本科毕业设计the disillusionment of the american dreamthe social significance of the great gatsby.docx

本科毕业设计the disillusionment of the american dreamthe social significance of the great gatsby.docx

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本科毕业设计thedisillusionmentoftheamericandreamthesocialsignificanceofthegreatgatsby

中原工学院

毕业论文

毕业论文题目：

TheDisillusionmentoftheAmericanDream–TheSocialSignificanceofTheGreatGatsby

学生姓名：

聂姿伊

学号：

200601114101

院（系）：

外国语学院英语系

专业：

英语

班级：

2006级本科1班

指导教师姓名：

仝志敏

指导教师职称：

讲师

起止时间：

2009年10月—2010年5月

（外国语学院制表）

TheDisillusionmentoftheAmericanDream

—TheSocialSignificanceofTheGreatGatsby

AThesisSubmitted

ToForeignLanguagesDepartment

OfZhongyuanUniversityofTechnology

InPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirements

FortheDegreeofBachelorofArts

By

NieZiyi

Supervisor：

ProfessorTongZhimin

May,2010

SCHOOLOFFOREIGNLANGUAGES

ZhongyuanUniversityofTechnology

DeclarationofAcademicIntegrity

Ipromisethatthethesiscontainsnomaterialwhichhasbeenacceptedfortheawardofanyotherdegreeordiplomainanyinstitutesofhigherlearningandthat,tothebestofmyknowledgeandbelief,thethesiscontainsnomaterialpreviouslypublishedorwrittenbyanotherperson,exceptwhenduereferenceismadeinthetextofthethesis.

IunderstandthattodosowouldmeanthatIhadcommittedplagiarism,andthatitismyresponsibilitytobeawareoftheUniversity’sregulationsonplagiarismandtheirimportance.

Signed:

Date:

TheDisillusionmentoftheAmericanDream

—TheSocialSignificanceofTheGreatGatsby

Abstract:

The1920swasadecadewhentheoutlineofcontemporaryAmericaclearlyformed.WorldWarIcreatedanewgeneration,theLostGenerationandanewtime,theJazzAge—atimeofprofoundculturalandsocialchanges.Americanpeoplehadtomakeachoicebetweentraditionalvaluesandnewstandardsadoptedbyyoungpeople.InTheGreatGatsby,F.ScottFitzgeraldportraysthe1920sasatimeofdecayedsocialandmoralvalues.Cynicism,greed,andpursuitofpleasurebecamethesymbolsofthisperiod.TheychangedthenatureoftheoriginalAmericanDreamandfinallyruinedit.TheintentionofthisstudyistoexplorethesocialsignificancereflectedinthedisillusionmentoftheAmericanDreamthroughthecomparisonbetweenthecharactersandeventsinthenovelandthesocialrealityandthediachronicanalysisoftheAmericandream.

Keywords:

