for the shattering of Gatsby‟s American dream. When Gatsby was serving in thearmy,Daisy, the girl whom he loved,promised to wait for him till he made his fortune so that they could be married.But when Gatsby came back,Daisy had married TomBuchanan, a millionaire, whom she did not have an affection. Gatsby was seriously hurt and decided to win back his love.Gatsby‟s motive to make a fortune was driven by his attempt to get a step closer to Daisy again. Gatsby believed that if he wanted to win Daisy‟s heart, he needed to be more affluent in wealth and more successful than Tom.Tom Buchanan, a representative of the solid wealthy class,was corrupt,but not weak. He would not allow his authority to be challenged.In the eyes of Tom and Daisy, no matter how much money or power Gatsby may possess, he was still “nobody from nowhere” because he has “no comfortable family standing behind him.” (Fitzgerald, 1993:95) The competition between Tom and Gatsby was not only a battle between rivals for love, but also a battle between representatives of the two different social classes.In the novel, the difference between East and West Egg can be perceived as a dividing line between the upper and the lower class, the four geographical locations in the novel ranging from East and West Egg to New York City fit a special theme or a typical character.West Egg lived people likeGatsby, who were indulged in extravagant life. They were representatives of the newly emerged rich alongside the established aristocracy of the 1920s. East Egg was the place for people such as the Buchanan, who were enjoying great wealth and high status as well. They were the symbol of the old establishment and aristocracy with ongoing dominance in American society. Gatsby‟s romantic idealism does not fit in with those in East Egg. He tried hard to climb up the social ladder but he could not get himself fit in or really accepted due to his shabby background. In such a society, it was rather hard for Gatsby, a man from East Egg to melt himself with those symbolizing the old establishment and the old aristocracy.From this perspective, his American dream in the pursuit of love was hard to come true. 4.3 Gatsby’s American Dream and His InnocenceT he disillusion of Gatsby‟s American dream may be related to his personalfactor. Gatsby‟s love for Daisy was to the extent of obsession. It was really touching, but he chose the wrong person to love for. In his heart, Daisy was beautiful and innocent, and she represented all the merits in the upper class of America. Gatsby had in his mind the perfect image of Daisy, and treated her as the avatar of dream. However, Daisy wasnot the perfect girl he imagined. Born in a rich family, Daisy was used to the extravagant life. Even “her voice is full of money”.(Fitzgerald, 1993: 119)In the eyes of Daisy, love, when confronted with money, retreated to an inferior position. She believed in materialism and wanted to live in comfort. However, out of his innocence, Gatsby failed to see through her even upon his death. In addition, he did not see clearly the gap between Daisy and him—the status or the two different classes. He was naïve enough to believe that with his effort, he could be materially rich and hence he could gain status afterwards. He was naive enough to believe that with wealth and status, he was able to make his American dream of love come true.His life ended up in tragedy which had it root in his blind pursuit of love and fantasy. Besides, the lack of clear understanding of the upper middle class society was factor for the shattering of his dream. Though he became rich, it was unlikely that he would get access to the upper society.5. ConclusionFitzgerald‟s The Great Gatsby is a significant novel in the history of the American literature.Itis the mirror of an era, the Jazz Age. People of that time tend to believe in wealth, which corrupts the original belief of American Dream. They consider money as a simple method and a tool o n one‟s way to success. Gatsby is just the miniature of the American society of that age reflecting the distortion of the American dream itself. Gatsby works hard for his dream and is ruined by his dream. It is his American Dream that makes him succeed, be destroyed and died pathetically in the end.Therefore, Gatsby‟s tragedy is related to that age he was in, and Gatsby‟s tragedy also indicates the shattering of the American dream.American Dreamaffects generations of Americans. No matter how itchanges, its theme is the pursuit of freedom, equality, the realization of one‟s own dream, and a high quality life.The Great Gatsby criticizes the society in which people are after money and low in morality. By taking a close look at the novel, Gatsby‟s failure in the pursuit of his dream arises from mainly three factors. Firstly, Gatsby gained wealth from doing illegal businesses. Secondly, he naively thought hecould enter the upper class in a society where equality between people was hard to realize. Finally, he was so innocent as to lovea wrong person who was just selfish, and money-worshipping. In the corrupted American society at that time, Gatsby would not be able to make his dream come true since he would not be accepted by the upper society despite that he possessed great wealth. With no recognition by the upper society, he would not be able to win Daisy back. To a great extent, his failure in his pursuit of love dream is a sign of the shattering or the failure of the American dream.Reference[1] Adams, J.T.The Epic of America. New York: Greenwood Press, 1931.[2] Fitzgerald, F. S.The Great Gatsby. Ware:Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1993.[3]Tang soo ping. YorkNotes on the Great Gatsby. York: Longman York Press, 1992.[4]XingYan. An Outline of American Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.[5]Zhao Hongwei. Disillusionment of Gatsby’s“American Dream” From the P erspective of Society--Analysis of “The Great Gatsby”. Harbin :Journal of Harbin University, 2003( 6).[6]陈卓.《了不起的盖茨比中的美国梦》.魅力中国,2009(3).[7]黎红雯.《了不起的盖茨比,一部阐解美国梦的述作》.华南师范大学学报,2002(15).[8]邓年刚,谭素钦.《再论美国梦》.湖北民族学院学报,1997(1).[9]杨慧群.《菲兹杰拉德的小说<了不起的盖茨比>浅析》.江苏广播电视大学学报, 2002(2).。

