（英语语言文学专业论文）《了不起的盖茨比》中的时间主题.pdf

iii 内容提要内容提要 时间问题是现代主义文学的重要范畴。作为一部现代主义文学经典作品，菲 茨杰拉德的代表作 了不起的盖茨比 就体现了对时间问题的极大关注。 可以说， 时间主题是这部作品的核心主题之一。 学界对与菲茨杰拉德同时代的其他作家如 福克纳的作品中的时间主题的探讨已有不少， 但对菲茨杰拉德的作品中的时间主 题的评论却是凤毛麟角。本文旨在探讨小说了中的时间主题，进而探讨菲茨 杰拉德通过小说所传达的他的时间观念和他对个人、社会，以及对历史传统的深 刻思考。 在小说了中，菲茨杰拉德对时间的思考和感受体现在主要人物的时间体 验和小说的艺术形式两方面。首先，主人公盖茨比的时间体验从本质上来说属于 柏格森的“主观时间”的范畴。根据柏格森的观点，心理时间是指人内在绵延不 绝的主观意识。 小说通过展现盖茨比一系列心理意识的变化来说明他的时间经历 是主观时间的经历。通过将盖茨比和贝克进行对比，菲茨杰拉德凸显了主观时间 的意义所在，即对人的主观意识的肯定。同时，盖茨比是一个生活在过去的人。 这也是他的主观时间的体验。通过强调过去对盖茨比以及其他人物的重要性，菲 茨杰拉德暗示了人是一种历史性的存在，同时强调过去和历史对一个民族的意 义。其次，在肯定主观时间作用的同时，菲茨杰拉德还试图说明时间之流的毁灭 性力量和心理时间的局限性。这一点可体现在主要人物与时间之流的无效对抗 上。 最后， 通过尼克的声音， 菲茨杰拉德表达了对主观时间的超越和更高的追求， 即结束荒原的混乱状态和复归秩序的传统。 从艺术形式来看，盖茨比的房子、汽车和车祸的象征意味体现了菲茨杰拉德 的时间感受和思考。房子的变化代表时间的流逝，也表示过去在当下的缺失。汽 车是当下快节奏生活的象征，代表时间的速度。通过车祸的意象，菲茨杰拉德对 时间速度的价值和意义提出了质疑。另外，小说的时间叙述结构也体现了菲茨杰 拉德的时间观念。 关键词： 了不起的盖茨比 ；菲茨杰拉德；时间主题；时间体验；过去；现在 i synopsis the subject of time is the core subject of modern literature. as a typical modernist, fitzgerald shows great interest in the subject of time in his representative work the great gatsby. its safe to say that the subject of time is one of the main themes of the novel. great attention has been devoted to the motif of time in the works of contemporary writers like william faulkner. however, concerning the studies on the great gatsby, the motif of time is greatly neglected. this thesis aims to probe into the subject of time in the novel which implies the authors idea on how to properly deal with time and his deep thinking on the individual lives, society and tradition. in the great gatsby, fitzgeralds thinking on time is reflected in the experience of time by the major characters and the artistic forms of the novel. gatsbys experience of time, in essence, falls into bergsons category of “subjective time”. according to bergson, subjective time refers to the continuous flow of subjective consciousness of human beings. gatsbys experience of time is the experience of subjective time which is reflected in his stream of consciousness. by drawing comparisons between the experiences of time by gatsby and baker, fitzgerald highlights the significance of subjective time. moreover, gatsby is a person who lives in the past, which is also the reflection of his experience of subjective time. the emphasis put on the significance of the past in his life implies that we human beings are historical beings and the value of the past and tradition should not be ignored. thirdly, the novel also implies the destructive power of time and the limitation of the subjective time by demonstrating the futile efforts by the major characters. lastly, through the voice of nick, fitzgerald expresses his pursuit and desire of creating order and sense in the modern wasteland. fitzgeralds ideas on time are also reflected in the symbolic meanings of gatsbys house, automobiles and accidents. the changes of gatsbys house symbolize the passing of time and the absence of the past in the present. the images of ii automobiles symbolize the speed of time and the accelerated pace of life. by presenting a series of accidents, fitzgerald seems to question the value and meaning of speed. the narrative structure of the novel also reflects fitzgeralds ideas on time. key words: the great gatsby; fitzgerald; the motif of time; experience of time; the past; the present 原创性声明 原创性声明 本人声明兹呈交的学位论文是本人在导师指导下完成的研究成 果。论文写作中不包含其他人已经发表或撰写过的研究内容，如参考 他人或集体的科研成果，均在论文中以明确的方式说明。本人依法享 有和承担由此论文所产生的权利和责任。 学位论文作者签名： 日期： 学位论文版权使用授权声明 学位论文版权使用授权声明 本人同意授权华侨大学有权保留并向国家机关或机构送交学 位论文和磁盘，允许学位论文被查阅和借阅。 论文作者签名： 指导教师签名： 签 名 日 期： 签 名 日 期： 1 introduction francis scott fitzgerald is a great american modernist whose novels and short stories are evocative of the jazz age. he is widely accepted as a central member of the lost generation of the 1920s. he completed four novels and dozens of short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age. the great gatsby is generally considered the fitzgeralds finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. first published in 1925, the book met many excellent reviews from critics. t.s. eliot is the first to comment on the book, calling it “the first step that american fiction has taken since henry james” (hoffman, 1962:179). hemingway greatly admired the great gatsby. in his a moveable feast, he remarked that if he could write a book as fine as the great gatsby, i was sure that he could write an even better one1. until now, the great gatsby has become a household name in america and is one of the best known novels in the world. since it was published, it has posed the very appeal for most literary critics and become the constant focus in the world literature. there have been thousands of relevant publications on the novel all over the world, which is the solid proof of the inexhaustible charm of the novel. generally speaking, the research on the great gatsby has experienced a prosperous development. in the early period of its research, most criticisms on the novel tended to view the novel as the projection of fitzgeralds luxury life in long island. although fitzgeralds life experiences might be the collection of the materials of the novel, such criticisms are nevertheless superficial. during the period of the 1970s and the 1980s, the critics gradually focus on the close reading of the text, with the connotation of the novel