论文 了不起的盖茨比
《了不起的盖茨比》读后感范文5篇

《了不起的盖茨比》范文5篇《了不起的盖茨比》范文5篇《了不起的盖茨比》范文〔1〕以前很少读外国小说,或许是因为篇幅太长,情节开展又很慢。
但有一本书让我打破了对外国著作原有的想法,它留给我的已超越它的构造和形式,取而代之的是一种细致的考虑,考虑着人世的虚浮和人性的伪善与本真会有怎么样的碰撞,为什么会有这种碰撞。
一部真正好的小说就是在故事背后提醒美与丑,黑与白的同时,让读者挖掘什么是人性的光点。
这部小说就是《了不起的盖茨比》,美国20世纪最出色的作家之一——菲茨杰拉德的代表作。
____作家村上春树将他视为“一个标准,一把尺子,一个看清自己位置的一个标志。
”相信《了不起的盖茨比》就是无外乎如此。
小说的主人公是盖茨比,作者通过盖茨比的邻居尼克的视角演绎他的经历与最后的沉沦。
盖茨比在很久之前爱上自己的远房表妹黛西,在一次宴会上他与黛西重逢,此时的他已家财万贯,从前因为穷酸而未与黛西在一起的伤疤终于愈合,他们又一次坠入爱河。
然而此时的黛西已结婚生子,在其丈夫的阻扰下,两人的关系再次僵局。
盖茨比一直是一个忠于爱情的人,他对黛西的爱是真正的至死不渝,可惜在他生命完毕的那一刻,黛西仍未回头。
盖茨比的生命就此终结,但人们对他的考虑从未停顿。
作者笔下的盖茨比是个深具传奇色彩的人物——继承万贯家产,游历四方,甚至还有人说他曾杀过人,但他见到黛西的时候也会紧张得像个孩子,有着天真、单纯的一面。
在别人热闹的时候,他总是孤身一人冷眼旁观,超然于一切俗世的喧嚣之上。
为什么这样的人最终却被人遗忘?只能说人在社会中是渺小的,渺小到瞳孔再清澈也会被人看做冰穹;光明站在身边,却无法被庇护。
或许作者生活的就是这么一个你争我夺,弱肉强食的时代,用老舍的话就是“不给好人留出路”。
盖茨比是可悲的,他将爱献给了一个拜金,被时代腐化的女人,他并没有发现有时爱恨离愁并没人想像的那么简单,在不知不觉中,就会被人无情的背离。
纵然作者是心有酸楚得写的,但我相信他并没有抹去光明。
《了不起的盖茨比》分析

《了不起的盖茨比》分析《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德于1925年出版的一部小说。
这部小说以20世纪20年代的美国为背景,描绘了一个充满欲望、财富和爱情的故事。
本文将对《了不起的盖茨比》进行分析,探讨其主题、人物形象以及文学价值。
一、主题分析1. 社会阶层与财富《了不起的盖茨比》通过描绘上层社会与下层社会之间的巨大差距,探讨了社会阶层与财富对人们命运的影响。
小说中,盖茨比是一个出身贫寒的人,通过努力工作积累了巨大的财富,但他始终无法被上层社会所接受。
这一主题反映了20世纪20年代美国社会的阶级固化现象,以及财富对于社会地位的重要性。
2. 爱情与欲望《了不起的盖茨比》中的爱情故事充满了欲望和追求。
盖茨比对于黛西的爱情是他生命中最重要的事情,他为了追求黛西不惜一切代价。
然而,黛西却选择了社会地位更高的汤姆。
这一主题揭示了人性中的欲望和追求,以及爱情与社会地位之间的矛盾。
二、人物形象分析1. 盖茨比盖茨比是小说的主人公,也是一个充满神秘感的人物。
他通过努力工作积累了巨大的财富,但他的财富并不能让他获得社会地位和幸福。
盖茨比对于黛西的爱情是他生命中最重要的事情,他为了追求黛西不惜一切代价。
盖茨比的形象反映了20世纪20年代美国社会中的追求和失落。
2. 黛西黛西是盖茨比的爱人,也是一个充满欲望和追求的人物。
她对于社会地位和财富有着极大的追求,最终选择了社会地位更高的汤姆。
黛西的形象揭示了20世纪20年代美国社会中女性的地位和追求。
3. 汤姆汤姆是黛西的丈夫,也是一个典型的上层社会人物。
他对于财富和社会地位有着强烈的追求,对于盖茨比的出现感到威胁。
汤姆的形象反映了20世纪20年代美国社会中上层社会人物的特点和价值观。
三、文学价值分析1. 描写细腻《了不起的盖茨比》通过细腻的描写,展现了20世纪20年代美国社会的繁荣与虚伪。
小说中的场景描写、人物描写以及情感描写都非常细腻,使读者能够深入感受到那个时代的氛围和人物的内心世界。
了不起的比尔盖茨

摘要菲茨杰拉德的代表作《了不起的盖茨比》为我们生动展示了二十世纪二十年代“爵士时代”的生活画卷,但在表面的繁华下又隐藏着浓浓的悲凉。
《了不起的盖茨比》标志着菲茨杰拉德的最高成就。
艾略特曾评论说菲茨杰拉德是继詹姆斯之后美国文学迈出的又一步,是美国现代文学史上最优秀的作品之一。
小说反思了一个空前繁荣、物质过剩时代的美国梦的破灭,展现了美国梦对人们日常生活的消极影响。
另一方面,书中体现了美国梦对所有角色的影响。
那时的人们对金钱有强烈的欲望,他们天真的以为幸福是构筑在金钱之上。
对于整个美国来说盖茨比是个独特的例子,盖茨比个人的困境和失败实际上是整个美国的。
这部小说讽刺了美国梦的虚幻和不真实,是不可能实现的。
本篇论文主要分析书中人物,特别是主要人物在美国梦传奇下的嘲讽与悲怆。
毫无疑问,盖茨比的嘲讽与悲怆是不可避免的,在这种社会环境下,没有人能逃脱悲剧的命运,这不仅是盖茨比一个人的而是整个社会的嘲讽与悲怆。
关键词:美国梦;盖茨比;嘲讽及悲怆AbstractF. Scott Fitzgerald‟s masterpiece The Great Gatsby shows us a vivid picture of the 1920s with its superficial prosperity and underlying sadness. The Great Gatsby, with its depiction of “the Jazz Age”, marks the highest point of F. Scott Fitzgerald‟s artistic achievement. T. S. Eliot once concluded that it was the “first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James”. The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest novels in Modern American literature. It is a highly symbolic meditation on the disintegration of the American Dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess.On one hand, Fitzgerald shows a running theme of how the American Dream affects all of the characters in The Great Gatsby. People of that time have strong mind of pursuing money. They innocently believe that happiness lies in wealth. The representation of Gatsby as unique to America signifies that Gatsby‟s personal dilemma and failure are the dilemma and failure of American nation, thus satirizing the illusory nature of the American Dream and impossible to attain it.This thesis will attempt to explore how the characters especially the title roles in this novel represent the irony and pathos to the legendry of the American Dream. Undoubtedly Gatsby‟s irony and pathos is inevitable and nobody can escape from the tragic fate in this kind of society. In this novel, it is not only Gatsby‟s irony and pathos but the irony and pathos of the whole American society.Key words:American Dream;Gatsby;irony and pathosContentsChapter 1 Introduction (1)1.1 Introduction of the novel (1)1.1.1 Plot (1)1.1.2 The background of the novel (1)1.1.3 The process of writing the novel (2)1.1.4 The influence of the novel (2)1.2 A brief introduction of F. Scott Fitzgerald (3)1.2.1 F. Scott Fitzgerald‟s life (3)1.2.2 F. Scott Fitzgerald‟s influence (3)Chapter 2 American Dream (4)2.1 The meaning of the American Dream (4)2.2 The decline of the American Dream in the 1920s (4)2.3 Gatsby‟s American Dream (5)2.3.1 To get wealth (6)2.3.2 To get back his lost love (7)Chapter 3 Irony and pathos in the novel (9)3.1 Irony and pathos to Gatsby (9)3.1.1 Gat sby‟s belief in the American Dream (9)3.1.2 Daisy‟s unworthiness (9)3.1.3 Gatsby‟s refusal to admit Daisy‟s essence (11)3.1.4 The relation between Gatsby and other people (13)3.2 Irony and pathos to other characters (14)3.2.1 Daisy Buchanan (14)3.2.2 Tom Buchanan (15)3.2.3 Myrtle Wilson (15)3.2.4 George Wilson (16)3.2.5 The common people in the novel (16)Conclusion (18)References (21)Acknowledgements (22)Chapter 1 Introduction1.1 Introduction of the novelThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald and it is his masterpiece. It shows us a vivid picture of the 1920s with its superficial prosperity and underlying sadness. The failure of the American Dream and the crisis of value are well reflected in characters and the details of the novel.The Oxford Companion to American Literature had said that The Great Gatsby was his finest novel, sensitive and symbolic treatment of themes of contemporary life related with irony and pathos to the legendry of the American Dream.1.1.1PlotA young man named Nick Caraway, who came to New York City in spring of 1922. He became involved in the life of his neighbor at Long Island, Jay Gatsby, a very rich man, who entertained hundreds of guests at his party. Gatsby revealed to Nick, that he fell in love with Nick‟s cousin Daisy before the war. At that time he was poor. However, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, a rich but boring man of good social position. He persuaded Nick to bring him and Daisy together again. “You can‟t repeat the past,” Nick said to him. Gatsby tried to convince Daisy to leave Tom, who, in turn, revealed that Gatsby has made his money from bootlegging. So they asked Daisy whom she loved. Daisy began to sob helplessly and said she did love Gatsby once but she loved Tom too. Daisy, driving Gatsby‟s car, hit and killed Tom‟s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, unaware of her identity. Gatsby remained silent to protect Daisy. Tom told Myrtle‟s husband Wilson it was Gatsby who killed his wife. Wilson murdered Gatsby and then committed suicide. Nick was left to arrange Gatsby‟s funeral, attended only Gatsby‟s father and one former guest. Nick returned to his Midwest home, reflecting on Gatsby‟s dreams and the sad and cyclical nature of the past.1.1.2 The background of the novelThe novel takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyedprosperity during the roaring 1920s. The American economy soared, bringing unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation. Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1919), made millionaires out of bootleggers. Sprawling private parties managed to elude police notice. The chaos and violence of World War I left America in a state of shock, and the generation that fought the war turned to wild and extravagant living to compensate. The traditional conservatism and timeworn values of the previous decade were turned on their ear, as money, wealth, and exuberance became the order of the day.In this period, jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood. The era was further distinguished by several inventions and discoveries of far-reaching importance, unprecedented industrial growth and accelerated consumer demand and aspirations. The Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity, a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology.1.1.3 The process of writing the novelWith The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald made a conscious departure from the writing process of his previous novels. He started planning it in June 1922, after completing his play The Vegetable, and began composing it in 1923. Unlike his previous works, Fitzgerald intended to edit and reshape Gatsby thoroughly, believing that it held the potential to launch him toward literary acclaim. He told his editor Maxwell Perkins that the novel was a consciously artistic achievement and a purely creative work — not trashy imaginings as in his stories but the sustained imagination of a sincere and yet radiant world. He added later, during the editing process, that he felt an enormous power in me now, more than he has ever had.1.1.4 The influence of the novelWritten in 1925, The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest literary documents of this period. After it was republished in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely regarded as a paragon of the great American novel, and a literary classic. The Great Gatsby has become a standard text in high school and university courses on American literature in countries around the world and is ranked second in the Modern Library‟s lists of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.1.2 A brief introduction of F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896— December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the “Lost Generation”of the 1920s. He finished four novels, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night and his most famous, The Great Gatsby. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon was published posthumously. Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age.1.2.1 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s lifeFitzgerald was raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. Though an intelligent child, he did poorly in school and was sent to a New Jersey boarding school in 1911. Despite being a mediocre student there, he managed to enroll at Princeton in 1913. Academic troubles and apathy plagued him throughout his time at college, and he never graduated, instead enlisting in the army in 1917, as World War I neared its end.There he met and fell in love with a wild seventeen-year-old beauty named Zelda Sayre. Zelda finally agreed to marry him, but her overpowering desire for wealth, fun, and leisure led her to delay their wedding until he could prove a success. With the publication of This Side of Paradise in 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary sensation, earning enough money and fame to convince Zelda to marry him.However, Zelda suffered a nervous breakdown and Fitzgerald battled alcoholism, which hampered his writing. He published Tender Is the Night in 1934, and sold short stories to The Saturday Evening Post to support his lavish lifestyle. In 1937, he left for Hollywood to write screenplays, and in 1940, while working on his novel The Love of the Last Tycoon, died of a heart attack at the age of forty-four.1.2.2F. Scott Fitzgerald’s influenceFitzgerald was the most famous writer of 1920s America, an era that he dubbed “the Jazz Age”. