摘要

《了不起的盖茨比》被誉为当代最出色的美国小说之一，爵士时代是一个剧变的时代，这也反映在每一个人的身上，在盖茨比这儿反映的更为明显。在《了不起的盖茨比》中,菲茨杰拉德通过主人公的命运所力图探讨的是美国生活的意义这样一个巨大的课题。
小说对长岛东卵和西卵的描写也突出了爵士时代美国社会阶层的分裂，正如
住在东卵宫殿式的豪华住宅的往往都是继承了一大笔遗产的人, 或者说是带有稳固收入的人。而住在西卵的人无论收入有多高, 他们的收入来源仅仅靠工资或佣金。收入来源的这一差异是决定那个社会中所有其他差异的关键因素。学界对《了不起的盖茨比》一书做的研究主要集中在各种象征主义，美国梦破灭和爱情悲剧等方面。
小说中人物先是来到东部谋生,最后又回到中西部的这段人生经历展现了菲茨杰拉德对美国的东部及中西部所做的一番对比。但是作者为尼克安排的唯一出路就是退回到中西部,也就是退回到过去,这是逃避现实的一种结局。菲茨杰拉德的世界观无疑是十分悲观的，而当时美国东西部的差异是整个故事的宏观背景，对小说中的人物命运有着决定性的作用。
盖茨比作为一个来自西部的人，他的出身就已经决定了他在那样的时代不可能取得所谓的成功，他的悲剧是一开始就已经注定了的。

关键词： 爵士时代， 东西部差距， 盖茨比，悲剧

ABSTRACT

The Great Gatsby is one of the best novels in American literary history, the Jazz Age is a changeable era. It can be found in every character in the novel, especially in Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby, what Fitzgerald expressed through the main characters is a huge theme: the meaning of American life.   
The depiction of the West Egg and East Egg on the Long Island revealed the social disruption in America at that time. Most of the people living in mansions at the East Egg got their money from inheritance. While the people in the West Egg, no matter how rich they are, they were still work for living, their main income is the salary or the brokerage. That’s the key factor that decided the other differences which exist in the society. The studies have made by the scholars about The Great Gatsby are focused on the fields of the symbolism, the destruction of the American Dream. 
All of the main characters in the novel were from the West, and went to the East to look for a better life, but at last, they returned the West. The process revealed a comparison between the West and the East made by Fitzgerald. At the end of the story, the only way that Fitzgerald arranged for Nick is just back, which seemed a little pessimistic. The background of the story is the growing gap between the West and the East, which decided the characters’ fate.
Gatsby, as a Westerner, came to the East, could not be successful because of his background, his tragedy was doomed at the beginning.

Key words: the Jazz Age, the difference between the West and the East, Gatsby, tragedy