泛读论文 伟大的盖茨比

山东财经大学泛读论文题目：The Great Gatsby学院外国语学院专业英语班级英语一班学号20110914119姓名**指导教师***二Ｏ一三年六月The Great GatsbybyF. Scott FitzgeraldUnder the Supervision of***School of Foreign StudiesShandong University of Finance and EconomicsJune 2013ContentsAbstract in English............................................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

Abstract in Chinese...........................................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

I. Introduction.............................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

1.1 A brief introduction to the Jazz Age (1)1.2. A brief introduction to the novel (1)II. The Author's Life...................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

2.1 Fitzgerald‟s Life and Career........................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

III. The American Dream...........................................................................错误！未定义书签。

3.1 Origins of the American Dream..................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

3.2 Essence of the American Dream.................................................................................错误！未定义书签。

3.3 Gatsby‟s Dream (4)IV. Reasons for the Disillusionment of Dreams (5)V. My viewpoints on the novel (6)VI. Conclusion (6)VI My Feelings (7)Bibliography (7)ABSTRACTOn The Great Gatsby in EnglishZhangChenFrancis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), the famous American writer in the first half of the twentieth century, is regarded as the spokesman for “the Lost Generation” in American literature. In 1925, The Great Gatsby was published, which is thought to be one of the best works of Fitzgerald, offering a vivid picture about American life in the 1920s.The Great Gatsby is a symbolic disintegration of the American dream in an era of moral waste and decay and the lack of personal responsibility. In this novel,Fitzgerald discusses a variety of themes, such as justice, power, greed, and the American dream, which many Chinese and foreign scholars have analyzed. This paper focuses on the roots of the withering of Gatsby‟s American dream in The Great Gatsby by means of an analysis on creation background and hero‟s characters, and aims at making people understand this novel more deeply, building a right and healthy moral value.Through analyzing, we can see that there are three factors lead to Gatsby‟s tragedy. First, Gatsb y‟s dream contains some limitations and contradictory aspects, so it cannot exist in the cruel society. Secondly, Gatsby‟s innocence and naivety make him out of the upper class. Gatsby is not their opponent in the corrupted American society. Finally, compared with Gatsby, there are too much selfish and immoral people and behaviors in this unequal society.[Key words] The Great Gatsby; American Dream; Inevitable Disillusion中文摘要弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德(1896-1940)是二十世纪初美国著名作家，被认为是美国文学中“迷惘一代”的代言人。