读后感《美国之梦》了不起的盖茨比

读后感《美国之梦》了不起的盖茨比

读后感《美国之梦》了不起的盖茨比读后感《美国之梦》(了不起的盖茨比)《美国之梦》(了不起的盖茨比)Novel describe and buy to sell through perfect art form wine upstart" American dream" that Gatsby pursue unreal the twenties Kill , has announced the tragedy of the American society. Gatsby falls in love with Daisy and departure is actually a very ordinary love story. But the author makes skilful opening moves, regard girl whom Gatsby loved the symbols of the youth, money and status deeply as, Regard U.S.A. as by means to pursue rich material life" Dream of". For pursue Gatsby Daisy exhaust own emotion and ability and intelligence, ruin one's own life. He thought innocently : Can revive an old dream after having money, redeem the lost love. It's a pity , he is wrong. He has misunderstood this one of Daisy Vulgar and shallow woman . He has misunderstood the boring society on the surface dissipated and luxurious and hollowly on spirit. Whether it live he the dreamlike China, is abandoned by Daisy, treats for the society coldly, Cast the tragedy that can't retrieve at last.Gatsby is the typical American youth in the twenties. Experience of him whether joyous song smile at portrayal in" knight's times" of dance. Sweetheart Daisy of one's early years such as Gatsby marry rich and life dissolute Tom. For win Daisy, by buy to sell he wine accumulate first a large sum of wealth again He thought innocently : Can revive an old dream after having money, redeem the lost love .But he fails to gain Daisy's heart finally, has exhausted one's own emotion and ability and intelligence in order to pursue Daisy, Ruin one's own life finally. The illusion that Gatsby revived an old dream has gone for ever.The author composes a chilly and disappointed sad melody with the multicoloured note, leave somebody limitless thinking.。

An Analysis of the Disillusion of American Dream in The Great Gatsby

An Analysis of the Disillusion of American Dream in      The Great Gatsby

An Analysis of the Disillusion of American Dream inThe Great Gatsby论《了不起的盖茨比》中美国梦的幻灭摘要弗朗西斯•司各特•菲茨杰拉尔德是美国“爵士时代”的代言人, 他在其代表作《了不起的盖茨比》中以细腻的笔触表现了二十世纪二十年代美国的风貌, 用主人公盖茨比的悲剧人生隐喻了“美国梦”的虚幻及其不可企及性,揭示了“美国梦”破灭的必然规律。

文中主人公盖茨比是为追求美国梦而最终牺牲自己的典例,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。

然而他的梦想只是一种虚幻的渴望,而不是建立在现实基础之上的追求,结果导致了他梦想的破灭。

论文从作者和小说人物分析着手,通过对《了不起的盖茨比》的写作背景、作者自身的经历、故事的主要内容、小说主人公盖茨比之梦的破灭等多方面的分析和解剖, 深刻地揭示了“美国梦”的发展与破灭。

