Abstract

American Dream is one of most significant elements in American literature. Fitzgerald is regarded as the representative of both American literature and American Dream. His short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, reflects the American Dream in the Jazz Age.
This thesis aims to analyze the disillusionment of American Dream. First of all, the birth of Benjamin Button leads to the disillusionment of his father Roger Button’ American Dream, which includes his status, wealth and reputation. Then Benjamin Button gets success in both his career and love, but eventually all these come to disillusionment, it happens not by coincidences but has its deep reasons including the author’s intention and the misunderstanding of American Dream. By analyzing Fitzgerald’s this short novel, the author tries to warn the American society that American Dream will finally come to an end.

Key Words:  American Dream  Fitzgerald   disillusionment

摘 要

美国梦是美国文学的重要文学元素之一。作家菲茨杰拉德是美国文学和美国梦的杰出代表作家。他的短篇小说，《返老还童》就反映了当时爵士时代的美国梦元素。
在这部短篇小说中，本杰明•巴顿的出生使得他的父亲罗格•巴顿的美国梦走向幻灭，其中包括他的地位、财富和荣誉。而后来本杰明虽然在事业和爱情上分别取得了成功，但是他最终没有逃脱美国幻灭的命运。这一系列的美国梦幻灭并不是巧合而是有它的本质原因的。本文认为作者的写作意图和美国社会对美国梦的误解导致了本书中美国梦幻灭的产生。通过对菲茨杰拉德的这篇短篇小说进行分析，作者试图通过本小说来提醒当时的美国社会美国梦终究会消亡。

关键词：美国梦 菲茨杰拉德 幻灭

1 Introduction
    American Dream is one of the most significant elements both in American history and literature. It is often reflected in American literature from time to time.
    1.1 Significance of the Study
In most people’s mind, the American Dream has come to an end, but the election of Barack Obama makes the difference. What he emphasizes about in his victory speech makes people lost in deep thought. “It was this interpretation of the American Dream for a young black man that helped establish his statewide and national reputations.”. Actually, as one of the most important social myths, American Dream still plays a vital role in Americans’ minds which drive them to pursue their life goals.