一九二五年，他出版了代表作《了不起的盖茨比》。

这部小说被公认为是他最优秀的作品, 向人们生动的展示了二十世纪九十年代的美国社会。

《了不起的盖茨比》描述了在一个道德沦丧和颓废以及个人责任感缺乏的社会里美国梦的破灭。

本文着重分析《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比美国梦破灭的根源。

在这部小说中，菲茨杰拉德探讨了众多发人深思的话题，如公平，权利，贪婪以及美国梦。

国内外的学者们对小说中的这些主题都做了深入研究。

本文通过对创作背景以及主人公的性格分析来探索盖茨比美国梦破灭的必然性。

从而使人们加深对小说的理解，并且树立起正确且健康的道德观念。

透过分析，本文总结出了导致盖茨比悲剧的三个因素。

第一，盖茨比的美国梦夹杂着一些不可避免的局限和矛盾，这些局限和矛盾不可能在这残酷的世界中得到解决。

第二，盖茨比无知，天真的性格使他隔绝于上流社会。

在腐败的美国社会中，盖茨比无法成为他们的对手，更不可能实现自己的理想。

最后，对于盖茨比而言，社会上充满了自私和不道德的人或者行为。

[关键词]了不起的盖茨比；美国梦；破灭的必然性I. Introduction1.1.A brief introduction to the Jazz Agethe Jazz Age is referred to the age of World War Ⅰ,which is from 1914 to 1918. Although the war brought a great calamity to the countries around Europe, the economy in America really had a great prosperity after the war. Traditional morality, traditional belief and traditional religion collapsed instantly. People poured into cinema, indulged themselves into buying luxuries and worship the movie idol. F. Scott. Fitzgerald properly called this period the Jazz Age. This novel is telling us a story about an idealist chasing his dream but finally losing his dream.1.2.A brief introduction to the novelThis novel is narrated by Nick, is a young bachelor who returns to the Midwest before setting to the New York City. Daisy, the heroine, is Nick‟s second cousin once removed and Nick knows of her husband, Tom. With the development of the novel, Nick knows that his next-door neighbor, who always hosting lavish parties of hundreds of peoples, is the wealthy Gatsby. Jordon Baker, takes interests in Nick, reveals that Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy in 1917 as Army Lieutenant stationed near Daisy‟s hometown. But Gatsby had no money to married Daisy, so Daisy married to the wealthy Tom, after that Gatsby is aiming to be a millionaire. With few years of illegal traffic and smuggling, he accumulates a great amount of wealth. He would like Nick to arrange a meeting with Daisy, Nick agrees. And invite Gatsby and Daisy to his house, so they begin a love affair again. But actually, Daisy only treats this relationship as an exciting game. Daisy invites Gatsby and Nick to her mansion, where Tom finds that Gatsby loves Daisy. Tom knows Daisy‟s superficial nature very well and by takingaway Daisy‟s financial security, with that Daisy is now beyond his reach. With the situation between them, Daisy runs out of the hotel and Gatsby follows her into his car, where she insists on driving because it will calm her nerves. But it fells that Daisy knocks down and kills Myrtle, Tom‟s mistress. Gatsby absolve Daisy from her guilty to protect her. After that Tom talks into Myrtle‟s husband to shoot Gatsby dead. So the magic bubble of love and dreams broke up. Despite Nick‟s efforts, only Gatsby‟s father, an woman and Nick attends his funeral. Discussed with Tom and Daisy, Nick returns to his hometown, reflecting on Gatsby‟s dreams and cyclical nature of the past.II. The Author’s LifeFitzgerald’s Life and CareerFrancis Scott Fitzgerald was a Jazz Age novelist and short story writer who left behind him 5 novels, 178 short stories, numerous essays and plays. French critic Jacques Vallette thinks highly of Fitzgerald, calling him “the soul of America.”Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in an Irish family in St. Paul, Minnesota. He grew up in the staid American middle west, but his life and writings are related with the fashionable East Coast. In 1913, he went to Princeton University. Because of academic difficulties he left college in 1917, and then enlisted in the army as a lieutenant at a staff headquarters. In 1920, he finished and published his first novel, This side of Paradise, which was a tremendous and commercial success. In April 1921 Fitzgerald and Zelda were married and settled on Long Island in 1922. He supported their life by doing the job as a hack writer, contributing short stories frequently to the journals, such as the popular Saturday Evening Post and the critical Scribner’s. During these years, Fitzgerald published his second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned (1922)and some short stories. However, Fitzgerald felt that there was little progress since then. Some people criticized that his works were lack of intellectual sophistication and immaturity, especially in relation to ideas. He wanted to write “something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricatelypatterned.” (Bruccoli, 1991: 170) Thanks to Joseph Conrad, it was his writing that greatly encouraged Fitzgerald in the way of creation. It made Fitzgerald clear that, as an artist, his power had nothing to do with how brilliant a mind he had and how deep he thought. For Conrad the sources of aesthetic power rooted in the individual self. The charm of artist is not to our wisdom or ideas, but to our enduring “capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, beauty, and pain…” (Andrew Hook, 1992: 3) Inspired by Conrad, Fitzgerald published some works in the following years, such as The Great Gatsby in 1925, Tender is the Night in 1934. His last work, the Hollywood novel The Last Tycoon (1941), was left unfinished at his death.III. The American Dream3.1 Origins of the American DreamThe American dream arose in the colonial period and developed in the 19th century. The First World War led to the switch of the world‟s order, each participated