关键词:《了不起的盖茨比》;美国梦;破灭;爵士时代AbstractFrancis • Scott Fitzgerald is the spokesman of “the Jazz Age” in the United States. In his masterwork, The Great Gatsby, he uses delicate brushwork to show the style of American society in the 1920s. Hero Gatsby’s tragic life, as a metaphor for the illusion and entertainment of the “American Dream”, reveals the inexorable law of the disillusion of “American dream”.The hero in The Great Gatsby reveals a typical example of those who is eager to pursue the American Dream but finally ended by sacrificing themselves. Though he dreams of achieving material wealth and love through his courage and hard working, all the factors from outside world and his character led to the disillusion of his dream. This profoundly reveals the development and di sillusion of “The American Dream” by dissecting writing background of The Great Gatsby, the author’s own experiences, the main content of the story, novel leading character Gatsby’s shattered dream and other side.Key Words:The Great Gatsby; the American dream; disillusion; Jazz AgeIIContents摘要 (I)Abstract........................................................................................................................错误!未定义书签。

了不起的盖茨比人物介绍英文作文结尾

了不起的盖茨比人物介绍英文作文结尾

了不起的盖茨比人物介绍英文作文结尾【中英文实用版】The characters in \'The Great Gatsby\' are a fascinating blend of personalities, each contributing to the novel's intricate web of desires and deceits. As we bid farewell to these captivating figures, let us remember the lessons they impart –the hollowness of wealth, the elusive nature of dreams, and the enduring power of love.在《了不起的盖茨比》中,各色人物交织在一起,形成了一个充满欲望与欺骗的复杂网络。

当我们向这些迷人角色告别时,让我们牢记他们所传达的教训——财富的空虚,梦想的遥不可及,以及爱情的永恒力量。

Gatsby, the enigmatic millionaire, symbolizes the American Dream's allure and pitfalls. His tragic downfall serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us that the pursuit of wealth and status can exact a heavy toll.盖茨比这位神秘的百万富翁,象征着美国梦的诱惑与陷阱。

他悲剧性的陨落成为了警示,提醒我们追求财富与地位可能会付出高昂的代价。

Daisy Buchanan, with her captivating beauty and privileged upbringing, represents the shallow materialism that plagues society. Her inability to break free from societal constraints highlights the limitations of her era.黛西·布坎南,凭借其迷人的美貌和优越的成长环境,代表了社会上盛行的浅薄物质主义。

最喜欢的书了不起的盖茨比英文介绍

最喜欢的书了不起的盖茨比英文介绍

最喜欢的书了不起的盖茨比英文介绍"The Great Gatsby" is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925. Set in the prosperous years following World War I, the story takes place in Long Island, New York, and explores themes of wealth, love, and the American Dream. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest who moves to New York City to pursue a career in finance. He becomes acquainted with his enigmatic and wealthy neighbor, Jay Gatsby, known for his extravagant parties and mysterious background. As Nick delves into Gatsby"s life, he becomes entangled in a web of love, deceit, and tragedy.Jay Gatsby, the central character of the novel, is depicted as a self-made millionaire who is driven by his love for Daisy Buchanan, a woman from his past who is now married to Tom Buchanan, an arrogant and wealthy socialite. Gatsby"s pursuit of the American Dream and his relentless desire to recreate the past form the core of the story.Fitzgerald"s writing style beautifully captures the glamour and decadence of the Jazz Age, while also exposing the emptiness and moral decay that lurk beneath the surface. Through vivid descriptions and intricate characterizations, he explores the themes of social class, illusion versus reality,and the corrupting influence of wealth."The Great Gatsby" has been widely regarded as a masterpiece of American literature and a classic representation of the Roaring Twenties. It continues to captivate readers with its compelling narrative, rich symbolism, and poignant commentary on the human condition. This timeless novel offers a thought-provoking exploration of ambition, love, and the consequences of chasing an elusive dream. It remains a favorite among readers worldwide and serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of the human experience.。

