摘  要

《伟大的盖茨比》是美国爵士时代的真实写照，标志着弗•斯科特•菲兹杰拉德的写作事业的巅峰。这本小说 “继亨利•詹姆斯之后，美国小说踏出的第一步”。不同于他之前的作品，菲兹杰拉德彻底地改造、重塑小说主人翁——盖茨比。这篇论文不仅可以帮助我们加深对《伟大的盖茨比》这一小说主题的理解，还能提高我们的文学鉴赏能力，培养对20世纪美国现实主义文学的深度认知。
研究方法主要包括收集电子资料及相关书籍，其中包括定量分析法和文献分析。旨在理解事物本身的意义，揭露其内在的原理。文献研究主要是为了了解其作品的历史形态,并进一步确定主意，从而在大背景下了解作品。这篇论文从菲兹吉拉德自身人物性格出发，通过与《伟大的盖茨比》中现实与梦想大背景下人物的对比，揣摩作者的写作意图，提高读者对爵士时代与美国梦的认知。

关键词：对比；角色；场景；美国梦；现实

Abstract

The Great Gatsby, which marks the peak of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s artistic achievement, is a depiction of “the Jazz Age”. It is said to be the “first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James”. Unlike his previous works, Fitzgerald intended to edit and reshape Gatsby thoroughly. This thesis can help us not only have a more pure understanding of the main theme of The Great Gatsby but improve our ability to appreciate literature and foster a deep understanding of the American literature in the 20th century.
The research method is mainly evolving in collecting electronic material and reading some relevant books to do the qualitative analysis and literature study. It aims to understand the essence of things and reveal the internal principles. The literature study aims to understand the history and status of the problem and helps determine the research topic, which can form a general impression on the study which will be helpful to observe, and to understand the whole picture of things. This paper intends to illustrate the identical points through the comparison between Fitzgerald’s autobiography and the different characters as well as dream and reality in The Great Gatsby. The significant of the contrast lies in the reason that they will be helpful to get a better understanding for the readers of the Jazz Age, the personalities of the main characters and the American dreams.

Key words: contrast; scene; character; American dream; reality

1 Introduction
The Great Gatsby, which marks the peak of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s artistic achievement, is a depiction of “the Jazz Age”, which portraying a story happened in New York City and Long Island during the 1920s. It is said to be the “first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James”. 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 once told his editor, Maxwell Perkins that this novel was a “conscious artistic achievement” and a “purely creative work”— not worthless imaginations and later added “the enormous power” that never existed in his heart. Due to its birth, Fitzgerald has gained his reputation in contemporary American literature history.