了不起的盖茨比中黛西的“美国梦”象征

Analysis of Daisy in The Great Gatsby as the symbolization of theAmerican DreamClass Number: 2012213101Student Number: 2012212505Chinese Name:张诗雨摘要：《了不起的盖茨》比作为迷失一代的代表作，是描写“美国梦”最为成功的作品之一。

本文通过比较黛西的人物形象以及20世纪初期美国“爵士”时代“美国梦”的特点，最终得出黛西正是当时“美国梦”的象征。

Abstract:The great Gatsby as the Representative of the lost generation, is one of the most successful works that describe the "American Dream". Through the comparison of Daisy's characters and early 20th century American "Jazz Age" American Dream "characteristics, we can finally conclude that Daisy is emblematic of the" American Dream ".1.IntroductionFrancis Scott Fitzgerald, an outstanding novelist in 20th century literary, is called the representative writer of "Lost Generation" and is undoubtedly his masterpiece. Yet the exact role which Daisy plays in Gatsby's American Dream is still subject to argument. People discuss Daisy from different theories such as feminism and Commodification.However, personally, we can consider Daisy as the symbolization of Gatsby’s distorted “American dream”. Daisy will not applaud to Gatsby’s efforts but only worship his extravagance and vanity, just like the degeneration of the American dream which does not emphasize the pursuit of dreams and simply praise those who look glamorous success. The impractical dream leads to an eager for quick success and instant benefit, and characters are extremely devious in his efforts to achieve his heart's desire. However, when they realize that their so-called dream has already been out of their original intention, what they get is glossy shell without any substantive content. This essay compares the dual personality of Daisy and the disillusionment of the American dream to unscramble and understand the root of Gatsby's tragedy is the misinterpretation of dream.2.The Disillusion of American Dream2.1 The origin of American dreamThe idea of the American dream is evoked earlier then the foundation of America by European immigrants who had all sorts of hopes and aspirations for what was a new and largely unexplored continent. Considering themselves as “people elected by the God”, they tend to be hardworking, thrifty and successful. This religious faith provided not only tremendous spiritual energy for the exploiture of the New England colonies, but also profound influence on the national awareness and culture of the whole America. In the evolution of American dream, there rose up models of success,who was nobody at the beginning and somebody at last, who strengthened the belief of the American dream in people's hearts rather than minds, who seemed to prove where there was a dream there was a way. Among whom Benjamin Franklin was the typical successful well-known self-made men. In the end of the novel we know that Gatsby took Franklin as his model and followed exactly what he did.2.2 The distortion of Gatsby’s American dreamGatsby was born in poor family, but since he was a child he held his big American dream that through his own personal strive to change his destiny, to gain wealth, success and live a happy life. He made a detailed routine according to the behavior of Franklin to help his own self-improvement. From the schedule, a juvenile who was pursuing his dream is fighting against all the difficulties with his effort and strong will. Just like Franklin’s list of thirteen virtues, several of the “General Determinations” listed on the list of Gatsby’s schedule are very similar such as no more smoking，reading one improving book or magazine per week, be better to parents ,saving $5 .00 to $3 .00 per week. He didn't realize and feel upset about how much trouble facing him then.If he follows his routine he can actually achieve his goals by his own. But when Gatsby is eighteen years old, with no aim for life and the starvation of the success, he took the shortcut which changed his life. Dan Cody, as Gatsby’s first educator, initiates the desire for American Dream in the young Gatsby’s heart and is also a live idol of the American dream in Gatsby’s world. Then Gatsby is employed by him and later inherits a legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars from him. And Gatsby use the money to sell bootleg liquor and extort in the stock market. After years of diligent work, Gatsby at last achieves the financial success and owns both wealth and power. But in the end, Gatsby is shot dead.Gatsby lives in the 1920s Jazz Age when the old standard has gone, and most of the people in that age are money-worshippers. They no longer want to follow the Puritanism doctrines and the preaching in the Bible. They are drinking and gambling, attempting all ways to purchase pleasure. According to Fitzgerald, the “Jazz Age” means sex, then dancing and then music.3.The Dual personality of DaisyYouth and beauty is the symbol of daisy, she is glorious with charming appearance, beautiful eyes and attractive voice. Her voice is often intoxicated and Daisy became lady in Gatsby's heart even becomes his passionate holy goddess. In the eyes of most people, Daisy is also a passionate and vibrant woman with a magic charm. For example when having dine with Nick, Daisy consider Nick as a rose, although Nick always nonsense, but Daisy is always full of enthusiasm when Nick speaks. Superficially, Daisy is