最难忘的角色英语作文

最难忘的角色英语作文

The Most Unforgettable Character: The Everlasting Impact of GatsbyIn the vast canvas of literature, numerous characters have left indelible impressions on readers' hearts. Among them, one character stands out as the most unforgettable: Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless novel, "The Great Gatsby." Gatsby's story, set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age in 1920s New York, resonates deeply with readers due to his complex character, tragic fate, and profound symbolism.Gatsby is introduced to us as a mysterious and enigmatic figure, a man of great wealth and ostentatious parties, yet his past remains shrouded in mystery. As the story unfolds, we learn that Gatsby's rise to fame and fortune was not without struggle and sacrifice. Born into poverty, he rose through hard work and determination, eventually becoming a successful bootlegger and socialite. His single-minded pursuit of the American Dream, however, was not just about wealth and status; it was about winning the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan.Gatsby's love for Daisy is both his greatest strength and his ultimate weakness. His entire existence seems to revolve around her, and his dreams and ambitions are all tied to her happiness. This unwavering devotion, however, blinds him to Daisy's true nature and her unwillingness to leave her privileged world for him. Gatsby's tragic end comes when he tries to reconcile with Daisy, only to be betrayed by her and killed in a car accident while pursuing her.What makes Gatsby so unforgettable is not just his tragic story but also his symbolism. Gatsby represents the aspirations and dreams of millions who have come to America seeking a better life. His rise and fall mirror the rise and fall of the American Dream itself, as the Jazz Age gave way to the Great Depression. Gatsby's tragic ending serves as a cautionary tale, warning us that the pursuit of material wealth and status cannot compensate for the emptiness and loneliness of the soul.Gatsby's character also resonates with readers because of his complexity. He is both a charming and enigmatic figure, a man of great charm and magnetism who commandsattention wherever he goes. Yet, behind this facade is a deeply vulnerable and insecure individual who is willing to sacrifice everything for love. This contradiction makes him both relatable and enigmatic, drawing readers into hisworld and keeping them engaged throughout the story.In conclusion, Jay Gatsby is the most unforgettable character in literature because of his tragic story, profound symbolism, and complex character. His story serves as a timeless reminder of the dangers of pursuing material wealth and status at the cost of one's own happiness and fulfillment. Gatsby's enduring impact on readers' hearts makes him a lasting figure in the annals of literature.**最难忘的角色:盖茨比的永恒影响**在文学的广阔画卷中,无数角色在读者心中留下了不可磨灭的印象。

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德的经典之作。

这部小说以 20 世纪 20 年代的美国为背景,生动地描绘了那个时代的社会风貌和人们的梦想追求。

读完这本书,让我对美式梦想有了更深刻的理解。

故事的主人公杰伊·盖茨比出身贫寒,但他心中怀揣着一个无比绚烂的梦想——通过自己的努力和奋斗,成为一个富有的人,赢得心爱的姑娘黛西的芳心。

为了实现这个梦想,他不择手段地积累财富,举办奢华的派对,试图融入上流社会。

然而,盖茨比所追求的梦想,从一开始就注定是一场悲剧。

他所向往的上流社会,表面上光鲜亮丽,实则充满了虚伪、冷漠和自私。

那些所谓的贵族们,只在乎金钱和地位,对于真正的感情和人性的美好视而不见。

盖茨比以为拥有了财富就能得到一切,却没有意识到,他所追求的东西在那个腐朽的社会中根本就不存在。

在小说中,作者通过对盖茨比举办的派对的描写,展现了当时社会的虚荣和浮华。

派对上,人们纵情声色,却没有人真正关心盖茨比的内心世界。

他们只是为了享受免费的美酒和美食,为了在这个奢华的场合中炫耀自己。

这种表面的热闹与盖茨比内心的孤独形成了鲜明的对比,让我们看到了他在追求梦想过程中的无奈和悲哀。

黛西这个角色也是美式梦想破灭的一个象征。

她美丽、迷人,但却肤浅、自私。

她当初因为盖茨比的贫穷而离开了他,后来又在盖茨比富有之后重新出现。

然而,她最终还是无法抛弃自己的贵族身份和既得利益,选择了与汤姆继续生活在一起。

黛西的选择,让盖茨比的梦想彻底破碎,也让我们看到了在金钱和利益面前,爱情是多么的脆弱和不堪一击。

盖茨比的悲剧不仅仅是个人的悲剧,更是整个美国社会的悲剧。

20 世纪 20 年代的美国,经历了一战后的经济繁荣,人们的物质生活得到了极大的改善,但精神世界却变得空虚和迷茫。

人们追求金钱和物质享受,却忽略了人性的美好和真正的价值。

这种价值观的扭曲,导致了无数像盖茨比这样的人在追求梦想的道路上迷失了方向,最终走向了毁灭。

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德的经典之作,这部小说以 20 世纪 20 年代的美国为背景,生动地描绘了那个时代的社会风貌以及人们对梦想的追求与破灭。

