Abstract

The Great Gatsby describes that in the 1920s, the American economy developed quickly, but people’s values fell rapidly, and after the first world war, people turned to the wild and extravagant lifestyle. Under the blatant and blundering historical background, the protagonist Gatsby still has the persistent pursuit of his “American dream”. He is loyal to himself and his ideal spirit. He devotes all his life to achieving his goal. However, the irreconcilable contradiction between dream and reality eventually leads him to move toward the extreme； other characters in this novel also inevitably manifest the intense conflict between idealism and realism under that background. The novel is the encyclopedia of that era. Through analyzing the conflict between idealism and realism in the novel, the thesis shows the American society at that time, especially, Americans’ deep sense of confusion and perplexity after the first world war. Readers of this thesis can also realize profoundly that the superficial vanity of the American-style material desires conceals a deeper intrinsic spiritual crisis.

Key word：The Great Gatsby   idealism   realism   conflicts  

摘 要

《了不起的盖茨比》描写了20世纪20年代美国经济迅猛发展时，人们价值观迅速堕落，且一战后，人们转向了放荡不羁、浮华奢侈的生活方式。在当时这一喧嚣浮躁的大时代背景下，主人公盖茨比依然怀有对“美国梦”的执着追求，他忠于自己和自己理想的精神，将自己的意志坚持到底，但他的梦想与现实不可调和的矛盾最终导致他走向了极端，且小说其他人物身上也突显了大时代背景下不可避免的理想主义和现实主义的强烈冲突。这部小说是那个时代的大百科全书式的作品。本研究通过分析该小说各主要人物理想主义和现实主义的冲突，来展示当时美国的社会风貌、生活气息和感情节奏，反映战后人们的迷茫和困惑。希望本研究能让读者对美国式物质欲望表象虚华、内蕴精神危机,有更加深刻的认识。

关键词：《了不起的盖茨比》 理想主义 现实主义 冲突

1 Introduction
The Great Gatsby is the masterpiece of the famous American writer called Fitzgerald who is the representative of the lost generation. The novel describes the social image and people’s moral values in the Jazz age exerting the young generation’s pursuit of the “American dream” as the theme. Since the novel was published in 1925, it has created much of a stir and evoked a heated discussion in the United States and around the world. Many writers and critics interpret and analyze the immortal classic from various angles. Some people evaluate the work from Fitzgerald’s writing skills and the layout structure of the novel. For example, Turnbull (1963) writes in his article that Fitzgerald succeeded not only in defining the essential qualities of his own age, but also in producing a lyrical rendering of a perception into American dream. But many people interpret this novel from the perspective of American Dream and these people think that The Great Gatsby is the unavoidable work to lucubrate American dream.