gentle, romantic, passionate, but under the appearance she is bored and empty cold. She is indifferent even to her child, daughter like her a doll, wants to play at any time to fetch it. Even when the car hits Myrtle, Daisy does not stop her car but accelerate forward, not a bit of regret afterwards. This just shows consistent boredom and be cynical about life reflects Daisy an egoist.In Daisy's artificial world, there was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras that set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestive of life in new tunes. All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the Beale Street Blues while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust. At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low, sweet fever, while fresh faces drifted here and there like rose petals blown by the sad horns around the floor (Fitzgerald, 1950: 143).Through this twilight universe, Daisy was a representation of the old aristocracy, which possessed grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance. However, it seemed to lack in heart. Daisy was so used to money's ability to ease her mind that she never worried about hurting others. Just because of her cold-heartedness, fickleness and selfishness, Daisy led a dull life day and night. Obviously, by marrying the wealthy husband Tom, Daisy could lead an easy life free from time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities. She had nothing else to do all the day excepted just sitting there motionlessly to keep her graceful position as hostess and wasted the time of her own will.4.Daisy is the symbolization of the American DreamFrom what is written above, we can come to the conclusion that Daisy is the emblem of the status and wealth and also the specific embodiment of his American Dream. In the novel, Daisy is a woman who was born in a rich family, living a luxurious life of the upper class while Gatsby is a son of a farmer without any fortune or background. Except for the first "nice" girl he had ever known, Gatsby had come in contact with such people in various unrevealed capacities, but always with indiscernible barbed wire between. Though the author doesn't express “indiscernible barbed wire” explicitly, we can conclude from the novel that it is the gap between the rich and the poor, the upper class and the common, not only the gap of fortune but also sense of nobility. Drawing lessons from the past and to break this "indiscernible barbed wire," Gatsby plays some tricks. Though he finally gets his dreaming Daisy he loses his valuable treasure.Daisy’s characters, to some extends, identify the upper class’s features such as pure appearance and hollow hearts attractive outside and vanity inside. In The Great Gatsby，the most impressive was not Daisy's face, but her voice. Although Nick who heard it said that Daisy's murmur was only to make people lean toward her, this irrelevant criticism made it no less charming. Her voice was mentioned more than a dozen times in the novel.When Daisy began to ask Nick questions in her low, thrilling voice, Nick felt it was the kind of voice that made the ear follow up and down, as if each speech was an arrangement of notes that would never be played again:"Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered `Listen', promised that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour" (Fitzgerald, 1950: 14-15).When Daisy spoke, Nick felt "her voice glowing and singing, compelled me forward breathlessly." "As if Tom's absence quickened something within her, Daisy learned forward again, her voice glowing and singing." (Fitzgerald, 1950: 19) This "singing voice" alluded to nothing but for seduction and fatal to the sailors on the sea. She lured Gatsby just like the “American dream” to the young people who have dreams.5.ConclusionThe Great Gatsby, a masterpiece by F. Scott Fitzgerald, attracted so much attention that various critical studies have been made upon it from different angles. Most critics pay much attention to the exploration of the tragic life of male characters and the destruction of the American Dream. Only a few essays have analyzed on the women in the text. Women characters in this novel are always neglected or mentioned in passing. In this thesis, attention is principally focused on the perspective of women.This essay compares the dual personality of Daisy and the disillusionment of the American dream to unscramble and understand the root of Gatsby's tragedy is the misinterpretation of dream.By rereading of the text, we find The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly a great novel that can arouse a resonant feeling for it is not simply an unfulfilled romance of a man named Gatsby, but a story of wonder, power and devotion, dream and history.6.Literature reviewi.Anderson, Richard. "Gatsby's Long Shadow: Influence and Endurance." New Essays on TheGreat Gatsby.(ed.) Matthew J. Broccoli. London: Cambridge University Press, 1986.ii.Berman, Ronald. The Great Gatsby and Fitzgerald's World of Ideas, Tuscaloosa Andondon: The University of Alabama Press, 1984.iii.Bloom, ed. with intro. F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House 1991. prehensive Research and Study Guide. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000.。