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.Chapter 2 American Dream2.1 The meaning of the American DreamAmerica was described as a Dream of a Land with new opportunities and equal chances for everyone.In America one might hope to satisfy every material desire and thereby achieve happiness. It is deceptive because it proposes the satisfaction of all desire as an attainable goal and identifies desire with material. The American Dream is the firmly held belief that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their goals and become rich and prosperous if they only work hard enough.The term “American Dream” was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. The original idea of the American Dream is about moral values and the pursuit of happiness. But the pursuit of happiness was soon turned into the pursuit of wealth and ultimately to greed.2.2 The decline of the American Dream in the 1920sOn the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American Dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess.Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The decadent parties and wild jazz music epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American Dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned, as the brutal carnage that they hadjust faced made the Victorian social morality of early-twentieth-century America seem like stuffy, empty hypocrisy. The dizzying rise of the stock market after the war led to a sudden, sustained increase in the national wealth and a newfound materialism, as people began to spend and consume at unprecedented levels. A person from any social background could, potentially, make a fortune, but the American aristocracy— families with old wealth— scorned the newly rich industrialists and speculators. Additionally, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, which banned the sale of alcohol, created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand for bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike.Fitzgerald positions the characters of The Great Gatsby as emblems of these social trends. Nick and Gatsby, both of whom fought in World War I, exhibit the newfound cosmopolitanism and cynicism that resulted from the war. The various social climbers and ambitious speculators who attend Gatsby‟s parties evidence the greedy scramble for wealth. The clash between “old money” and “new money” manifests itself in the novel‟s symbolic geography: East Egg represents the established aristocracy, West Egg the self-made rich. Meyer Wolfshiem and Gatsby‟s fortune symbolize the rise of organized crime and bootlegging.As Fitzgerald saw it (and as Nick explains in Chapter 9), the American Dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. In the 1920s depicted in the novel, however, easy money and relaxed social values have corrupted this Dream, especially on the East Coast. The main plotline of the novel reflects this assessment, as Gatsby‟s dream of loving Daisy is ruined by the difference in their respective social statuses, his resorting to crime to make enough money to impress her, and the rampant materialism that characterizes her lifestyle. Additionally, places and objects in The Great Gatsby have meaning only because characters instill them with meaning: the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg best exemplify this idea. In Nick‟s mind, the ability to create meaningful symbols constitutes a central component of the American Dream, as early Americans invested their new nation with their own ideals and values.2.3 Gatsby’s American DreamRise fr om bed………………………………..6.00 A.M.Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling……........6.15-6.30 ……Study electricity, etc……………………………7.15-8.15 ……Work……………………………………………8.30-4.30 P.M.Baseball and sports……………………………..4.30-5.00 ……Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it ….5.00-6.00 ……Study needed inventions………………………..7.00-9.00 ……GENERAL RESOLVESNo wasting time at Shafter‟s or [a name, indecipherable]No more smoking or chewingBath every other dayRead one improving book or magazine per weekSave $5.00 {crossed out} $3.00 per weekBe better to parents (Fitzgerald, 2003: 231)From the table in Chapter Nine, we know Gatsby did have an energetic schedule in his childhood, such as getting up at six in the morning, beginning to study electricity at a quarter past seven, and until seven to nine in the evening studying needed inventions. It seems that not a seconds to be lost. He also has a wonderful general resolves, which set strict demands on himself, such as not wasting time, no more smoking, read one improving book or magazine per week and save $500 per week. Anyway he was dreaming to better himself all the time in order that he could get rich some day. He believed he could achieve his dream by his efforts.2.3.1 To get wealthThe title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man, around thirty years old, who rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. However, he achieved this lofty goal by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. From his early youth, Gatsby despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication —he dropped out of St. Olaf‟s College after only two weeks because he could not bear the janitorial job with which he was paying his tuition.One part of Gatsby‟s ideal or his first dream is to get rich. He has been longing to get rich and stand out among rich people. In his youth he worships a wealthy and dissolute man named Dan Cody, who makes himself many times a millionaire. He isinfatuated with Daisy because he is amazed at Daisy‟s beautiful house and shining motor cars, and other aspects of an elegant life. All of her luxurious life makes him overwhelmingly aware of youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, and makes him think that the rich can be safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor. So Gatsby, full of drive, attempts to reach his goal of getting rich.Besides becoming wealthy is the most important for love affair. Large fortune cannot have been obtained honestly. Gatsby did business with Wolfsheim, a gambler. Gatsby made lots of money also from distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. Gatsby is sensitive and idealistic, almost divine in his dedication to his love and faith. After gotten money, Gatsby got luxurious possessions:At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower ofhis raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his twomotor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataractsof foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing partiesto and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight,while his station-wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains.And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all daywith mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairingthe ravages of the night before. (Fitzgerald, 2003: 52)What is more, he believes anything could buy in money. He thinks money can buy love and happiness, so it seems to him that dreams quite reasonable. But he never realizes this is a common dream. Tracing back the source of the dream we know it is a popular dream in America. It originates from the gold rush in American history. In that period, the bourgeoisie blows its own trumpet that American is a “golden world”. They say everyone has the same opportunity to make a fortune so long as he or she toils honestly.2.3.2 To get back his lost loveThough Gatsby has always wanted to be rich, his main motivation in acquiring his fortune was his love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917. Gatsby immediately fell in love with Daisy‟s aura of luxury, grace, and charm, and lied to her about his own background in order to convince her that he was good enough for her. Daisy promised to wait for him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan in 1919. Gatsbydedicated himself to winning Daisy back, and his acquisition of millions of dollars, his purchase of a mansion on West Egg, and his lavish weekly parties are all merely means to that end.Daisy was the first nice girl Gatsby had ever known. Gatsby found her exciting desirable. It amazed him — he had never been in such a beautiful home before. Daisy came from wealthy family. At that time Gatsby was a penniless young man. He lied about his background to make her believe that he was worthy of her. As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities-he had no comfortable family standing behind him and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the world. When Gatsby left for the war, though she cried and cried, Daisy married rich man Tom Buchanan, with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before.Gatsby dedicated himself to winning Daisy back, making her the single goal of all of his dreams and the main motivation. Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy. To Gatsby, Daisy represents the paragon of perfection—she has the aura of charm, wealth, sophistication, grace, and aristocracy.He makes a lot of money and begins to implement his plans, step by step, to “buy”Daisy‟s love. “The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths— so that he could …come over‟ some afternoon to a stranger‟s garden”( Fitzgerald, 2003: 105-106).It‟s hard to imagine a wealthy man who did illegal dealings and bootlegging could stick to pure love of his early youth for five years in such a materialistic society. Gatsby bought a house in West Egg, so that he could look across the bay to see Daisy‟s house. By inviting people that came from everywhere to attend these parties, he only hoped that one day daisy would notice that and also came to attend them so that they could meet again and he could win daisy back, recovering the love he had lost.Assuming that he can buy Daisy‟s love by exhibiting his wealth, Gatsby becomes committed into using his money to impress Daisy. Though Gatsby makes a great effort for his American Dream, in the end his dream fails completely since the woman he loves is a corrupt product of modern society.Chapter 3 Irony and pathos in the novel3.1 Irony and pathos to GatsbyIn one sense, the title of the novel is ironic; the title character is neither “great” nor named Gatsby. He is a criminal whose real name is James Gatz, and the life he has created for himself is an illusion.3.1.1 Gatsby’s belief in the American DreamBut I didn‟t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was contentto be alone — he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curiousway, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling.Involuntarily I glanced seaward — and distinguished nothing except a singlegreen light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.