country got seriously wounded more or less, except the United States of which mainland was not involved in the war. Americans made a large amount of money by selling munitions and became the richest country in the world. America was determined to concentrate on economic growth, technological development, and commercial expansion. Wei Qian believes that mass production, mass consumption, and mass leisure became essential to economic and cultural life and were soon to dominate the nation‟s culture and institutions. (Wei Qian, 2006:12) At that time, people felt that money was everywhere, and everyone also had opportunity to earn them.The old values in society were breaking down and great changes happened among the new generation. Thousands of Americans speculated and gambled on the stock market and many new millionaires were born over night. So there emerged a group people. They just chased a material well-being life and a more capitalistic and materialistic attitude but lack of spiritual pursuit. In 20th century, historian JamesTruslow Adams expounded the American dream in detail in his book Epic of America (1931), which popularized the American dream to all of the Americans. As to ordinary Americans, the American dream is a power that can bring any kind of fulfillment, no matter the spiritual or the material in the world.3.2Essence of the American DreamIt is said that the American dream is a kind of life which should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. To Li Hongwen, 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. (Li Hongwen, 2002:15) Actually, the American dream is a state of mind. It seems to be the geographic space and physical freedom. One's efforts allows one to succeed independently while providing an improved future for one's children and making a contribution to the world that one can be proud of.The American dream exists because people live in a nation founded on certain extraordinary principles. The great majority of Americans take them for granted. Every American knows that they are especially lucky to live in a land where they have an enduring right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While almost them are very clear about what life and liberty mean, however, there is some confusion about the pursuit of happiness. And it's that misunderstanding which causes them to misunderstand the American dream. In most America ns‟ eyes, what the American dream promises is not a right to happiness, but a right to achieve it on one‟s own.3.3 Gatsby’s DreamThe Great Gatsby, setting in 1920, a time period when many people searching for wealth by no means, is about the American Dream and the downfall of those who attempt to reach the illusionary goals.American Dream means that American is place full of infinite possibilities in which everyone has the opportunity to succeed.Wealth,material possessions, and power are the core values of “The American Dream.” For many Americans, the dream is based solely upon reaching a higher standard of living.Gatsby is one of those Americans who live his whole life in pursuit of wealth and power.But his American Dream is not really material possession.He only comes into riches so that he can fulfill his true American Dream-Daisy.IV. Reasons for the Disillusionment of Dreams In the novel, Gatsby‟s American Dream is not material possession. He only comes into riches so that he can fulfill his true dream---- to reunite with Daisy. However, his pursuit for love eventually turns out to be irony, making him losing everything even at the cost of his life. There are many reasons resulting in his destiny, mainly the social factor and he himself.First, the social factor. The novel has deeply exposed American people‟s total depravity as well as cruelty in the materialism society of 1920s. For money and status, Daisy left Gatsby and married Tom; for money and status, she had an affair with Gatsby again; for money and status, she finally abandonned Gatsby once more. Ironically, while Daisy caused the car accident, it was Gatsby who took the responsibility and was even killed by Mr. Wilson.However, when Gatsby‟s cold dead body was still lying in the water of pool, Daisy, the selfish woman, had already gone out for travel with her husband, leaving other people to “clean up the mess they made”. It was also quite bleak that there were very few people including Nick and old Gatz attending Gatsby‟s funeral. Daisy, whom Gatsby devoted himself to, “hadn‟t sent a message or a flower”at all. None of his parasites appeared on his funeral, either. All of this showed the cruelty of that materialism society.Second, self factor. Gatsby lived in a world where money took priority over moral integrity, which impacted negatively on Gatsby. In the past, Gatsby had an love affair with the affluent Daisy. But they separated because of the difference in their social status. Then Gatsby started to amass wealth. In the process of seeking for money and status, Gatsby began his evil business. To be rich, he engaged in criminal activities. Through his dealings with organized crimes, it could be seen that he did not adhere to the American Dream guidelines. So his American Dream was doomed to failure. In addition, Gatsby was blinded due to his ideal love for Daisy. Actually, Daisy was far from the idealistic figure in Gatsby‟s mind. She was a realistic woman, attracted by substantial