通过阅读这部作品,我对美式梦想有了更深刻的理解。

小说的主人公杰伊·盖茨比出身贫寒,但他却怀揣着一个无比炽热的梦想——通过自己的努力和奋斗,成为一个富有的人,赢回他心爱的姑娘黛西。

为了实现这个梦想,盖茨比付出了巨大的努力。

他不择手段地赚钱,举办奢华的派对,试图吸引黛西的注意。

然而,他所追求的梦想最终却以悲剧收场。

在 20 世纪 20 年代的美国,经济繁荣,人们普遍相信通过个人的努力和奋斗可以实现财富和地位的提升,从而过上幸福的生活。

这种信念构成了所谓的美式梦想。

盖茨比无疑是这种梦想的忠实追随者和践行者。

他坚信只要自己足够富有,就能重新赢得黛西的爱,就能跨越社会阶层的鸿沟。

然而,他的梦想是建立在虚幻和不切实际的基础之上的。

首先,盖茨比所追求的爱情是虚幻的。

黛西虽然美丽动人,但她是一个肤浅、自私、物质的女人。

她爱的只是盖茨比的财富和地位,而不是他本人。

当盖茨比的财富受到威胁时,黛西毫不犹豫地选择了离开他。

这表明,盖茨比所追求的爱情只不过是他自己想象中的美好,与现实中的黛西毫无关系。

其次,盖茨比试图通过财富来跨越社会阶层的梦想也是不切实际的。

尽管他拥有了巨额的财富,但在传统的上流社会眼中,他始终是一个外来者,一个暴发户。

他的财富并不能改变他的出身和社会地位,也无法让他真正融入上流社会。

这种社会阶层的固化和偏见,使得盖茨比的梦想注定无法实现。

再者,盖茨比所生活的时代是一个道德沦丧、物欲横流的时代。

人们为了追求财富不择手段,道德和伦理被抛在脑后。

在这样的社会环境中,盖茨比的梦想显得如此单纯和幼稚。

他的善良和真诚在这个充满虚伪和欺骗的世界中显得格格不入,最终导致了他的悲剧命运。

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德创作的一部以 20 世纪 20 年代的纽约市及长岛为背景的小说。

这部作品深刻地探讨了“美国梦”的寓意,通过主人公盖茨比的命运起伏,展现了那个时代人们对财富、地位和爱情的追求与幻灭。

故事的背景设定在一战后的美国,当时经济繁荣,社会充满了变革和机会。

人们普遍相信,只要努力奋斗,就能够实现自己的梦想,获得财富和社会地位。

然而,这种看似美好的“美国梦”背后,却隐藏着诸多的问题和矛盾。

盖茨比出身贫寒,但他心中怀揣着一个无比绚烂的梦想——成为一个富有的人,赢得心爱的女子黛西的芳心。

为了实现这个梦想,他不择手段地积累财富,甚至涉足了一些非法的生意。

最终,他在长岛买下了一座豪华的别墅,举办了一场场奢华的派对,试图吸引黛西的注意。

在盖茨比的眼中,黛西不仅仅是他心爱的女人,更是他所追求的“美国梦”的象征。

她代表着高贵、优雅和财富,是他梦寐以求的一切。

然而,当他终于与黛西重逢时,却发现她已经不再是他记忆中的那个纯洁美好的女子。

黛西虽然被盖茨比的财富所吸引,但她更在乎的是自己的社会地位和名声。

在面对丈夫汤姆的指责和压力时,她毫不犹豫地选择了抛弃盖茨比,将他推向了绝望的深渊。

盖茨比的悲剧命运揭示了“美国梦”的虚伪和脆弱。

他以为只要拥有了财富,就能够得到一切,但却忽略了社会的现实和人性的复杂。

在那个物欲横流的时代,人们的价值观已经扭曲,财富和地位成为了衡量一个人成功与否的唯一标准。

而真正的爱情、友情和亲情,却被人们抛在了脑后。

小说中的另一个重要人物汤姆,是一个典型的富家子弟。

他拥有着高贵的出身和巨额的财富,但他却自私、虚伪、道德败坏。

他不仅在外面养情妇,还对盖茨比百般羞辱和陷害。

汤姆代表了那个时代的既得利益者,他们凭借着自己的出身和财富,肆意践踏他人的尊严和梦想。

而尼克,作为故事的叙述者,他见证了盖茨比的兴衰和整个社会的荒诞。

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美式梦想解读读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德创作的一部以 20 世纪 20 年代的纽约市及长岛为背景的小说。