(Fitzgerald, 2003: 29)That green light was where Daisy lived. That light represents Gatsby‟s hopes and dreams for the future. It is the symbol of Gatsby‟s great dream, his love for Daisy, and attempt to make that love real.Gatsby‟s irresistible longing to achieve his dream, the connection of his dream to the pursuit of money and material success, the boundless optimism with which he goes about achieving his dream, and the sense of his having created a new identity in a new place all reflect the coarse combination of pioneer individualism and uninhibited materialism that Fitzgerald perceived as dominating 1920s American life.Further, Gatsby impresses Nick with his power to make his dreams come true— as a child he dreamed of wealth and luxury, and he has attained them, although through criminal means. As a man, he dreams of Daisy, and for a while he wins her, too. In a world without a moral center, in which attempting to fulfill one‟s dreams is like rowing a boat against the current, Gatsby‟s power to dream lifts him above the meaningless and amoral pleasure-seeking of New York society.3.1.2 Daisy’s unworthinessAs a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by a number ofofficers, including Gatsby. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, Daisy harbors a deep need to be loved, and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all.Gatsby‟s decision to take the blame for Daisy demonstrates the deep love he still feels for her and illustrates the basic nobility that defines his character. Disregarding her almost capricious lack of concern for him, Gatsby sacrifices himself for Daisy. The image of a pitiable Gatsby keeping watch outside her house while she and Tom sit comfortably within is an indelible image that both allows the reader to look past Gatsby‟s criminality and functions as a moving metaphor for the love Gatsby feels toward Daisy.The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, Ifelt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as thoughthe whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributoryemotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at mewith an absolute smirk on her lovely face, as if she had asserted hermembership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tombelonged. (Fitzgerald, 2003: 24)This is the impression that Daisy left Nick when nick met Daisy at the first time. Nick Caraway is sensitive and intelligent; he alters his evaluation of others as he learns more about them. He preserves a rational mind that makes him also realize what is wrong with Gatsby. Gatsby, on the other hand, is idealistic and romantic. His personality remains unchanging and static. His view of life remains one-sided and unreal at the end. For Gatsby, the material world has always been unreal and only the world of dreams essentially real. Born in a society where inexhaustible possibilities seemed to dwell in the white palaces of the rich, Gatsby saw their accumulated booty as the instruments of their secret charm. His dream is timeless and incorruptible, but the woman and the world to which he makes his dream are both mortal and corrupted. So his dream is doomed to fail.“Was she killed?”“Yes.”“I thought so; I told Daisy I thought so. It‟s better that the shock should all come at once. She stood it pretty well.” (Fitzgerald, 2003: 192) According to the dialogue, it reflects Daisy was cold-blooded and ruthless. From the above, we know the real Daisy. But Gatsby still loves her. This is the main reason why Gatsby‟s dream cannot come true. When Gatsby fell in love with Daisy, he knew thatDaisy was extraordinary, but he didn‟t realize just how extraordinary a “nice” girl could be. She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby— nothing. After the war, Gatsby got rich, but Daisy got married. He only got several times to be with her and know her. The green light where his lost lover lived is dim and far away. He never knew what his dream and his hope really were.In reality, however, Daisy falls far short of Gatsby‟s ideals. She is beautiful and charming, but also fickle, shallow, and bored. Nick characterizes her as a careless person who smashes things up and then retreats behind her money. Daisy proves her real nature when she chooses Tom over Gatsby in Chapter 7, then allows Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle Wilson even though she herself was driving the car. Finally, rather than attend Gatsby‟s funeral, Daisy and Tom move away, leaving no forwarding address.To Gatsby, Daisy is his true love. Daisy is in love with money, ease, and material luxury. She seems to love Gatsby, but not of sustained loyalty or care.3.1.3Gatsby’s refusal to admit Daisy’s essenceGatsby was a good man: he was lenient and understanding to common people, honest and helpful to his friends, faithful and persistent to his love. He did well both in army and in business, though his business was unlawful. The only reason was it‟s just a way to achieve his life goal, to win his love. On the other hand, Daisy, the girl Gatsby persuaded all his life, was not worthy. She was the representative of money worshipers; even her voice is full of money. Maybe she loved Gatsby once, but her love was not real, not persistent. As Gatsby went to war, she kept silent a while, but she became active soon. She was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men. Because she wanted her life shaped immediately— and the decision must be made by some forces of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality that was cloze at hand. So naturally, she married to wealthy Tom. Five years later, she would like to love Gatsby again because at this time Gatsby was wealthy and famous. When she was forced to make a choice between Tom and Gatsby, she didn‟t know who would give her more wealthy, more comfortable life. As Tom told her that Gatsby got rich out of bootlegger, she knew what kind of future would be like if she chose Gatsby. So she stood by her husband‟s side naturally. To her, money was the basis. Pleasure-seeking was her living rule. Daisy had a fair body, more fair dress, but she was a wicked and selfish woman. Gatsby took such a woman as a goal in his life. We can‟t say this is not sad.But in fact Gatsby also unconvinced about the love between him and Daisy. The。
《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比的悲剧分析

《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比的悲剧分析摘要:美国著名作家菲茨杰拉德的文学著作《了不起的盖茨比》掀起了文学界的研究狂澜,小说以盖茨比心中的“美国梦”为导线,讲述了盖茨比为改变命运、追逐名利和追求爱情的盲目、偏执与“了不起”。
本文对盖茨比悲惨命运及其“美国梦”破碎的原因开展探讨分析,揭示“爵士时代”背景下的现实生活,探讨作品的深层含义,进一步加深读者对小说《了不起的盖茨比》的主题的认识。
关键词:《了不起的盖茨比》;悲惨命运;盖茨比小说的论述视角是以尼克的口吻展开。
讲述了出身底层的盖茨比为改变出生、涌升上层社会不畏隐瞒出生、满口谎言,最后成为了一个孤独的偏执者和置于金钱堆砌的“富豪”。
盖茨比为了梦想拼尽全力跻身上层社会最终仍无法得到自己想要的一切,失去自己“所爱”的黛西,最终以生命结束自己不切实际的梦想与追求,揭示了“美国梦”在“爵士时代”背景下终将破碎的本质,再现了美国20世纪“爵士时代”的现实生活现状和人们的道德品行。
一、盖茨比的形象盖茨比本是一个乡下穷小子,过着不富有却真实自由的生活。
在当时金钱至上、享乐主义盛行的时代背景下,盖茨比开始为利益所驱动,为了能跟自己的梦中情人黛西在一起,盖茨比隐瞒自己的出生,编凑不切实际的谎言,赢得了黛西的芳心。
可现实是残酷的,盖茨比因军队要求暂时离开了黛西,不久后便得知黛西嫁给了上层社会有钱有地位的汤姆。
黛西对感情的背叛让盖茨比对金钱和地位有了更加深层的执念,价值观也得到了一定的扭曲。
为了跻身上层社会,重获黛西的芳心,盖茨比靠贩卖私酒赚得了一大笔钱。
为了引起黛西的注意,隔着一条河住在黛西对面的盖茨比组织繁华的宴会,本以为靠金钱能够得到一切,却不知自己的真心和大笔的财富也无法让黛西真心诚意地相信自己,现实和梦想终究是一对矛盾对立体,盖茨比对爱情的执念和对黛西的真心最终却在威尔逊先生枪击声中得以断送。
黛西开车撞死了丈夫汤姆的情妇,在黛西惊慌失措之时,盖茨比为了为黛西抗下罪行,断送自己的性命却未曾换回黛西的一丝怜悯。
了不起的盖茨比英文阅读报告

了不起的盖茨比英文阅读报告了不起的盖茨比英文读书报告Pursuit for DreamsThe Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan.This novel is narrated by Nick who returns to the Midwest before setting to the New York City. Daisy is Nick’s cousin once removed and Nick knows of her husband, Tom. With the development of the novel, Nick knows that his next-door neighbor is the wealthy Gatsby, who always hosting lavish parties of hundreds of people. Then Nick knows that Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy long before. But Gatsby had no money to marriedDaisy, so Daisy married to the wealthy Tom. With few years of illegal traffic and smuggling, Gatsby accumulates a great amount of wealth. With the help of Nick, they meet and begin a love affair again. But then Tom finds that. After the combat between the two men, Daisy knocks down and kills Myrtle by accident when driving Gatsby’s car. At last, Daisy and Tom escape, left Gatsby be shot by Wilson.After read this novel, I think Gatsby is silly and unwisely. For his whole life after he falls in love with Daisy, an attractive and elegant but shallow and selfish young lady, he strives for years to become a millionaire. But Gatsby doesn’t realize the truth of his love and still sacrifices for his dream blindly, even by paying with his life. Gatsby takes the blame of killing Myrtle for Daisy, and is shot by Myrtle’s husband who is incited by Tom. Sadly, after his death, all Gatsby gains is Daisy’s indifference. I think no one is worth a great deal of sacrifice,especially for a frivolous and selfish person. While as the novel’s title The Great Gatsby says, I agree that Gatsby is truly great. In my opinion, Gatsby is pure, sincere, enthusiastic and persevering. Gatsby’s success in fortune is great; his strong will of love and achieving life goal is also great; he becomes the big name of the society and becomes the upper class’s deputy. Everyone is glad to come to his party; everyone admires his property; and everyone wants to be his friend, even Daisy has taken much notice of him and falls in love with him again. Gatsby is also great when he loses his life in order to protect Daisy from the accident.All in all, this story can serve as a reminder for us. To live a meaningful life, we should carefully choose some dreams to pursue. Everyone, if only work hard and never give up, we could achieve our dreams and could live a better life in the piece of the land. People should make their efforts, such as diligence, courage and determination to realize dreamsrather than depend on the help from others.篇二:了不起的盖茨比英文读书报告Book Report of The Great GatsbyThe introduction about the author:Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 –December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the Lost Generation of the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender Is the Night, and the most famous one is The Great Gatsby.Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, and it has been republished in 1945 and 1953. There are two settings for the novel. The firstsetting is on Long Island's North Shore and the second major setting is in New York City. The book is set within the year 1922 from the spring to the autumn.Summary of this book:Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who had graduated from Yale, moved to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rented a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a group who had made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who were prone to garish displays of wealth. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg was a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lived in a gigantic Gothic mansion and threw extravagant parties every Saturday night.Nick was unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and had social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class. Nick drove out to East Egg one eveningfor dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, T om, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduced Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick began a romantic relationship. Nick also leart a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan told him that Tom had a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lived in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travelled to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom kept for the affair, Myrtle began to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responded by breaking her nose.As the summer progressed, Nick eventually garnered an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encountered Jordan Baker at the party, and they met Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young man who had a remarkable smile and called everyone “old sport.”Gatsby asked to speak toJordan alone, and through Jordan, Nick later leart more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby told Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and was deeply in love with her. He spent many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties were simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wanted Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he was afraid that Daisy would refuse to see him if she knew that he still loved her. Nick invited Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby would also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablished their connection. They begin an affair.After a short time, T om grew increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans’house, Gatsby stared at Daisy with such undisguised passion that Tom realized Gatsby is in love with her.Though Tom involved in an extramarital affair, he was deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could be unfaithful tohim. He forced the group to drive into New York City, where he confronted Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. T om asserted that he and Daisy had a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announced to his wife that Gatsby was a criminal—his fortune came from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realized that her allegiance was to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sent her back to East Egg with Gatsby, (转载于: 写论文网:了不起的盖茨比英文阅读报告)attempting to prove that Gatsby could not hurt him.When Nick, Jordan, and T om drove through the valley of ashes, however, they discovered that Gatsby’s car had struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s lover. They rushed back to Long Island, where Nick leart from Gatsby that Daisy wasdriving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intended to take the blame. The next day, T om told Myrtle’s husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who had leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have had been her lover, found Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shot himself. Nick staged a small funeral for Gatsby, ended his relationship with Jordan, and moved back to the Midwest to escape the disgust he felt for the people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflected that just as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism had disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s power to transform his dreams into reality made him “great,”Nick reflected that the era of dreaming—both Gatsby’s dream andthe American dream—was over.篇三:The book report of The Great Gatsbay1《了不起的盖茨比》英文读书报告The book report of The Great GatsbayBy F. Scott. FizgeraldThe Great Gatsbay is written by American author F. Scott. Fizgerald, who is considered a member of the lost generation of the Twenties. It was first published on 1925. The following is the main plot of the novel.A young man named Nick Caraway, who came to New York City in string of 1922. He became involved in the life of his neighbour at Long Island, jay Gatsbay revealed to Nick, that he fell in love with his cousin Daisy before the war. At that time, he is poor. However, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, a rich but boring man of good social position. But Gatsby was still in love with her.In Gatsby's opinion, daisy was a beautiful and charming that he had neverseen. But I think she was also fickle, shallow, hypocritical. She was love with money, easy, and material luxury because she seemed to love Gatsby, but just appearance. Although I know the real Daisy, Gatsby did not know her clearly. This is the main reason why Gatsby could not get what he wanted.Becoming wealthy is the most important for him. Large fortune was from distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. After getting money, Gatsby got luxurious possessions. And a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden, it was Gatsby mansion.Besides,Gatsby went to Oxford University to get further study in order to make him more elegant and noble. He changed since his New Haven years. Now he was a study straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes has established dominance over his face and gave him theappearance of always learning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body- he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muck shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous beverage- a cruel body inNick's eyes.Gatsby held sumptuous parties every weekend at his mansion. The party is almost unbelievably luxurious. He made friends who have outstanding fame and high position.Due to natural instincts- vanity, Daisy began to sob helplessly;; I did love him true, but I loved you too. when Gatsby tried to convince her to leave Tom. Gatsby lost Daisy because he had no money, but he still loved her. It was the blinding love that killed him.Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, hit and killed T om's mistress, MyrtleWilson, Gather knew the truth, but he kept silent to protect her. Afterwards, Tom told Myrtle's husband that it was Gatsby killed his wife. Then Wilson murdered Gatsby and committed suicide.After Gatsby''s dying, almost no people including those who usually attended his parties came to his funeral. Nick was left to arrange Gatsby's funeral, attended only Gatsby's father and the former guests. The woman who ever allowed Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle rather than attend his funeral moved away with her husband finally, leaving no contact address.Gatsby is the typical American youth in the twenties. He regarded Daisy as the symbol of the youth, money and status deeply. He thought innocently: he can receive the last love, his dream after having money. It was a pity. He had misunderstood the girl he loved and the boring society on the surface. So he would never made his dream come true.But, he tried his best.。
The Great Gatsby《了不起的盖茨比》

The Great Gatsby------F.Scott Fitzgerald Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a wealthy but unfashionable area populated by the new rich, a group who have made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who are prone to garish displays of wealth. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties every Saturday night.Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class. Nick drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with To m andNick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class. Nick drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young wom an with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who livesin the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom andAs the summer progresses, Nick eventually garners an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby hi mself, a surprisingly young man who affects an English accent, has a remarkable smil e, and calls everyone “old sport.” Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone,and ,through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled, they begin an affair.After a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans’ house, Gatsby stares at Daisy with such undisguised passion that Tom realizes Gatsby is in love with her. Tom asserts that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal—his fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities.When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes, however, they discove r that Gatsby’s car has struck and killed Myrtle, The next day, Tom tells Myrt le’s husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shoots himself.Nick stages a small funeral for Gatsby, ends his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the Midwest to escape the disgust he feels for the people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflects that just as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s power to transform hisdreams into reality is what makes him “great,” Nick reflects that the era of dreaming —both Gatsby’s dream and the American dream—is over.In my personal opinion,death may be a perfect way for Gatsby to relieve.The pure girl Daisy was his entire dream.But he found that Daisy now is a foolish,selfish and meretricious girl.She can`t live with him,she hurt him and shift blame to him.This is not equal to Gatsby.He thought that he live for her.But she became such a girl made all his dreams broken.There was nothing he could live with.And his future life would be boring and make no sense,because he had no dream ,no goal except Daisy.Death was thebest way for him to get rid of all the suffering.The cause of this tragedy is Daisy`s fault.But as a matter of fact,it is not just Daisy`s fault.Mostly,the blame is American society.We can see that Daisy just like wealthy life and she married to Tom.But most of people will do like Daisy,because most of us hate poverty and like to have rich life And after Gatsby`s death,no one would loke to attend to his funeral.It is the society`s tragedy.In that society,people are all selfish.Anothet problrm the author want to describe is that the people have no relief and dream,and they lead a life in vanity.But Gatsby,such an ambitious man,excepting the love of Daisy,has no other dream.He has a luxurious house,lives a rich life,and attends descent party,but he dosen`t know what he really wants except Daisy.It is a pity for him,because he found Daisy can`t return back,he will have no place to go.As far as I am concerned,this story can serve as a reminder for us.To live a meaningful life,we should carefully choose some dreams to persue.And in the process of fulfilling our dreams,we should always be conscious about what we really desire.Anyhow,only by pursuing the proper dreams can we get to the deep spring of happiness.。
了不起的盖茨比英文总结