being enriched and broadened. since the 1980s, many modern literary critical approaches have been applied to the interpretation of the novel, including the approaches of psychoanalysis, feminism, socio-cultural study and formalism, etc. thus, the research on the novel witnesses its prosperity: various aspects of novel have been investigated, including the themes of american dream, 1 see /wiki/f._scott_fitzgerald 2 capitalism and consumerism, etc. regarding the theme of american dream, most critics agree on that gatsbys personal experience is the embodiment of american dream. as chang yaoxin correctly points out in a survey of american literature: “gatsbys personal experience approximates the whole of the american experience up to the first few decades of this century. america had been a fresh, green breast of the new world had pandered to the last and greatest of all human dreams and promised something like the orgiastic future for humanity. now the virgin forests have vanished and made way for a modern civilization, the only fitting symbol of which is the valley of ashes, the living hellthus gatsbys personal life has assumed a magnitude as a cultural-historical allegory for the nation” (2001: 289). besides the theme of american dream, many critics have paid much attention to the narrative strategies employed in the novel which fully displays fitzgeralds craftsmanship. in this aspect, the role nick carraway plays in the novel is the focus of critiques. in literary history of the united states, its pointed out that fitzgerald adopts “double angles” in its narration; fitzgerald “presents the story from the angle of nick carraway, but an omniscient narrator is also involved.” (刘海平、王守仁， 2002：295). the unique narrative perspective of the novel achieve special effect in the novel as chang yaoxin says: “carraways limited omniscience determines the fact that he deals out information in such a manner that he seems to withhold it first, thus creating a superb effect of mystery and suspense” (1990: 291). du yongxin points out that nick who acts as both a narrator and a moral arbiter, is indispensable to the progression of the story as well as to the exposure of the american dream (2001:50). although the research on the novel has made great achievement; there is still room for further research. most critics seem to neglect, or at least not to have attached as much importance as it deserves to the theme of time in the novel. it is generally accepted that the motif of time is the core topic of modernism. in five faces of modernity, matei calinescu points out: “modernity in the broad sense, as it has asserted itself historically, is reflected in the 3 irreconcilable opposition between the sets of values corresponding to (1) the objectified, socially measurable time of capitalist civilization (time as a more or less precious commodity, bought and sold on the market), and (2) the personal, subjective, imaginative duration, the private time created by the unfolding of the self. the latter identity of time and self constitutes the foundation of modernist culture.” (stephen kern, 1983: 5) from the latter part of the 19th century to the early period of the 20th century, there is a series of sweeping changes in technology and culture which contributed to new perceptions of time. as stephen kern points out, “technological innovations including the telephone, wireless telegraph, x-ray, cinema, bicycle, automobile, and airplane established the material foundation for this reorientation; independent cultural development such as the stream-of-consciousness novel, psychoanalysis, cubism, and the theory of relativity shaped consciousness directly.” (stephen kern, 1983: 1) modern literature as a part of the modernist movement, in some sense, is the direct response to that new mode of experiencing time. james joyces ulysses, marcel prousts remembrance of things past, t.s. eliots the waste land and william faulkners the sound and the fury are good examples. actually, all modernist writers, consciously or unconsciously, blend their concepts and experiencing of time in their literary creations. the author of this thesis believes that studying the subject of time in the great gatsby is helpful in understanding fitzgeralds modernist views. among english and american modernists, fitzgerald is largely indebted to james joyce and t.s. eliot whose literary works are innovative experiments in the sense of time. fitzgerald read james joyce at princeton and his novels before the great gatsby were greatly influenced by joyces works. james joyces ulysses, an innovative literary experimentation of time, was one of the books that fitzgerald had read before he was working on the great gatsby. t.s. eliot has presented his thinking of time through all his works, including the love song of j. alfred prufrock, the waste land and four quartets. fitzgeralds the great gatsby is considered the prose form of the waste land. tracing the influence of james joyce and t.s. eliot on fitzgerald is significant to comprehension of fitzgeralds works. fitzgeralds indebtedness to these two writers can be seen in many aspects, with his concern about 4 time being one of them. having a look at the novel with careful examination, the subject of time is evidently suggested. bruccoli holds that the great gatsby is “time