论盖茨比的悲剧性_英语论文

On the Sadness of Gatsby

摘要

弗朗西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德是二十世纪最伟大的美国作家之一，被称为爵士时代的代言人。其代表作《了不起的盖茨比》是美国20世纪20年代的一个典型的时代缩影，描写了贵族阶级以及资产阶级的奢靡生活，从而展现出20世纪20年代人们空虚的精神生活以及丑陋的价值观；同时通过对盖茨比与黛西的爱情悲剧的描写，也揭露了美国梦的幻灭。本文从时代社会历史因素、美国梦的破灭以及盖茨比的个人因素及性格弱点三方面因素探讨了盖茨比的悲剧性。20世纪20年代是美国历史上的一段特殊时期，被称为爵士乐时代。菲茨杰拉德曾经这样总结这个时代的特点：一切神明都统统死光，所有战争都已经统统打完，所有信念都已经统统完蛋。这个时代所有的人们都极力推崇物质享受，金钱至上，蔑视所有传统道德。小说中最后对于盖茨比葬礼的描写也淋漓尽致地展现出了人情的淡薄、冷酷与无情。在这样一个物质至上的时代，盖茨比的美国梦与这个社会格格不入，注定失败；同时也注定了盖茨比会成为这个社会的牺牲品，成为这个时代悲剧。

关键词：盖茨比 美国梦 悲剧 性格

Abstract 

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, one of the greatest writers in 1920s, is considered as the spokesman of the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby, his representative, is a typical epitome of the 1920’s American society. By describing the extremely extravagant lifestyle of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, it pictures the hollow spiritual world and the degraded values of the people who lived in the materially prosperous 1920’s. Meanwhile, it also reveals the disillusion of American Dream by representing the tragic love story of Gatsby and Daisy. This paper analyses the sadness of Gatsby from three different perspectives. They are the background of the age and the social-historical factors, the disillusion of American Dream and the vulnerable characters of Gatsby himself. In America’s whole history, the age of 1920s is a special time, which is called the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald once summarized people’s characters at that time as “all Gods have died, all the wars have been over, and all the faiths have been faded away.” (Fitzgerald, 1991 :253) In this age, all the people were indulged in the material enjoyments，admired the fortune and looked down upon the traditional faiths. The funeral of Gatsby depicted at the end of the novel disclosed the cruelness and indifference of the people in that age. Being in such an age, Gatsby was just an outsider, as well as his American Dream, which is doomed to fail. What’s worse, Gatsby was destined to be the sacrifice of this society, of this age. 

Key words: Gatsby  American dream  sadness  character

Contents

Introduction 5

1. The tragedy of the times 7

1.1 The hideous age 7

1.2 The deformed and venal people 8

1.2.1 Tom: A totally cold body 10

1.2.2 Daisy: An out-and-out degraded evil 10

2. The unfitness of American Dream 13

2.1 The origin of Gatsby’s American Dream 14

2.2 The conflicts in Gatsby’s American Dream 16

3. The vulnerability of Gatsby’s characters 17

3.1 Being unrealistic and innocent 18

3.2 Being obstinate and a ghost hero 19

3.3 The rotten values 21

Conclusion 22

Bibliography 23

Acknowledgements 24