浅谈《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦——由建立到破灭火—英语毕业论文.doc

学士学位论文 本科毕业论文An Analysis of American Dream in The Great Gatsby: From the Establishment to the Disillusionment浅谈了不起的盖茨比中的美国梦由建立到破灭院系名称 外国语学院专业名称 英语语言文学年级 学生姓名 指导老师 14中 文 摘 要美国著名作家菲兹杰拉德被称为“美国梦的代言人”，在他的小说中，我们难以区分是他的生活如一部小说，还是他的小说就是他的一段真实的生活的写照，因为他已完全融入其中。尤其是其代表作了不起的盖茨比，文中主人公盖茨比是为追求美国梦而最终牺牲了自己的典例，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，然而由于他的梦想是一种对虚幻的渴望，而不是建立在现实的基础之上的追求，最终导致了他美国梦的破灭，本论文通过对美国梦和小说创作历史背景的研究向我们阐述了这一梦想破灭的各种原因，从而展现作品中体现的社会意义。关键词：美国梦；了不起的盖茨比；破灭；原因ABSTRACTF. Scott Fitzgerald is the literary spokesman of the “American Dream”. His novels include many aspects of his unique experiences in that period. It is not easy to distinguish his novels with his real life, because his works have already involved himself physically and mentally. Especially in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby, the hero reveals a typical example of those who were eager to achieve the American Dream but finally sacrificed themselves. Although Gatsby dreams of achieving material wealth and love through his courage and hard work, all kinds of external and internal factors lead to the disillusionment of his hope. Through the analysis of American Dream and the historical background of the novel, this thesis elaborates a vivid picture of the reasons leading to the disillusionment of American Dream in order to show the social significance of this work. Key words: American dream; The Great Gatsby; disillusionment; reasonTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION1Chapter BACKGROUND INFORMATION21.1 Fitzgerald and His Literary Works21.2 Lost Generation and the Jazz Age21.3 The Main Plot of the Novel31.4 American Dream4Chapter THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsbys AMERICAN DREAM52.1 The Establishment of Gatsbys American Dream52.1.1 Gatsbys Dream of Wealth62.1.2 Gatsbys Dream of High Social Position62.1.3 Gatsbys Dream of Love72.2 The Disillusionment of Gatsbys American Dream7Chapter THE REASONS FOR THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsbys AMERICAN DREAM93.1 Hypocritical Interpersonal Relationship93.2 The Worship of Money103.3 Unrealistic Dream of High Social Position113.4 The Wrong Understanding of Love12CONCLUSION13Bibliography14Notes14An Analysis of American Dream in The Great Gatsby: From the Establishment to the DisillusionmentINTRODUCTIONThe thesis is a brief longitudinal study of American Dream in the novel The Great Gatsby. This thesis analyzes the establishment of Gatsbys American Dream and the reasons leading to his American Dreams disillusionment. Through this thesis, we can have a dialectical view of the reasons why Gatsby can not realize his American Dream. The main body of the thesis is made up of three parts. The first part is a general introduction to the great author Fitzgerald, his novel The Great Gatsby and its writing background. In order to trace back to the reasons that result in the disillusionment of Gatsbys American Dream, the second part reviews the establishment and the disillusionment of Gatsbys American Dream. The third part focuses on analyzing the reasons for his American Dreams disillusionment. In the end, the thesis comes to a conclusion that the disillusionment of Gatsbys American Dream is unavoidable. Chapter BACKGROUND INFORMATION1.1 Fitzgerald and His Literary WorksFitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 and St. Paul Minnesota was his hometown. While he was a student in Princeton University, the young man developed his hobby and skill in writing. When the First World War broke out, he became a soldier. In a training camp in Alabama, he met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre. This woman finally married Fitzgerald and became the model for most of the beautiful female characters in his novels. This Side of Paradise, the Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby were his four well-known novels. The last one The Great Gatsby, which established Fitzgeralds significant position in American modern literature, is often viewed as a mirror of American society in the 1920s. In 1925, Fitzgerald published his most famous novel The Great Gatsby. The novel reflected the selfishness and bossy of American vested interest groups represented by Tom and pointed out that Gatsbys tragedy is caused by his fantasy of life and his lack of comprehension of the uppertendoms essence. 