了不起的盖茨比英文总结了不起的盖茨比英文总结篇一《了不起的盖茨比英文读书报告》Book Report of The Great GatsbyThe introduction about the author:Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 –December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generationof the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender Is the Night, and the most famous one is The Great Gatsby.Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, and it has been republished in 1945 and 1953. There are two settings for thenovel. The first setting is on LongIsland's North Shore and the second major setting is in New York City. The book is set within the year 1922 from the spring to the autumn.Summary of this book:Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who had graduated from Yale, moved to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rented a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a group who had made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who were prone to garish displays of wealth. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg was a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lived in a gigantic Gothic mansion and threw extravagant parties every Saturday night.Nick was unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and had social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class. Nick drove out toEast Egg one eveningfor dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, T om, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduced Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick began a romantic relationship. Nick also leart a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan told him that Tom had a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lived in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travelled to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom kept for the affair, Myrtle began to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responded by breaking her nose.As the summer progressed, Nick eventually garnered an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encountered Jordan Baker at the party, and they met Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young man who had a remarkable smile and called everyone“old sport.”Gatsby asked to speak to Jordan alone, and through Jordan, Nick later leart more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby told Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and was deeply in love with her. He spent many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties were simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wanted Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he was afraid that Daisy would refuse to see him if she knew that he still loved her. Nick invited Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby would also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablished their connection. They begin an affair.After a short time, T om grew increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans’house, Gatsby stared at Daisy with such undisguised passion thatTom realized Gatsby is in love with her. Though Tom involved in an extramarital affair, he was deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could be unfaithful tohim. He forced the group to drive into New York City, where he confronted Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. T om asserted that he and Daisy had a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announced to his wife that Gatsby was a criminal—his fortune came from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realized that her allegiance was to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sent her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby could not hurt him.When Nick, Jordan, and T om drove through the valley of ashes, however, they discovered that Gatsby’s car had struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s lover. They rushed back to Long Island, where Nick leart from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, butthat Gatsby intended to take the blame. The next day, T om told Myrtle’s husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who had leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have had been her lover, found Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shot himself. Nick staged a small funeral for Gatsby, ended his relationship with Jordan, and moved back to the Midwest to escape the disgust he felt for the people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflected that just as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism had disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s power to transform his dreams into reality made him “great,”Nick reflected that the era of dreaming—both Gatsby’s dream and the American dream—was over.了不起的盖茨比英文总结篇二《了不起的盖茨比分析-英文论文》James (Yang Zhen)ENGL1601-B02Professor: HargraveOct 10th 2009Pursuing the Forbidden loveIn the novel The Great Gatsby and the film The English Patient, both those twoprotagonists were pursuing their ideal love, pursuing the forbidden fruit. Gatsby thought that Daisy loved him so much and she didn‟t love her husband Tom at all and if he could get a great deal of money, he could join the upper class‟s life and then Daisy would leave herhusband for him. Meanwhile, another protagonist Almasy thought he could build a love that transcended nationality, ethnicity and even everything. He could give up everything to pursue his ideal love, that forbidden fruit. But both of their thoughts were too idealistic, simple and naive. The cruel reality andconcrete specific historic period and social environment would not make their dream come true. In my points of view, the huge gap between their ideal love and the cruel reality would make it a certainty that their pursuing for the forbidden love would become a tragedy and their tragedy could be a warning for us.Jay Gatsby was a son of shiftless and unsuccessful farm people in the middle west of USA. When he joined the army, he met Daisy, a beautiful woman from the upper class, and fell in love with her. Then, he took apart in the war and five years later when he came back from the Europe, Daisy had got married with a rich boy Tom. Later, Gatsby began his pursuing for forbidden fruit: a love to woman who had a husband. And Almasy, a Hungarian-born historian, follow the explorer Madox to do some research in the Sahara desert and metGeoffrey Clifton and his wife Katharine Clifton. Katharine‟s charm andflair deeply attracted Almasy. He fell in love with her and began to pursuing his forbidden fruit. Both Gatsby and Almasy believe that they could get the forbidden love they wanted and pursued. But actually, we can find that their pursuing loses contact with the harsh reality was doomed to fail.During the period of pursuing the forbidden love, Gatsby‟s ideal about the society and Daisy went far beyond the real ones. From the novel, we can find that he looked Daisy as the embodiment of beauty, purity and nobility and he thought that being together with her is like the being at wonderland which represented all the beautiful things which actually went far beyond Daisy herself. “The colossal vitality of his illusion had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way”(Fitzgerald, P95). More seriously, he also believed that moneycould help him eliminate the diversity between the upper class and him and buy the past and the love of Daisy. But actually, he was wrong. Like anyone else in that period, as a reality mortal, Daisy wanted not only the life of spirit and love, but also the stability of material life and superiority and immobility of social status. Under the influence of harsh realities, Daisy became more pragmatic. She had refused to leave Tom for five years probably because she had realized some kind of truth from life: the lack of emotion could be patient; paying little attention to emotion could at least provoke less hurt feelings and compared to it, the material enjoyment should play a very crucial role as she was born in a wealthy family. So when she found Gatsby…s money came from illegal way, she wavered because she thought that although Gatsby had a great deal of money, he was only a upstart;being together with him may hurt her social status and when she had tochoose one between Gatsby, a man who loved her so much and would devote his whole emotion and energy to her, and Tom, a man who betrayed her but had a stable social status, she choose the latter. Because she was a typical bourgeois woman who love money and value power with which only Tom could provide and she need more about the material comforts and superiority of social status. Even after the accident happened when Gatsby would like to be responsible to Daisy‟s mistake, Daisy frankly sat face to face with Tom and would sacrifice him anytime and then escape.Meanwhile, what I would like to talk is that the process of Gatsby‟s pursuing the forbidden love to Daisy was also the process of his pursuing for his American dream, because in his mind, Daisy was like a flower: beauty and purity and she could also be the symbol of all the virtue of the upper class. Gatsby did also have an active but naive American dream; he thought the life of the upper class was fullof beauty and glory of love and he could join them through personal struggle. Seen from Gatsby‟s “SCHUDULE”and “GENERAL RESOLVES”(Fitzgerald, P173), we can find that Gatsby was a man who was bright and had great ability and strong enterprise; he believe that he could get fortune through personal struggle and then change his social status. But that the American society was not the pure American dream any more: since 1820s, as the rapid development of capitalism, monopoly-capitalist group had gradually controlled the national economic arteries and every parts of the social life, a normal people could hardly get the chance to earn a great deal of money and join the upper class; meanwhile, as the writer said: that period called “Jazz Age”, is the most voluptuous and gorgeous period in American history; the youth in that timeblindly pursued the enjoyment, aspired after money and were infatuated with wine and sex, so Gatsby‟s idealwould be inconsistent with the society, even after he got a great deal of money, he still could not eliminate the diversity between the upper class and him and still could not join them. In my points of view, Gatsby was a representation of idealism which loses the contact with the harsh reality and Tom was representation of the extremely selfish realism. The process of pursuing the love to Daisy could also be the competition between the idealism who respected spirit and realism who respected the benefits. Although Tom show up the humanity of blackness and obduracy, but he was accepted by the American mainstream society because that society did not advocate personal struggle any more and began to cult the hedonism and extravagance and waste. Meanwhile, Daisy was also the product of that kind of society: pompous,self-serving and shallow. The fundamental diversity of value made Gatsby‟s tragedy. Gatsby, a man who confounded with the dream and thereality, spent his whole life and whole energy to build a mirage, a beautiful world of dream. He realized that “Daisy‟s voice was full of money”(Fitzgerald, P120) but he never understood that they belonged to the different world, standed for different value. So his devotion of his whole life energy and pure emotion to pursue the forbidden love to Daisy was doomed to fail. It is the huge gap between Gatsby‟s ideal life and cruel reality made it a certainty that Gatsby‟s pursuing would be a tragedy.Meanwhile, the English patient‟s protagonist also had the same problem with Gatsby. He was a Hungarian but rejected all the national identity, choosing to shed “the clothes of country. He pursued the freedom: the freedom of love and freedom of everything. After he fell in love with Katharine, passion and obsession overwhelmed him, causing him block outthe outside world and its rules of right and wrong. He sometimes admittedthat he and Katharine are "sinners in a holy city."