这部作品深刻地描绘了那个时代的社会风貌以及人们的梦想与现实之间的巨大落差。

故事的主人公杰伊·盖茨比出身贫寒,但他却怀揣着一个无比炽热的梦想——通过自己的努力和奋斗,赢得财富和社会地位,从而能够与心爱的黛西重聚。

在他的心中,黛西不仅是美丽和高贵的象征,更是他所追求的美好生活的化身。

为了实现这个梦想,盖茨比不择手段地积累财富,举办奢华的派对,试图吸引黛西的注意。

然而,盖茨比所追求的美式梦想,从一开始就注定了是一场悲剧。

在那个物欲横流、道德沦丧的时代,财富和地位成为了衡量一个人价值的唯一标准。

人们在追求物质享受的过程中,逐渐失去了自我,变得虚伪、冷漠和自私。

盖茨比虽然拥有了巨额的财富,但他却无法摆脱自己卑微的出身,无法真正融入上流社会。

那些所谓的名流们在他的派对上尽情享乐,但在内心深处却对他充满了鄙夷和不屑。

黛西这个人物形象,也深刻地反映了那个时代的悲哀。

她外表美丽、温柔,但内心却空虚、软弱。

她曾经爱过盖茨比,但在面对现实的压力和金钱的诱惑时,她毫不犹豫地选择了抛弃他。

当盖茨比再次出现在她的生活中时,她虽然表现出了一丝感动,但最终还是无法摆脱对金钱和地位的依赖,再次背叛了盖茨比。

小说中的另一个重要人物尼克,作为盖茨比的邻居和朋友,见证了他的梦想的兴起和破灭。

尼克是一个清醒的旁观者,他看到了盖茨比梦想的虚幻和不切实际,也看到了上流社会的虚伪和丑陋。

但他却无力改变这一切,只能在无奈和悲哀中默默离开。

菲茨杰拉德通过《了不起的盖茨比》,对美式梦想进行了深刻的批判。

他指出,这种以追求财富和地位为核心的梦想,是建立在虚幻和空洞的基础上的。

它让人失去了真正的自我,失去了对人性和道德的坚守。

在这个梦想的驱使下,人们变得贪婪、自私、冷漠,社会也变得充满了矛盾和冲突。

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意阐述读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意阐述读书笔记

了不起的盖茨比美国梦寓意阐述读书笔记《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家菲茨杰拉德的经典之作,这部小说以 20 世纪 20 年代的美国为背景,深刻地描绘了那个时代的社会风貌以及人们对于“美国梦”的追求与破灭。