socialsignificance;thedisillusionmentofAmericanDream;theJazzAge

美国梦的破灭—试析《了不起的盖茨比》所反映的社会意义

摘要：

二十世纪二十年代是当代美国社会初具雏形的年代。

第一次世界大战造就了新的一代人——迷惘的一代，爵士乐时代也由此拉开序幕。

在这一时期，美国经历了深刻的文化与社会变革，美国人也必须在传统价值观和广为年轻人接受的新价值观之间做出选择。

在《了不起的盖茨比》中，菲茨杰拉德刻画了这个以玩世不恭、贪图享乐为标志，社会和道德价值腐化堕落，美国梦的本质发生蜕变并最终破灭的年代。

本文将小说中的人物和事件与社会现实进行比较，对美国梦做了历时性的分析，从而揭示小说所反映的社会意义——美国梦的破灭。

关键词：

社会意义；美国梦的破灭；爵士乐时代

Contents

1Introduction1

2APanoramaofAmericanSocietyinTheGreatGatsby2

2.1Materialism2

2.2Immorality3

2.3Inequality4

3TheFalloftheAmericanDreamReflectedinTheGreatGatsby6

3.1ThedefinitionoftheAmericanDream6

3.2TheevolutionoftheAmericanDream7

3.3ThedisillusionmentoftheAmericanDream7

4Conclusion9

References10

Acknowledgements11

TheDisillusionmentoftheAmericanDream

—TheSocialSignificanceofTheGreatGatsby

1Introduction

TheGreatGatsby,anovelwrittenbytheAmericanauthorF.ScottFitzgeraldandfirstpublishedin1925,isahighlyspecificportraitofAmericansocietyduringtheRoaringTwenties.ThecentralcharacterisJayGatsby,wholivesinagiganticGothicmansionandthrowsextravagantpartieseverySaturdaynight.Thenarrator,NickCarraway,isGatsby’sneighborinWestEgg.AfterareunionarrangedbyNick,GatsbyandhisloveDaisyreestablishtheirconnectionandbeginanaffair.Afterashorttime,Daisy’shusbandTom,thoughhehimselfisinvolvedinanextramaritalaffairwithMyrtleWilson,isdeeplyoutragedbythethoughtthathiswifecouldbeunfaithfultohim.Later,Gatsby’scarhasstruckandkilledMyrtle.NicklearnsfromGatsbythatitisDaisywhoisdrivingthecarwhentheaccidenthappens,butGatsbywilltaketheblame.Myrtle’shusbandGeorgesoonfindsGatsbyinthepoolathismansionandshootshimdead.NickstagesasmallfuneralforGatsby,andmovesbacktotheMidwesttoescapethedisgusthefeelsforthepeoplesurroundingGatsby’slifeandfortheemptinessandmoraldecayoflifeamongthewealthyontheEastCoast.

Theaboveisabriefsummaryofthenovel.ThoughittellsusastorytakingplaceoveronlyafewmonthsinasmallareainthevicinityofLongIsland,TheGreatGatsbyisapanoramaoftheentireAmericansocietyintheJazzAge,andahighlysymbolicmeditationon1920sAmericaasawhole.Onthesurfaceitisathwartedlovebetweenamanandawoman,butactuallyitisastoryofthedistortedAmericanDreamdisillusionedinaneraofunprecedentedprosperityandmaterialexcess,inwhichliesthisnovel’ssocialsignificance.

2APanoramaofAmericanSocietyintheJazzAge

NoonecanfinishreadingTheGreatGatsbywithoutbeingimpressedbytheopulentpartieswithwildjazzmusicthatGatsbythrowseverySaturdaynight.ThenovelisanepitomeofthewholeAmericansociety,showingusavividpictureoftheJazzAge.TheJazzAge,referringtotheperiodaftertheendofWorldWarI,throughtheRoaringTwenties,endingwiththeonsetoftheGreatDepression,isatimeofprofoundculturalandsocialchanges.Americanpeoplearetornbetweentraditionalvaluesandnewstandardsadoptedbyyoungpeople.

2.1Materialism

MaterialismcanbeclearlyseenfromthelifeofDaisyandGatsby.Theformeronlylovesmaterialluxuryandcaresfornothingelse,whilethelatterdoesnotlovematerialluxuryitselfbutthinkslargefortunewillbringhimloveandhappiness.

DaisyisNick’scousin,Tom’swife,andthewomanthatGatsbyloves.ShehaspromisedtowaitforJayGatsbyuntiltheendofthewar,butaftermeetingTomBuchananandcomparinghisextremewealthtoGatsby’spoverty,shebreaksherpromise.Money,ease,andmaterialluxuryarewhatDaisytrulywants:

“IfDaisyreallylovedGatsbyasapooryoungofficer,itwasbecauseshewasnotsocorruptedandsophisticatedthen.Evenso,whenshewasfacedwithachoicebetweentrueloveandmoney,shechosethelatter.”（Xu,1994）

Gatsbyistheprotagonistofthenovel.FromNick’snarration,weknowGatsbyisamysteriousandwealthyyoungman.EverySaturday,hishugeGothicmansioninWestEggservesasthesiteofextravagantparties.Hehasbeenpursuingfameandwealthallhislifewithanidealwhichhethinkscanberealized.TofulfillhisdreamofgettingDaisyback,heearnsmoneybybootleggingandotherillegalmeansbecausehebelievesthatmoneycanbuyhimloveandhappiness.