1.2 Lost Generation and the Jazz Age Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was one of the greatest writers in the twentieth century, and his works reflected the Jazz Age. He is regarded as a member of the Lost Generation in the 1920s.Lost Generation is a term used to refer to the generation appeared after World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it for his novel The Sun Also Rises. Lost Generation were characterized by being pessimistic about the society and losing confidence for the future. Influenced by the First World War, they could not tolerate and accept the cruel reality. They lived a hopeless and degenerate life. The Jazz Age refers to the period starting from the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression during which jazz became popular. In this period, the traditional puritan moral standards collapsed and hedonism was very popular. Fitzgerald once said that this is an age full of miracles, arts, luxury and irony. And due to this, Fitzgerald was titled as the representative of the Jazz Age.1.3 The Main Plot of the NovelThe Great Gatsby is a very profound and moving novel, and the main plot of the story is as following. A young man named Nick Caraway comes to New York City in the spring of 1922. He is involved in the life of his new neighbor Jay Gatsby who lives at Long Island. Gatsby is a very rich man and regularly holds parties visited by hundreds of people. Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy is his lover before the First World War. Although at that time he is very poor, Gatsby still loves her. Gatsby tries to persuade Daisy to break up with her present husband Tom. On the contrary, Tom reveals that Gatsby earns money by bootlegging. Daisy gets so impetuous that she drives Gatsby's car and accidentally kills Myrtle Wilson who is Tom's mistress.Tom intentionally tells Myrtle's husband Wilson that Gatsby hits Myrtle when driving his car. Gatsby keeps silent to protect Daisy. At last, Wilson kills Gatsby and then commits suicide. Nick prepares a funeral for Gatsby. Although he wants to make a decent funeral, nobody wants to attend the funeral except Gatsby's father and one former guest. Nick goes back to his Midwest hometown, reflecting on Gatsby's dream and the cynical nature of the past. 1.4 American DreamIn order to escape from the political persecution and seek freedom on a new continent, some Englanders started their voyage to the North America. In 1620, 35 Puritans and 67 Non-Puritans drifted to North America in a famous ship called May Flower. Before they landed, 41 travelers signed a treatyMayflower Compact. It was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony and the oldest historical document recording those people immigrating towards the North America. The Compact not only regulated equality and justice but also implied the struggling spirit of the Puritans. Even though American Dream has different definitions in different times, yet under political persecution these Anglo-Saxons hoped to create new life with political equality. This is the beginning of American Dream. Different people have different understandings of American Dream and the ways to achieve their American Dream are also various. The definition of American Dream can be introduced in broad sense and narrow sense respectively. For the former one, American Dream means the equality, freedom and democracy on the land of the United States. The latter one means that everyone in America who works hard and never gives up can achieve his or her dream and live a better life in this piece of land. That is to say, people should make efforts to realize their dreams rather than depend on the help from others. James Truslow Adams was the first person who put forward the term American Dream in his book The Epic of America written in 1931. “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 of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” James Truslow, The Epic of America, Page 2728 This ideology is based on the principle that one should be responsible for oneself, and hold every opportunity to gain success by courage and hard work.Chapter THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsbys AMERICAN DREAM 2.1 The Establishment of Gatsbys 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 factors lying in the American Dream: equal chances for each person; success is obtained by efforts, not the social background and extraction; everyone is equal; and everyone has his own rights to pursue success.”   葛靓, Doom of American Dream in Great Gatsby. 文学界(理论版)2012. Page 1213There is no doubt that everyone living on that land actually has an American Dream and is eager to achieve it. “Everyone can work their way up from the rags to riches just like Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US.  In other words, American culture focuses on values of individuals, opportunity, pursuing of democracy and freedom, the promotion of deportation and competition and the need of realism and practicality.” 赵红石, Characters Lives in The Great Gatsby. 