小说的主人公盖茨比出身贫寒,但他怀揣着对财富、地位和爱情的梦想,通过不懈的努力和一些不那么光彩的手段,积累了巨大的财富。

他在长岛购置了豪华的别墅,举办奢华的派对,试图吸引他曾经心爱的黛西。

然而,尽管他在物质上取得了巨大的成功,但最终却未能实现他心中真正的梦想——与黛西重归于好,并获得真正的幸福。

盖茨比所追求的“美国梦”,在很大程度上是建立在物质财富的基础之上。

在 20 世纪 20 年代的美国,经济繁荣,消费主义盛行,人们普遍认为只要努力工作,就能够获得财富和成功,从而实现自己的梦想。

盖茨比正是这种观念的典型代表,他相信通过自己的奋斗可以跨越社会阶层,赢得爱情和尊重。

然而,他没有意识到,这种以物质为核心的梦想是空虚和脆弱的。

黛西是盖茨比“美国梦”的重要象征。

她代表着盖茨比心中的美好、高贵和纯洁。

然而,黛西实际上是一个自私、浅薄、只注重物质享受的女人。

当盖茨比还是一个穷小子的时候,她没有选择和他在一起;而当盖茨比成为富豪之后,她虽然暂时被吸引,但在关键时刻,她还是选择了回到她那有钱有势的丈夫汤姆身边。

这表明,盖茨比所追求的爱情,实际上是一种虚幻的、无法实现的梦想。

小说中,汤姆代表着传统的上层社会势力。

他出身名门,拥有财富和地位,却道德败坏、虚伪自私。

他对盖茨比的蔑视和打压,反映了社会阶层之间的固化和对立。

即使盖茨比拥有了财富,也无法真正融入上层社会,因为他的出身和背景始终是他无法逾越的障碍。

盖茨比举办的那些奢华派对,表面上热闹非凡,实际上却充满了虚伪和空洞。

来参加派对的人们大多是为了吃喝玩乐,享受物质的盛宴,他们并不真正关心盖茨比的内心世界。

这种表面的繁华与盖茨比内心的孤独和寂寞形成了鲜明的对比,也进一步揭示了“美国梦”的虚伪性。

《了不起的盖茨比》:美国梦与虚无的追逐

《了不起的盖茨比》:美国梦与虚无的追逐

了不起的盖茨比:美国梦与虚无的追逐简介《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德所写的一部以20世纪20年代为背景的小说。

该小说通过描绘主角盖茨比对于实现自己所谓的"美国梦"而不断追逐虚无的生活,探讨了社会地位、金钱和爱情等主题。

美国梦概念美国梦(American Dream)指的是每个人都有机会通过努力工作和天赋才能实现成功,并享受到物质和精神繁荣的理想状态。

在《了不起的盖茨比》中,盖茨比追求着他认为是属于自己的美国梦,希望通过财富和地位来获得社会认可。

盖茨比与美国梦在小说中,盖茨比来自一个贫穷家庭,但他通过刻苦努力和投机取巧获得了财富。

他建立起身份,迅速崛起并成为上流社会中备受瞩目的人物。

这展示了美国梦中的成功故事,即通过努力工作和机遇来实现个人成功。

然而,虽然盖茨比在物质上很成功,但他依然感到内心空虚。

他的财富和社会地位并没有带给他真正的幸福与满足感。

这暗示了美国梦的虚无性,探索了物质财富所带来的局限性。

其他角色对美国梦的态度除了盖茨比以外,在小说中其他角色对美国梦也有不同的看法。

有些人认为通过努力工作可以实现自己的梦想,如卡罗尔·布坎南;而有些人则对于金钱和社会地位持更加冷静和理性的态度,如尼克·卡拉威。

虚无概念虚无(the Great Void)指的是一种无形、空洞、缺乏价值感和存在意义感的状态。

在小说中,虚无代表着主人公们对真实生活追求失败后所面临的绝望。

盖茨比与虚无盖茨比通过成为上流社会中备受瞩目的人物,试图填补内心深处的虚无感。

然而,他追逐的并非真正的幸福和爱情,而是一个对过去的幻想和一个错觉。

尽管他在物质上成功,但却无法逃脱内心的孤独和空虚。

其他角色对虚无的态度小说中的其他角色也面临着类似的挣扎。

他们身份地位高贵,生活奢华,但内心却与现实脱节。

这显示了物质享受和社会地位并不能带来真正的满足感。

尼克·卡拉威作为故事旁观者与判断者,用冷静的目光揭示了这种虚无状态。

英语毕业论文 了不起的盖茨比美国梦的破灭,the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

英语毕业论文 了不起的盖茨比美国梦的破灭,the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

On the Ruin of the American Dream in The Great GatsbyStudent Name:Tutor Name:Submitted as a partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree ofBachelor of ArtsCollege of Foreign Languages(April, 2010)AcknowledgementsI would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the teachers who have taught me and offered me invaluable advice during my four-year study at University.In particular I would like to thank my supervisors, Ms.Yang. She has been available at all times with a helpful advice and a helping hand throughout my whole writing process of the thesis. She has provide me with instructive guidance in modifying the topic, in preparing the material pertinent to the topic and in writing the thesis, and has paid great patience in reading and revising the entire manuscript. Without her generous help, I could not even complete the thesis, let alone present it with the present form.Finally I would also like to thank my parents and all my friends, who have given me innumerous encouragement and critical support in my study these years.AbstractF. Scott. Fitzgerald (1896-1940), as the most famous chronicler and laureate of the Jazz Age, is one of the most representative American novelist of the 1920s. He was not only a leading participant in the typically frivolous, carefree, moneymaking life of the decade but also a detached observer of it.Owing to its extraordinary literary merits, Fitzgerald‟s Great Gatsby is listed among the most notable twentieth-century American novels.This thesis analyzes the roots of the disillusionment of Gatsby‟s dream from the social, historical and authorial perspectives. By exploring the origins and essential nature of Gatsby‟s dream, the naivety and innocence in his personali ty and the cruelty of the Jazz Age society epitomized by the ruthless and immoral Buchanans, the paper draws the conclusion that a combination of these elements defines Gatsby‟s failure and destruction in the end. Theme discussion in this paper is basically done through history and character analysis, which aims for better understanding of the connotation of the novel.Key words: Scott. Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; American dream; disillusionment内容摘要弗朗西斯·司科特•菲兹杰拉德往往被推崇为“爵士时代”的编年史家和桂冠诗人,是二十世纪美国最重要的作家之一。