Materialismandmoney-worshippervadedinAmericaduringthe1920s.ThepeoplefromvariouswalksoflifewhoattendGatsby’spartiesshowthegreedychaseforwealth.Thequickriseofthestockmarketintheaftermathofthewarledtoasudden,sustainedincreaseinthenationalwealthandanewfoundmaterialismandpeoplebegantospendandconsumeatunprecedentedlevels.（Du,2002）Insteadofsomenoblevalues,thegoalwhichpeoplewerestrugglingforhadbecomematerialluxury.Tomakemattersworse,theromanticidealismheldbytheAmericanyouthpromotedtheirmaterialism.Car,house,beautyandsoon,weresymbolsoftheirdream.Theydevotethemselvesintothepursuitofthesethings,ofpleasure,excitementandnovelty.Noonecantellwhatonearthhewasstrivingfor,becauseeveryoneisstrivingforanunworthyillusion.“Whattheywantisjustlivingindream,inillusion.Buttheirdreamistoofarawayfromtherealityandtheyaredefinitetofail,tolose.”（Zhang,Wang,2002）

2.2Immorality

WenoticethatWorldWarIisthebackgroundofthestory.IthadgreatimpactonAmericans.Duringthewar,menhadfoughtagainsttheenemyinfarawaylandsandwomenhadaggressivelyenteredtheworkforce.Whenthewarwasover,thesurvivorswenthomeandtriedtoreturntonormalcy.Meanwhile,youngwomendecidedthattheywerenotwillingtowasteawaytheiryoungliveswaitingidlyforspinsterhood;theyweregoingtoenjoylife.

However,thesurviverswerenotabletodoit.Instead,theybecamedisillusioned,asthebrutalcarnagethattheyhadfacedmadethesocialmoralityofearly-twentieth-centuryAmericaseemlikestuffy,emptyhypocrisy.Theworseisthatmoreandmorepeoplegotinvolvedincrimeandillicitactivities.Inthenovel,Gatsby’sbusinessassociate,MeyerWolfsheim,isanotoriousfigurestandingfortheunderworld.Heisinvolvedinorganizedcrime,andevenresponsibleforfixingthe1919WorldSeries.HeandGatsby’sillegalbusinessgivesevidencetotheriseofcrimeandillicitactivitiesinAmericansocietyduringtheRoaringTwenties.Additionally,thepassageoftheEighteenthAmendmentin1919,whichbannedthesaleofalcohol,createdathrivingunderworldaimingtosatisfythemassivedemandforbootlegliquoramongrichandpooralike.

Inthe1920s,thedevelopmentofproductiveforcesliberateswomenfromtheheavyburdenofhousework.Thechancesoftakingjobsarebetterthanever,makingthemmoreindependentandrebellious.Womenwanttoliveastheyhopeandtheybegintobehaveagainsttheoldrulesandmorals;womenseekforfirst-classcitizenshipandtrytoplaymoresatisfyingrolesinthesociety;womenespeciallytheyoungworeshortskirt,silkstockings,heavymake-upandshort,bobbedhair,announcingtheirpresencebytheirappearance,allasDaisy’sfriendJordan,anextremelycynicalwomangolferwithamasculineicydemeanorwhocheatedtowinherfirsttournamentdoesinthenovel.AnotherexampleisTom’smistressMyrtleWilson,anearthly,vital,andvoluptuouswomanwhoisdesperatetoimproveherlife.ShesharesalovelessmarriagewithGeorgeWilson,amanwhorunsashabbygarage.Shehasbeenhavingalong