科技信息2010. Page 1921 After the Industrial Revolution, American Dream can be realized by commercial activities. Most of individual possessions in the United States were brought by those successful businessmen and these merchants used some capital to build up corporations. Compared with agriculture, Americans preferred business, because engaging in business was a quicker way to make individuals gain wealth. And Gatsby is one of those Americans that pursue American Dream by engaging in the field of business. Obtaining wealth, social position and love are his three goals. 2.1.1 Gatsbys Dream of WealthBecoming wealthy is the most basic element in Gatsbys American Dream. Gatsbys dream of wealth reflects the gold rush in the new continent America. Born with a humble family background, Gatsby is a young person who has ambitions and dreams. In order to realize his personal ideals, he changes his original name Gatz into Gatsby that has the meaning “the son of god” and Gatsby's ambition can be seen here clearly. Gatsby is a practical, active and perseverant person. We can see from his schedule that he is an ambitious youth who does things in a planned and orderly way. His plan to realize his dream is arranged very well and he takes getting rich dream as the first step. He believes that if there is a material base, he can live a wealthy life of high social status.Therefore, in order to make the dream of wealth come true, Gatsby is willing to suffer and bear pains. He even runs risks to commit smuggling. In the end, he can hold grand banquets in his blue garden, the guests generally laughing and chatting. 2.1.2 Gatsbys Dream of High Social PositionWith enough money and wealth, the next dream of Gatsby is to become a member of the upper class in the society. And the method he uses is constantly holding a large banquet to show off his wealth and to get acquainted with characters belonging to the upper social class at the same time. Gatsby hopes that the society can accept him, and therefore feel at ease when enjoying everything that the upper classes enjoy. This kind of idea can also be considered as a microcosm of American Dream, because from the beginning of the establishment of the American society, equal opportunity and peoples subjective initiative were advocated.However, the upper classes still look down upon those who have a humble background such as Gatsby. A lot of new upstarts like these people are only smuggling guys. It is easy for us to see that Gatsby, through every struggle, can not be accepted by the society either from his appearance or from his inner world. 2.1.3 Gatsbys Dream of LoveGatsby's first two dreams are the basis of the third one. The realization of his dreams of wealth and high social position is only to make preparation for winning back his love that is once lost because of poor economic conditions and low position. Gatsby regards Daisy as the embodiment of beauty, kindness and truth that he pursues. In this case, getting married with Daisy and living together with her forever is an important goal in his life and also one of the motive forces of his struggle. However, his pursuit is doomed to be in vain, because Daisy is just superficially beautiful but empty inside. She is a shallow and selfish girl of the bourgeoisie. All day long, the ultimate goal of her life is to seek money and enjoy pleasure. Gatsby can sacrifice his own life in order to protect her, but Daisy refuses to pay any cost for Gatsby. This is the fundamental difference between the two characters. It is also doomed that Gatsbys dream of love cannot be realized. 2.2 The Disillusionment of Gatsbys American DreamIn this novel the protagonist Gatsby is single-minded in love, ambitious and strong-willed in career, and persistent in the pursue of dreams. The establishment of his dreams is a good beginning, but during the process of achieving the dreams he gradually takes the wrong way. He is a typical victim of the Jazz Age. All of his three dreams fail to be realized. First of all, all of his wealth that he gains through hardships is gone with the loss of his life. The original values of American Dream such as hard work, thrift and moderation are weaker and weaker, and they are replaced by money worship. The real world is an empty shell, and everyone is fond of the immediate pleasure. Gatsby cannot escape from the fashion of luxury. He spends all his money on meaningless things and gets nothing valuable. In other words, he loses his dream of wealth. Secondly, he dies without the acceptance by the upper class. He does not get his ideal social position and his death has little influence on others. Gatsby is a very idealistic person. This kind of people often seem naive or run counter to the reality, because they are n