经典解读The Great Gatsby复习进程.docx

1、经典解读The Great Gatsby复习进程THE GREAT GATSBY F. Scott FitzgeraldKey FactsFULL TITLEThe Great GatsbyAUTHORF. Scott FitzgeraldTYPE OF WORKNovelGENREModernist novel, Jazz Age novel, novel of mannersTIME AND PLACE WRITTEN19231924, America and FranceDATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION1925NARRATORNick Carraway; Carrawa

2、y not only narrates the story but implies that he is the books authorPOINT OF VIEWNick Carraway narrates in both first and third person, presenting only what he himself observes. Nick alternates sections where he presents events objectively, as they appeared to him at the time, with sections where h

3、e gives his own interpretations of the storys meaning and of the motivations of the other characters.TONENicks attitudes toward Gatsby and Gatsbys story are ambivalent and contradictory. At times he seems to disapprove of Gatsbys excesses and breaches of manners and ethics, but he also romanticizes

4、and admires Gatsby, describing the events of the novel in a nostalgic and elegiac tone.TENSEPastSETTING (TIME)Summer 1922SETTINGS (PLACE)Long Island and New York CityPROTAGONISTGatsby and/or NickMAJOR CONFLICTGatsby has amassed a vast fortune in order to win the affections of the upper-class Daisy B

5、uchanan, but his mysterious past stands in the way of his being accepted by her.RISING ACTIONGatsbys lavish parties, Gatsbys arrangement of a meeting with Daisy at NicksCLIMAXThere are two possible climaxes: Gatsbys reunion with Daisy in Chapters 56; the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom in the P

6、laza Hotel in Chapter 7.FALLING ACTIONDaisys rejection of Gatsby, Myrtles death, Gatsbys murderTHEMESThe decline of the American dream, the spirit of the 1920s, the difference between social classes, the role of symbols in the human conception of meaning, the role of the past in dreams of the future

7、MOTIFSThe connection between events and weather, the connection between geographical location and social values, images of time, extravagant parties, the quest for wealthSYMBOLSThe green light on Daisys dock, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, the valley of ashes, Gatsbys parties, East Egg, West Eg

8、gFORESHADOWINGThe car wreck after Gatsbys party in Chapter 3, Owl Eyess comments about the theatricality of Gatsbys life, the mysterious telephone calls Gatsby receives from Chicago and Philadelphia1. Analysis of Major CharactersJay GatsbyThe title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man, aroun

9、d thirty years old, who rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. However, he achieved this lofty goal by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. From his early youth, Gatsby despised pov

10、erty and longed for wealth and sophisticationhe dropped out of St. Olafs College after only two weeks because he could not bear the janitorial job with which he was paying his tuition. Though Gatsby has always wanted to be rich, his main motivation in acquiring his fortune was his love for Daisy Buc

11、hanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917. Gatsby immediately fell in love with Daisys aura of luxury, grace, and charm, and lied to her about his own background in order to convince her that he was good enough for her. Daisy promised

12、 to wait for him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan in 1919, while Gatsby was studying at Oxford after the war in an attempt to gain an education. From that moment on, Gatsby dedicated himself to winning Daisy back, and his acquisition of millions of dollars, his purchase of a gaudy

13、mansion on West Egg, and his lavish weekly parties are all merely means to that end.Fitzgerald delays the introduction of most of this information until fairly late in the novel. Gatsbys reputation precedes himGatsby himself does not appear in a speaking role until Chapter 3. Fitzgerald initially pr

14、esents Gatsby as the aloof, enigmatic host of the unbelievably opulent parties thrown every week at his mansion. He appears surrounded by spectacular luxury, courted by powerful men and beautiful women. He is the subject of a whirlwind of gossip throughout New York and is already a kind of legendary

15、 celebrity before he is ever introduced to the reader. Fitzgerald propels the novel forward through the early chapters by shrouding Gatsbys background and the source of his wealth in mystery (the reader learns about Gatsbys childhood in Chapter 6 and receives definitive proof of his criminal dealing

16、s in Chapter 7). As a result, the readers first, distant impressions of Gatsby strike quite a different note from that of the lovesick, naive young man who emerges during the later part of the novel.Fitzgerald uses this technique of delayed character revelation to emphasize the theatrical quality of

