Abstract

F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the best American writers in the 20th century. He experienced the frivolous, carefree and prodigal life of this decade, examining everything that happened in this age with his unique and sharp eyes. Employing a third-person view point, he vividly described the “American Dream” of Gatsby who was relentless in pursuit of love and fortune in the “Jazz Age” all his life but finally failed.
The first part of this essay is a brief introduction of the novel The Great Gatsby and its writer Fitzgerald. He experienced this roaring twenties, in which people regarded fortune and power as the only pursuits. His experiences parallel Gatsby’s in many aspects such as his marriage, his career and his failure, which may finally become the inspiration to this novel. The second part of this essay explores what the American Dream is. American Dream has different denotations and social influence in different historical periods. Actually, the American Dream of Gatsby was inspired by Franklin. Gatsby dreamed that once he followed the example of Franklin he could claim the equivalent achievement, but he ignored the shifting climate in American politics and economy and the uprising social conflicts at that age. Therefore he failed at last, after many ups and downs. The last part explores the main causes of Gatsby’s tragedy and the disillusionment of American Dream, including the special historical background of “the Jazz Age” and some social reasons. Then it comes to a conclusion that Gatsby’s dreams are doomed to be disillusioned in such a roaring age.

Key words: American Dream; disillusionment; vicissitude; The Great Gatsby; Fitzgerald

摘  要

弗朗西斯•司各特•菲茨杰拉德是二十世纪美国最重要的作家之一，他亲身经历了这个最会纵乐、最讲究绚丽和奢糜的时代，并用自己独特而敏锐的眼光审视这个时代发生的一切。菲茨杰拉德代表作品《了不起的盖茨比》以第三者的口吻讲述了男主人公盖茨比在穷其一生中对于财富和爱情的不懈追求，以及其“美国梦”的最终破灭。
本文的第一部分是对于小说故事内容和作者的简要介绍。作者亲身经历了这个动荡的20年代，这个以物质和权力为唯一追求的浮华年代。他的一生与盖茨比十分相似，包括他的婚姻，他的事业以及最后的失败。这些经历或许就是这本小说的创作之源。第二部分阐述了什么是美国梦。美国梦在不同的历史时期有着不同的含义和影响。盖茨比的美国梦实际上是受富兰克林的影响，他幻想着效仿富兰克林来实现自己的梦想。然而他忽略了自己所生活的时代下政治、经济环境的变迁以及不断上升的社会矛盾，所以他的美国梦在这个动荡的年代没有一帆风顺而是飘摇浮沉，最终破灭了。第三部分是探究造成男主人公悲剧命运和美国梦的沉浮和破灭的原因,主要是他所生活的特殊时代背景“爵士时代”和一些社会因素，最终得出结论，其美国梦在这个动荡年代必然会破灭。

关键词：美国梦；破灭；沉浮；《了不起的盖茨比》；菲茨杰拉德