了不起的盖茨比内容

了不起的盖茨比内容

了不起的盖茨比内容《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家菲茨杰拉德的代表作,也是20世纪美国文学的经典之一。

小说以20世纪20年代的美国为背景,以主人公盖茨比的传奇故事为主线,展现了美国梦的破灭和社会虚伪的现实。

小说以其深刻的思想内涵和独特的艺术风格,成为世界文学史上的经典之作。

盖茨比是一个神秘而富有的人物,他以自己的方式追求着美国梦。

他通过勤奋努力和机遇的把握,从一个贫穷的青年成为了一个富有的商人。

他在追求财富的同时,也在追求着他心中的爱情——黛西。

在盖茨比看来,只有拥有黛西,他才能获得真正的幸福。

然而,现实却往往是残酷的,盖茨比最终没有能够实现他的美国梦,他的爱情也以悲剧收场。

小说中的盖茨比形象鲜明,他既是一个成功的商人,也是一个迷失在爱情中的梦想家。

他对黛西的爱情是执着而又不切实际的,他将黛西视为自己的全部,却忽略了黛西的内心和选择。

盖茨比的一生就像是他所居住的那座豪华别墅一样,外表光鲜亮丽,内心却是空虚和孤独的。

除了盖茨比的个人形象外,小说还通过描绘20世纪20年代的美国社会风貌,展现了那个时代的繁荣与虚荣、荒诞与空虚。

在这个时代里,人们为了追求物质享受和社会地位,不惜放弃自己的真实情感和内心的追求,社会虚荣和道德沦丧成为了那个时代的主题。

小说以其深刻的思想内涵和独特的艺术风格,成为了20世纪美国文学的经典之作。

它通过盖茨比的故事,揭示了美国梦的虚假和社会的虚伪,对人性的探讨和社会的批判,使得这部小说成为了世界文学史上不可或缺的经典之一。

总之,《了不起的盖茨比》是一部充满哲理的小说,它不仅展现了20世纪20年代美国社会的繁荣和虚荣,更通过盖茨比的故事,深刻揭示了美国梦的虚假和社会的虚伪。

这部小说的价值在于它对人性的深刻剖析和对社会现实的尖锐批判,使得它成为了世界文学史上的经典之作。

盖茨比的故事告诉我们,追求梦想固然重要,但更重要的是要珍惜眼前人和眼前事,坦然面对现实,不被物质和虚荣所蒙蔽,这或许才是真正的幸福之道。

相关主题
  1. 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性,平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
  2. 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
  3. 3、如文档侵犯您的权益,请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间:9:00-18:30)。
We are very sad that Gatsby was dead in the end. But the novel become the classic because of his death. Now let’s analyze the chapter what describe the death of Gatsby. The plot what I should introduce is so easy that I will explain the environment and dialogue.
Wilson's glazed eyes turned out to the ash heaps, where small grey clouds took on fantastic shape and scurried here and there in the faint dawn wind. —— chapter 8
"God sees everything," repeated Wilson.
The Break of The American Dream
• When Gatsby was rich, his home is bustling. • And finally,only three people attended his funeral. • But Daisy whom Gatsby paid for everything was enjoying the travel. • For Gatsby,love is illusion. • In his illusion,his Daisy is the beautiful and pure representative. • But in reality,Daisy chosen Tom who is rich. • Although she back to Gatsby . • But,when she found that the wealth of Gatsby is unreliable. • She chosen Tom again.
Next is the dialogue.
"I found it yesterday afternoon. She tried to tell me about it but I knew it was something funny.“ ——chapter 8
'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you can't fool God!‘ ——chapter 8
First is the environment in the beetles kept thudding against the dull light. ——chapter 8
He was glad a little later when he noticed a change in the room, a blue quickening by the window, and realized that dawn wasn't far off. About five o'clock it was blue enough outside to snap off the light. ——chapter 8
相关文档
最新文档