(The English Patient), but he also believed that love could transcend everything: including nationality, morality and responsibility so he did not ever show his remorse over their deception or betrayal of Geoffrey. Meanwhile, Katharine also showed the lack of regret for hurting her husband. However, I think they were also selfish and unrealistic. Firstly, there was a serious conflict between their pursuing for the forbidden love and Katharine‟s husband, a man, who was hurt seriously due to that forbidden love. Almasy considered only about possessing Katharine, and did not consider Geoffrey‟s feeling: he did not consider what Geoffrey would do after the forbidden love happened. But latter, Geoffrey drove a plane to hit him and wanted to die with him and Katharine. Although Almasy was OK, Katharine was hurt seriously. Another serious conflict happened during his pursuing of the forbidden love wasbetween his ideal, love is the most important thing, it could transcend everything, there is no need to have any national identity in the desert, and concrete specific situation-the cruel world war. In wartime, however, national identity is of great importance. With a casual attitude towards national allegiances, he went to ask the British for help because he thought they would help him undoubtedly. But actually, they didn‟t help him and even arrested him as a war criminal. Because as we can know, in the war, people especially the army would not help the people from the adversary state and even wanted to kill them as soon as possible. Although later, he found Katharine through providing the map of Northern Africa to German army to exchange the oil, she had already died. In sum, we can get a conclusion that Almasy ‟s belief of pursuing the love for Katharine also went far away from the harsh了不起的盖茨比英文总结篇三《了不起的盖茨比读后感(英文)》What Makes The Great Gatsby Great?Recently, I have read a classical novel, The Great Gatsby, Francis Key Fitzgerald is the author, who is one of the most outstanding writers in 20th century.I think all the plots in the novel are similar to the something happens in the today’s society. The story is told by Nick(Daisy’s cousin),who witnesses a lot the ugly aspects of the society and human characters. Here is the story goes: T om and Daisy married for a time and live in East Egg. In their opposite, living a very great wealthy man, called Gatsby. He hold parties day and night and get famous for this. Actually, Daisy and Gatsby fell in love a few years ago. At that time, Gatsby was very poor and dispatched into Europe because of war. Then, they broke up and Daisy married Tom, thesecond-generation rich. Latter, Gatsby comes back with social position and big fortunate, and he continues loving Daisy.At a car accident, Daisy kills the Tom’s mistress. To protect Daisy, Gatsby takes all the responsibility of the accident. Finally, Wilson (the husband of mistress) shoots Gatsby under the instigation of Tom. And Tom and Daisy set foot on Europe’s travelling.I think everyone feels pity for the Gatsby, for his infatuation to Daisy and for his foolish love, like the following two descriptions.①“--Was Daisy driving?---Yes, he said after a moment, but of course I’ll say I was.”(p154) ②“the chauffeur –he was one of Wolfshiem’s protégés-heard the shoots-”(p172).As we can see Gatsby undertakes the responsibility of the accident and that’s his cold ending. So what makes The Great Gatsby Great?I think the answer also is the image of Gatsby. Because of his profound love to Daisy even though the others become selfish and sophisticated in the society. He devotes himself to making big fortune for expecting Daisy’s return; he takeresponsibility of car accident at the expense of being put in the prison. Yes, this great man displays something called Profound Love when the society members’hearts becoming colder and colder. And I always feel sympathetic to Gatsby’s consequence. We may say how stupid he is to pay so much to Daisy, but in other words, how persistent he is to his believing about love. He always thinks that all his behaviors can make Daisy change her mind and come back.Gatsby is a tragic hero in the novel, maybe his profound love and strong faith lead to his bad ending. But I always believe this two valuable things are the writer appeals to in that time, also works in today’s. Here’s my understanding to the question What Makes The Great Gatsby Great?了不起的盖茨比英文总结篇四《《了不起的盖茨比》英文读后感》Pursuit for dreams—after reading The Great GatsbyI have heard of the famous novel TheGreat Gatsby for many years. However, until recently have I got the time and mood to read it. As soon as I finish reading, I find my previous unwarranted assumption of it totally wrong.This is a story about Gatsby and his pursuit for the ‘American dreams’. During the World War One, the poor soldier Gatsby fell in love with an upper class girl named Daisy. But due to the wide gap between them, Daisy decided to marry Tom, a man of her class, instead of Gatsby. Broken-hearted Gatsby then held the conviction that money was of the greatest importance. He strongly believed in the ‘American dreams’, which as we all know, advocates that one can achieve whatever he or she likes through continuous efforts. He strived for five years to become a millionaire and bought a villa near Daisy’s to attract her. He was too addicted to his fantasy to realize that Daisy was no longer the lovely girl she used to be. Eventually, he was killed because of her crime.After reading it, something reverberates in my heart. I can’t help thinking of the theme Fitzgerald trying to convey. One thing may be the lonely void of people’s spiritual world. I am deeply impressed by chapter 3, where a vivid description of a party is given.There were beautiful girls, drunk men, and boisterous crowds there, but none of them perceived the pointless of their lives and the barren of their minds. To see this phenomenon deeper, there were two circumstances underlying it. The first is the lack of dreams. Some people, especially the people of the upper class, lived an aimless life. They wasted their time and money and took an indifferent attitude towards life. They chased for temporary ecstasy but lost their identity in eternity, namely Daisy and Tom. The second is the misleading of dreams. Some others like Gatsby, bravely pursued their dreams, yet going to a diverged way unconsciously. They might mix up the concept of a richer life and ahappier life, viewing a higher social state and a peaceful fulfilled life as equality. Unfortunately, when they were busy chasing their dreams, everything changed with time. When they were anxious about the to-gets, they ignored what they had already had and lost the alert to the constant changes. The excellent use of symbolization illustrates this idea perfectly. The imagery of ‘green light’is the most important symble which occurred three times in the novel. The green-light’s obscure in the mist indicates the dim of Gatsby’s dreams.As far as I am concerned, this story can serve as a reminder for us. To live a meaningful life, we should carefully choose some dreams to pursue. And in the process of fulfilling our dreams, we should always be concious about what we really desire. Anyhow, only by pursuing the proper dreams can we finally get to the deep springs of happiness.了不起的盖茨比英文总结篇五《了不起的盖茨比英文论文》摘要弗朗西斯·司科特·菲茨杰拉德是二十世纪美国最重要的作家之一,被推崇为“爵士时代”的编年史家和桂冠诗人。
简析《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比的悲剧成因【文献综述】

文献综述英语简析《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比的悲剧成因一、前言部分(说明写作的目的,介绍有关概念,扼要说明有关主题争论焦点)《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗·斯格特·菲茨杰拉德所写的一部以20世纪20年代的纽约市及长岛为背景的短篇小说,被视为美国文学“爵士时代”的象征。
小说讲述了出身卑微的盖茨比为能进入美国上流社会,实现其“美国梦”,不惜付出一切代价积累财富,但最终以失败告终的故事。
对于这部作品,国内外争论的焦点也非常多。
有从女性形象分析,反应作者本人对美国20世纪20年代妇女及美国社会精神价值的严肃思考。
通过对黛西、乔丹、茱特尔三位女性性格、金钱观、爱情的描写,菲茨杰拉德成功刻画了那个时代美国社会中典型的女性形象,其外表虽然绚丽,但其本质是浅薄空虚的。
有分析作品中的“二元主角”现象,“二元主角”代表了梦想的两极:一个迷恋,一个清醒。
作者的矛盾态度也在两个主角身上体现的淋漓尽致。
但目前研究的最多的是导致盖茨比的悲剧的原因。
有人从爱情、金钱角度分析,也有人将其归结于当时的消费特点,更多评论家将盖茨比的死亡悲剧、梦想的破灭归结于美国梦。
但基于这部小说的写作背景,以及故事本身的情节来看,盖茨比的悲剧成因远非是仅仅一个美国梦那么简单。
从社会和个人多角度分析更能全面解释盖茨比的悲剧,进而也更好的理解作者的意图——批判美国社会中的“财阀野心”及其诱惑给人们带来的毁灭性代价。
因此本文将从四个方面出发来分析盖茨比的悲剧。
一、变质的美国梦。
从某种意义上来说,盖茨比的梦幻并非真正的美国梦,他的梦与传统意义上的美国梦有本质上的差别。
二、“爵士时代”美国社会中存在的阶级关系。
以汤姆为代表的富人阶级和以盖茨比为代表的下层阶级的矛盾体现了这两个阶级的对立。
富人阶级始终瞧不起下层阶级出身的盖茨比,也暗示了盖茨比最终不可能成功的悲剧。
三、盖茨比的爱情理想主义。
盖茨比对于黛西近似女神的对待,明显地表现了他对理想的不遗余力的追求。
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四川师范大学文理学院本科毕业论文An Analysis of Disillusionment of American Dream in The Great Gatsby论《了不起的盖茨比》中美国梦的破灭学生姓名张燕院系名称外国语学院专业名称英语(师范)班级 2008级 1班学号 200814025224指导教师陈雪瑶(讲师)答辩时间 2012-4-15论《了不起的盖茨比》中美国梦的破灭学生:张燕指导教师:陈雪瑶讲师摘要: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《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,文中通过时间发展及不同人物个性特征向我们阐述了这一梦想破灭的各种原因。