17、 Gatsbys approach to life, which is an important part of his personality. Gatsby has literally created his own character, even changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby to represent his reinvention of himself. As his relentless quest for Daisy demonstrates, Gatsby has an extraordinary ability

18、to transform his hopes and dreams into reality; at the beginning of the novel, he appears to the reader just as he desires to appear to the world. This talent for self-invention is what gives Gatsby his quality of “greatness”: indeed, the title “The Great Gatsby” is reminiscent of billings for such

19、vaudeville magicians as “The Great Houdini” and “The Great Blackstone,” suggesting that the persona of Jay Gatsby is a masterful illusion.Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.(See Important Quotations Explained)As the novel progresses and Fitzge

20、rald deconstructs Gatsbys self-presentation, Gatsby reveals himself to be an innocent, hopeful young man who stakes everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. Gatsby invests Daisy with an idealistic perfection that she cannot possibly attain in reality and pursues h

21、er with a passionate zeal that blinds him to her limitations. His dream of her disintegrates, revealing the corruption that wealth causes and the unworthiness of the goal, much in the way Fitzgerald sees the American dream crumbling in the 1920s, as Americas powerful optimism, vitality, and individu

22、alism become subordinated to the amoral pursuit of wealth.Gatsby is contrasted most consistently with Nick. Critics point out that the former, passionate and active, and the latter, sober and reflective, seem to represent two sides of Fitzgeralds personality. Additionally, whereas Tom is a cold-hear

23、ted, aristocratic bully, Gatsby is a loyal and good-hearted man. Though his lifestyle and attitude differ greatly from those of George Wilson, Gatsby and Wilson share the fact that they both lose their love interest to Tom.Nick CarrawayIf Gatsby represents one part of Fitzgeralds personality, the fl

24、ashy celebrity who pursued and glorified wealth in order to impress the woman he loved, then Nick represents another part: the quiet, reflective Midwesterner adrift in the lurid East. A young man (he turns thirty during the course of the novel) from Minnesota, Nick travels to New York in 1922 to lea

25、rn the bond business. He lives in the West Egg district of Long Island, next door to Gatsby. Nick is also Daisys cousin, which enables him to observe and assist the resurgent love affair between Daisy and Gatsby. As a result of his relationship to these two characters, Nick is the perfect choice to

26、narrate the novel, which functions as a personal memoir of his experiences with Gatsby in the summer of 1922.Nick is also well suited to narrating The Great Gatsby because of his temperament. As he tells the reader in Chapter 1, he is tolerant, open-minded, quiet, and a good listener, and, as a resu

27、lt, others tend to talk to him and tell him their secrets. Gatsby, in particular, comes to trust him and treat him as a confidant. Nick generally assumes a secondary role throughout the novel, preferring to describe and comment on events rather than dominate the action. Often, however, he functions

28、as Fitzgeralds voice, as in his extended meditation on time and the American dream at the end of Chapter 9.Insofar as Nick plays a role inside the narrative, he evidences a strongly mixed reaction to life on the East Coast, one that creates a powerful internal conflict that he does not resolve until

29、 the end of the book. On the one hand, Nick is attracted to the fast-paced, fun-driven lifestyle of New York. On the other hand, he finds that lifestyle grotesque and damaging. This inner conflict is symbolized throughout the book by Nicks romantic affair with Jordan Baker. He is attracted to her vi

30、vacity and her sophistication just as he is repelled by her dishonesty and her lack of consideration for other people.Nick states that there is a “quality of distortion” to life in New York, and this lifestyle makes him lose his equilibrium, especially early in the novel, as when he gets drunk at Ga

31、tsbys party in Chapter 2. After witnessing the unraveling of Gatsbys dream and presiding over the appalling spectacle of Gatsbys funeral, Nick realizes that the fast life of revelry on the East Coast is a cover for the terrifying moral emptiness that the valley of ashes symbolizes. Having gained the

32、 maturity that this insight demonstrates, he returns to Minnesota in search of a quieter life structured by more traditional moral values.Daisy BuchananPartially based on Fitzgeralds wife, Zelda, Daisy is a beautiful young woman from Louisville, Kentucky. She is Nicks cousin and the object of Gatsbys love. As a young debutante in Louisville, Daisy was extremely popular among the military officers stationed near her home, including Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lied about his background to Daisy, claimin