The Great Gatsby is a novel written by the famous writer F. Scott. Fitzgerald in the 1920’s， which is about disillusionment of American Dream, and it is still a piece of language endowed with deep connotations and full of metaphors and mottoes. This paper analyzes Gatsby’s tragedy by examining the essence of Gatsby’s dream, the potential destructiveness in Gatsby’s characters and the social-historical backgrounds leading to Gatsby’s destruction. Fitzgerald once summarized people’s characters at that time as “all Gods have died, all the wars have been over, and all the faiths have faded away.”(Fitzgerald, 1991: 253) American people living in Jazz Age looked down on the traditional faiths and betrayed moralities and customs that their ancestors used to abide by. At the end of the novel, Gatsby’s lonely funeral ceremony and people’s indifference completely reflected humanities coolness and ugliness in the society of U.S.A in 1920’s. At the very beginning, Gatsby was destined to be isolated helpless and to fail in the end in this society.
Key Words
Gatsby; the American dream; tragedy; personification
Abstract ...........................................................I
Key Words ..........................................................I
摘 要..............................................................II
关键词 .............................................................II
Introduction........................................................1
I. Description of Gatsby’s Dream...................................2
A. Origin of Gatsby’s Dream .......................................2
B. Essence of Gatsby’s Dream.......................................4
C. Symbol of Gatsby’s Dream .......................................5
II. Ideal Personification: Unworthy of Name.........................8
A. A Worldly Beauty................................................ 8
B. Bad Virtue ......................................................10
III. Potential Destructiveness in Gatsby’s Characters .............11
A. Obstinate Character .............................................11
B. Foolish Character ...............................................11
C. Ignorance .......................................................12
D. Innocence .......................................................13
IV. The Decadent and Ruthless Social Reality .......................16
A. Cruel social Society of U.S.A................................... 16
B. Social Value Trend ..............................................17
Conclusion .........................................................19
Acknowledgements ...................................................20
Bibliography .......................................................21