关键词:美国梦;破灭;原因An Analysis of Disillusionment of American Dream inThe Great GatsbyAbstract:F. Scott Fitzgerald, is widely considered as the literary spokesman of the “American Dream”. His novels include many aspects of his unique experiences in that period of time. It is not easy to distinguish his novel and the real life, which has already involved him physically and mentally in it. Especially in his masterpiece,The Great Gatsby,which was published in 1925. In the novel, the hero revealed a typical example of those who were eager to pursue the American Dream but finally ended by sacrificing themselves. Though he dreamed of achieving material wealth and love through his courage and hard working, all the factors from outside world and the indelibility of his dream led to the disillusionment of it. Through the development of the story and characteristics of heroes, Fitzgerald elaborated a vivid picture of the disillusionment of American Dream.Key words: American dream; disillusionment; reasonContentsIntroduction (1)Part I The Introduction of F.Scott.Fitzgerald (2)1.1The Life Expericence of Fitzgerald (2)1.1.1 Fitzgerald’s Background (2)1.1.2 Fitzgerald’s Marriage (2)1.2 Literary Works of Fitzgerald (3)PartII American Dream and its Disillusionment (4)2.1 The American Dream (4)2.1.1 The Definition of American Dream (4)2.1.2 The Essence of American Dream (5)2.2 Disillusionment of American Dream Reflected in the Novel (5)2.2.1 Gatsby’s American Dream (5)2.2.2 Nick Carraway’s American Dream (7)2.2.3 Tom, Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker’s American Dream (7)Part III The Cause of Disillusionment of American Dream (9)3.1 The Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties (9)3.2 Social Environment and People factors (9)Conclusion (11)Bibliography (12)IntroductionF. Scott Fitzgerald was born in a not rich family, so he wanted to earn lots of money to become rich to enjoy high quality life. The tempo of his life slackened as his life was shredded by Zelda’s insanity and his own self-destructive alcoholism. Through years of emotional and physical collapse he struggled to repair his life by writing for Hollywood-producing at the same time a series of stories that exposed his humiliation there. He became one of the greatest writers in American literature and wrote many works in his lifetime to manifest the life reality of that time. He was a spokesman for the so-called Jazz Age.The Great Gatsby is regarded as his masterpiece. First published on April 10, 1925, the story is set in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922. The novel tells of Gatsby, an idealist, who tries to recapture his lost love but in vain and is finally destroyed by the influence of the wealthy people around him .The story deals with the failure of the American dream as personified in the rich and beautiful woman Daisy who belongs to corrupt society. The Great Gatsby evokes a haunting mood of a glamorous, wild time that seemingly will never come again. It is about the loss of an ideal and the disillusionment that comes with the failure is embodied fully in the personal tragedy of a young man (Gatsby) whose “incorruptible dream” is “smashed into pieces by the relentless reality” (Fitzgerald, 8).Gatsby’s failure to realize his ideal symbolizes the disillusionment of his American Dream. Also, Gatsby’s intensity of dream represents a state of commitment which takes him in search of his personal grail; Gatsby’s failure magnifies to a great extent the end of the American Dream.Part I The Introduction of F.Scott.Fitzgerald1.1The Life Expericence of FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald is one of the most outstanding American authors in the twenties, and The Great Gatsby is his best work.1.1.1 Fitzgerald’s BackgroundF. Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 into a St, Paul middle-class family. After an unsuccessful undergraduate career at Princeton, he entered the Army as a second Lieutenant and while in training camp he met the beautiful girl who was to become his wife. He married Zelda Sayre as his literary career got off to a meteoric start in 1920. Through the 1920s when money seemed plentiful and postwar morality encouraged a reckless pursuit of happiness, he and Zelda traveled in Europe and New York, acting out the glamorous life-style he wrote of in his most popular magazine fiction. He was a spokesman for the so-called Jazz Age, setting a personal as well as literary example for a generation whose first commandment was: Do what you will. The speed of his life slackened as his life was shredded by Zelda’s insanity and his own self-destructive alcoholism. He fell from favor as a writer when the indulgent decade of his triumph went down under the impact of a worldwide Depression in the 1930s.1.1.2 Fitzgerald’s MarriageIt is absolutely the tough teenage years and marriage life that made Fitzgerald experience the difficulties and frustrations of the life. So we should discover some reflections of the story from the author’s life.The relationship between Fitzgerald and Zelda went so dramatic that even himself once said, “ Sometimes I don’t know whether Zelda and I are real or whether we are characters in one of my novels”(Fitzgerald, 1).Zelda was the daughter of a judge in Montgomery, Alabama, a beautiful society girl. Though she told Fitzgerald that she loved him so much, but her too expensive life left him unable to support her. They have experienced breaking up but finally got engaged again with the support of Fitzgerald’s succ ess. It was also at this time that Fitzgerald wrote many of his short stories which helped to pay for their extravagant lifestyle. But when the misfortune came, in 1930s when Zelda became increasingly troubled by mental illness. Their life became harder. It was his marriage and his onerous life of making money to support her that affected his writing tremendously. Fitzgerald was tormented virtually all his life by the fact that he could not concentrate on his working and the improvement of his art in general.1.2 Literary Works of FitzgeraldThe Roaring Twenties was a period of literary creativity, and works of several notable authors appeared during the period. Such as Earnest Hemingway, Erich Maria Remarque and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Etc. Literary works in that period of time mirror people’s experiences and attitude of the1920s. We could see it from the following examples: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque recounts the horrors of WWI and also the deep detachment from German civilian life felt by many men returning from the front.This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is about a group of expatriate Americans in Europe during the 1920s. All in all writers and their works in those years were haunted with complicated sensations which have shown us all the difficulties and frustrations in their life.PartⅡAmerican Dream and its Disillusionment2.1 The American DreamBefore we take a look to the causes and effects of the disillusionment of American dream, let’s first try to understand the definition and content of American Dream.2.1.1 The Definition of American DreamIn different social and historical backgrounds, the concepts of American Dream are different, and for different people, they have different understandings of American Dream and the ways to pursue their American Dream are also various. The definition of the so-called American Dream can be distinguished in broad sense and narrow sense. For the former, American Dream is the equality, freedom and democracy in the land of the United States. The later one means, everyone in America ,if only work hard and never give up, he could achieve his dream and could live a better life in this piece of land, that is to say, people should make their efforts ,such as diligence, courage and determination to realize dreams rather than depend on the help from others.This term that American Dream was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. 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 of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” This ideology is based itself on the principle that one should be responsible for oneself, and taking every opportunity to gain success by courage and hard working.2.1.2 The Essence of 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 elements lie in the American Dream: the US has provided equal opportunities for everyone; the success based on own talents and efforts, not the background and extraction; everyone was born equally; and everyone has his own right to achieve success.“For any American 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.”(Zhao Hongwei, 2)This is the basic often of "American dream". It is the idea that the American way of life offers the equal possibility of unlimited economic, social, etc. One can always work their way up from the rags to riches just like Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the US.In brief, the main content of American culture was emphasis on individuals' value, optimistic, pursuing of democracy and freedom, the promotion of deportation and competition and the need of realism and practicality. There was a common truth that everyone who lived in that period actually had an American Dream and eager to achieve it and everyone has an American Dream which is to have a good opportunity to realize personal dream.2.2 Disillusionment of American Dream Reflected in the NovelIn this novel, we could discover so many characteristics of the disillusionment of American dream. All of them have been reflected from the words and actions of heroes and heroines2.2.1 Gatsby’s American DreamAs for the great Gatsby, his American Dream is to have much money and then win Daisy, who is in love with Gatsby five years ago but now is the wife of rich Tom. Gatsby thinks that only if he has much money, at least has more money than Tom, should he win Daisy’s love. So it is reasonable for him to pursue material wealth in order to win the love of Daisy.Gatsby’s attempt to achieve his American Dream which is to recapture the love of Daisy Buchanan whom he had known five years before the action of the novel begins, when he is a young and poor officer in the United States army and Daisy is a young unmarried woman, who used to live a luxuriant life with much money and great fame. And the only way should Gatsby make his American Dream come true is to get a lot of money which is much difficulty for a normal soldier to earn. He does all the things Daisy asks him to do. And nobody can do this out of reason. In order to win Daisy, Gatsby dare to have illegal trade of alcohol to make a fortune, because he clearly knows that he must offer Daisy a better life which is luxuriant if he wants to win Daisy. Through his great effort, he gets much money authentically although it is from illegal business.Gatsby's success in fortune is great, his strong will of love and achieving life goal is also great; he becomes the big name of the society, and becomes the upper class's deputy. Everyone is glad to come to his party, everyone admires his property, and everyone wants to be his friend, even Daisy has taken much notice of him and falls in love with him again. Gatsby is also great when he loses his life in order to protect Daisy from the accident.However, “the falling of his American Dream, that 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, 3)Furthermore, when Gatsby died, no one turns up for his funeral, though hundreds of people have eaten at his place. It is a sad comment on human nature that when a man dies, he is alone, absolutely alone. The only things that accompany him are his good deeds especially those done spontaneously and without expectations. And the saddest thing is that Daisy, doesn’t feel any regret or sorrow for Gatsby’s death, has gone traveling with his husband Tom. There