things—money and solid social status. However, because of his blinded love, Gatsby could not realize the true essence of Daisy, though he saw through that “her voice is full of money”. Even if they could live together, Gatsby would have been disillusioned.V. My viewpoints on the novelGatsby’s dream-to gets his lost love backThe hero Gatsby is a completely character comes up from the bottom of society with his own struggle and efforts, and finally wins the great economic success with his smart brain and hard working. On the contrary, he looks down upon his parents, and neglects the upper-class‟s hypocritical essence. That‟s because he don‟t know what money‟s use is and don‟t realize the difference between his huge fortune overnight by dirty means and Tom‟s inherit property. Except the wealth and status, he also doesn‟t realize Daisy vanity and keep treating her as a symbolic of dream and direction.VI. ConclusionFitzgerald expressed his sadness to the Lost Generation by describing a series of tragedies successfully in The Great Gatsby which reflects the social reality of that age. The hero, Gatsby, is an individual living in that period, who lives a poor life in youth. In Gatsby‟s eyes, the world is material without real and love. The distorted pursuit of material and social success is doomed to failure. Gatsby tries to change the world of material into the ideal world of their fantasy. With his great efforts, he gains wealth, proving his success. But, the dream they are chasing is vast, naive, and impractical. It is a fairy tale which never comes true in the greedy society. Facing the relentless reality, both Gatsby and his dream are just buried in this heartless land. His personal experience is the realization of the American dream.The Great Gatsby shows all of the American experience in the 1920s, criticizes the society that money ranks first and people only care themselves. Through an interpretive analysis of the social background of the American 1920s and characters of the heroes, we have concluded that there are three roots of Gatsby‟s failure. First, because Gatsby‟s dream, as the American dream, contain some limitations and contradictory aspects, it cannot survive in the rigid reality. Secondly, we can see Gatsby‟s self-destructive potentials——innocence and naivety from his idealism or romanticism. Finally, compared with Gatsby, there are too much selfish and immoral people and behaviors inthis unequal society. Gatsby‟s innocence and naivety is doomed to failure in the corrupted American society. Therefore, Gatsby‟s tragedy is inevi table in that age, and Gatsby‟s tragedy also indicates the disillusionment of the American dream.One of the reasons why it is still popular now although it has been over eighty years since it was first published is the spirit of Gatsby which inspires the young generation to pursue their dreams. In order to make his dream come true, Gatsby is so brave, tough and persistent. No matter what difficulties he faces, he never gives up to chase his dream. Dream is one of the most important things in our life, which guides the way of life. When we meet some barriers on our study or work, Gatsby‟s passion stimulates us to surpass ourselves. It pushes us to make the dream come true. On the other hand, Gatsby‟s tragedy also gives us some revelations. Dream should be established on reality. Once our dream is far from the actuality, it cannot come true yet. Therefore, before drawing a blueprint for our future, we must clear what we want to do and what we can do.VI. My FeelingsFrom this novel I concluded that one do esn‟t have to get rich to be happy. Just as the few words in the Chapter one said: “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I‟ve been turning over in my mind ever since. …Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,‟ he told me, …just remember that all the people in this world haven‟t had the advantages that you have had.‟ Becoming wealth is not the most important in love affair, and large wealth cannot be obtained dishonesty. After Gatsby died, his dreams broke up and none of his so-called friends have come to his funeral, and even Daisy has gone abroad with Tom. Above all, we must know the people we really love and make sure whether he or she loves you or some material luxury and mone.Bibliography[1]Cooperman, Stanley. F·Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby [M].Beijing: Foreignlanguage Teaching and Research Press, 1996:21-47.[2]Donaldson, Scott. Critical Essays on F·S·Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby[J].Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984:27, 268.[3] Ernest, Lockridge, Twentieth century interpretations of the great Gatsby [M].Prentice-Hall, inc., 1968:38.[4]Hook, Andrew, F. Scott Fitzgerald [M]. New York : E. Arnold ; New York, NY :Distributed in the USA by Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1992:3.[5]Matterson, Stephen,The Great Gatsby: An Introduction to the Variety of Criticism[J].Houndmills, Bashingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1990:28- 64.[6] Matthew Joseph Bruccoli, Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: the life of F. ScottFitzgerald [M].Cardinal, 1991: 170.[7] Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby [M], with introduction and notes by GuyReynolds. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1993:1-134.。