is nothing left for Gatsby. All the things of his life have gone with his death, including his wealth and love. From the above analysis of Gatsby’s American Dream, there is a conclusion that whatever it is broken or not, Gatsby’s American Dream is to get as much money as he can even through every illegal means, and then he can have the economical strength to achieve his final goal——win the love of Daisy.Gatsby spends his whole life in attaining money and status so that he can reach a certain position in life and then he can win Daisy back. That is what motivates him to move to West Egg, and makes money by any means necessary, holds extravagant parties in every weekend, does everything what Daisy requires him to do and so on. There is a position in life that he yearns for and will do all that it takes to achieve it, and the final goal for his American Dream is to get Daisy’s love. It is doomed to be a failure if Gatsby wants to be in love with Daisy,and live with her forever.2.2.2 Nick Carraway’s American DreamIn this novel, we see disorientation in achieving the American Dream in Gatsby, while in Nick Carraway, the narrator, we see a far more rational mind in dealing with this. Nick Carraway was made in the book the representative of the traditional moral codes of America. He comes from the Midwest and wants to make money in the Long Island. For he is also attracted by the beauty, the wealth, and the sophistication of “the wasteland”, so at any rate, he is another dream seeker. However as witnessing Gatsby’s tragedy, he realizes what has gone wrong with American dream from the beginning to the end. Thanks to the traditional moral conducts that rooted in him and his following his father’s advice on toleration, he never get lost. Finally, he got the essential emptiness of American dream and achieves the penetration of Tom and Daisy’s corruption, grossness, and cowardice. Nick does not make quick j udgment, and thus is able to gain access to “many curious natures” The world of Gatsby is inhabited in main by three groups of people and Nick has contact with them all. So the function of Nick in this book can never be ignored. He is there to make the readers understand the roles in this book from an objective point of view and then get better comprehension of Gatsby’s idealized love and the reality of the society. Both Nick and Gatsby in this novel emerge as moral symbol: Gatsby as the embodiment of spiritual desolation or waste, Nick as a hope for moral and spiritual growth.2.2.3 Tom, Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker’s American DreamIn this book, Tom, Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker represent the corruption of American dream. Comparing with Gatsby, they were born with wealth and status but devoid of purpose. Daisy’s lament is especially indicative of this: “What will we do with ourselves this afternoon?” cried Daisy, “and the day after that, and the next thirty years?”(Fitzgerald, 1).Daisy Buchanan, is the dream and cause of his wasted dream. As a representative of those women who are not expected to be well educated, to work, and have developed a kind of parasitic dependency. Daisy is, however, physically attractive, romantic, and sentimental,but emotionally frigid, having a destructive influence on the man with whom she is associated. All her charm is just a gesture of life rather than a quality of living.Tom Buchanan, the husband of Daisy, is ruler and representative of the moral wasteland that has replaced American idealism. All his bulky gestures tell us that in the moral wasteland, idealism is a source of weakness rather than strength; he devoted to nothing but the impulse of his own flesh and the demands of his own ego, completely regardless of any concept of either a moral code or a personal loyalty.For Tom and Daisy Buchanan, it is nothing worries about any potential crisis around them, for they have no moral responsibility at all. Whenever what happens, they will shield themselves with their upper class social status and retreat into their money or leave other people to clean up the mess they’ve made.Jordan Baker, at any rate, is no less a creature of the moral wasteland than is Daisy or Tom Buchanan. As a “lovely” girl who dresses i n “white” and always seem to be “cool” and apathetic, Jordan Baker is an opportunist in her own way. Being a 23-year-old women’s golf champion becomes involved with Nick during the course of the summer of 1922. She looks like “incurably dishonest” however, though Nick finds Jordan haughty and careless, he finds himself being attracted by her anyway. On the other sides, Jordan once “loved” Nick, for she had sensed the honesty and moral firmness in Nick’s heart, and realized that only when staying with a man like Nike can she be free from the mess and continues to be on her own way. But in the end Jordan gets engaged to another man after not seeing Nick for a short time, leaving Nick angry and letting him realizes the same irresponsible exploitation in Jordan as that he sees in Tom and Daisy. Jordan’s action seems to intentionally echo Daisy’s leaving Gatsby to marry Tom five years ago.Part III The Cause of Disillusionment of American Dream3.1 The Jazz Age and the Roaring TwentiesThe spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity, a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology. New technologies, especially automobiles, moving pictures and radio proliferated modernity to a large part of the population. Formal decorative frills were shed in favor of practicality in both daily life and architecture. At the same time, jazz and dancing rose in popularity, in opposition to the mood of the specter of World War I. As such, the period is also often referred to as the Jazz Age. The Jazz Age, was, in the words of Malcolm Cowley, “not so much a historical period as a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such pr ofusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.” It was a legend of “American adolescence before pain set in.” Fitzgerald became “the angel of the twenties” and his writings those of a man inside that legendary period.3.2 Social Environment and People factorsAnother reason for the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American dream may be people factors. Gatsby’s love for Daisy was to the point of obsession, it was really touching, but he chose the wrong object to pay for their own love, Daisy was a secular, hedonistic money worshiper. She could never work hand in hand with Gatsby. And she would not pay a high price for the ideal, and make enormous sacrifices. Her life was of no true love, but cannot be without money. Gatsby’s tragedy is that he has not been able to understand Daisy’s motives, can not understand that she belonged to the complexity of the world. He only saw the world’s surface, bright and elegant, but did not see it hidden in the cold and heartless. In order to protect their rights and status, people in this world has taken hypocritical means.In short, he loved the wrong person and did not wake up until he died. What always existed between him and Daisy was an unbridgeable gap between social status. He’s life wassuch a tragedy which rooted in his blind pursuit of life and love and fantasy, as well as the lack of knowledge about the upper middle class society, where all the lofty spirit are gone. He started from scratch, but society was swallowed by the dark coldness. He would not take in any case struggle to Daisy and will not become part of high society forever.Gatsby’s failure, to some extent, has indicated the failure of the American Dream, his struggle is the embodiment of American spirit, the failure of him is the declaration of recession in the American spirit. His tragedy arose because he built his ideal on the illusion than reality, his desires to succeed, but when he realized the dream of money he fell into the spirit of the post-crisis. He preferred to escape in stead of facing it bravely. The competition between Tom and Gatsby was not only a battle between rivals in love, but also a battle between representatives of the two different social classes. So his failure is inevitable. The former lovers, Nick and Jordan, were the spectators of the whole story, they have witnessed this dirty and evil history. The height of material prosperity has brought desolation and twisted soul, which hidden under the appearance of carnival fun.The whole community is suffering from this mental illness --- a no way out of the loss and suffering. Therefore, the disillusionment of American dream has become a necessity.ConclusionAfter collecting information and completing this essay, we can understand better the appearance, development and disillusionment of Gatsby’s love and dream. Now we can not only feel empathetic about Gatsby’s intricate and pessimistic life, but also see the inhumanity and cruelty of society.Through this novel, Fitzgerald shows the collapse and disillusionment of pe ople’s dream, no matter what kind of concepts it has, money, social status or simply of happiness. The most catastrophic collapse, however, is the American dream itself. Here, heroes and heroines in this book including Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Nick and Jordan together serve as metaphors by Fitzgerald to reveal the paradox of American dream: when materialism is elevated into having spiritual values, it can only confuse its disciples. He also pointed that, for the reality of life can not compare to idealistic dream, as well as the ideals are usually far too perfect to be paralleled in reality. Then the collapse of American dream is unavoidable.However, this novel is not only a criticism of the corruption of money on American dream. It is also an appealing for abandoning materialism and returning to traditional moral values. What’s more, Nick Carraway, the narrator, provides a successful foil for the degradation of the American dream. He is the voice of morality and humanity in this novel and the only one who regist er the human loss and measures the disparity between Gatsby’s unrealistic dream and the reality upon which it was based.All in all, this novel, The Great Gatsby, can be absolutely termed as the masterpiece of Fitzgerald. From it we can get some hidden information about the author himself. Fitzgerald said that sometimes he doesn’t know whether he and his wife are real or they are just characters in his novel. This novel, actually, ensured Fitzgerald’s position as a serious and talented writer. In more recent years Tony Tanner claimed it to be “the most perfectly crafted work of fiction to have come out of American.”BibliographyB enson, Will. The Great Gatsby and the obscene word. College Literature, 2005.Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Classics, 1994.Harbison, John. Where Is the Old, Warm World?,From the Great Gatsby. 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