haunted” (2007: 11) as there are hundreds of words or expressions related to “time” in the novel. he believes that the novel is “permeated with hundreds of references to the escape of memory from our lives” (2007: 11). more specifically, the subject of time in the novel is closely related to the perception of time by jay gatsby. with an overview of the research of the novel, we may find that the protagonist of the novel, jay gatsby weights most among all the characters in the novel. many critics are interested in the mental conditions of gatsby and tend to apply the approach of psychoanalysis to their research. some critics regard gatsby as a great narcissist by the analysis of his psychological experiences and others come to the conclusion that gatsby is a typical example of lack of personality from the psychological point of view. those critics are able to justify their assertions to some extent. but the limitation of their clinical psychological analysis on individual is therethey take no regard to the symbolic meanings and the cultural implications of the characters and their related behaviors. there are some critics who are able to dig out the symbolic meanings and the inner conflicts of gatsby from the perspectives of puritanism and consumerism, pragmatism and rationalism. however, there still remains some room for further research on such a highly-symbolic and complex character. in terms of time, gatsby is a time-conscious being and his life experiences can be interpreted as his experience of time. thus, fitzgeralds ideas and thinking on time can be made reference from. sense of time is a universal experience. we experience time as we experience our lives. experiences of time are forms of our inner lives. basically, gatsbys experience of time is what bergson defines as “subjective time”. according to bergson, subjective time refers to the continuous flow of our subjective consciousness. thus, gatsbys experience of time is not the mechanical experiences of the exterior material world, but his inner experiences with his creativity and subjectivity involved. owing to different mental conditions, people have various experiences of time, exhibiting 5 different forms of inner lives. fitzgerald portrays different characters by exhibiting their different experiences of time. in this sense, jordon bakers experience of time which is the extremely objective and mechanical perception of the world forms a sharp contrast to gatsbys. thus, comparison and contrast can also be added to the presentation of gatsbys experience of time, and significance of his experience of time can be further clarified and argued. in creative evolution, bergson defines duration as the “continuous progress of the past which gnaws into the future and which swells as it advances” (1944: 7). if duration is a whole melody, the past is the key note of it. the reality of duration is largely based on the reality of the past. thus, gatsbys experience of time is the experience of subjective time in the sense that he lives under the shadow of the past in the present reality. he is, more accurately to say, living in the past rather than in the present. among the characters in the novel, gatsby embraces the past most totally. his greatness mainly lies in that he tries to keep his hope, promises and moral value which belong to the past in the present reality. thus, the past is the source of power, love, hope and dream for gatsby. besides gatsby, the past also plays an important role in the lives of other characters in the novel. by putting emphasis on the significance of the past, fitzgerald gives credit to the lost virtues of our past generations and comes to the acknowledgment that we are historical beings, and thereby asserts the role of subjective time. actually, at the end of the novel, the different attitudes towards the past clearly divide the characters in the novel into adversary groups: the people who persist with their past and the people who abandon their past. the boundary between them is the working of the intense moral conflict between past and present. thus, fitzgeralds traditional moral outlook is clearly revealed. while confirming the significance of subjective time, fitzgerald is also aware of its limitation. in the external world, the passing of the objective time exerts its tremendous destroying power. with the passing of time, the modern world has become a moral and spiritual wasteland. the destructive power of time is demonstrated in the futile efforts of resisting the passing of time by the characters in the novel, from gatsby, daisy to myrtle. thus, at the end of the novel, instead of 6 escaping into his subjective time, nick, the messenger of fitzgerald, goes beyond the subjective time and creates order and sense out of the chaotic world by turning to the tradition of the past. the artistic forms of the novel also suggest fitzgeralds thinking and ideas on time. the symbolic meaning of gatsbys house, automobiles and accidents reflect fitzgeralds thinking and ideas on time. the ruin of gatsbys house symbolizes the ruining power of time. the house as “incoherent failure” (181) symbolizes the discontinuity of the past and the present. the image of automobiles symbolizes the speed of time and the accelerated pace of life. by presenting a series of accidents, fitzgerald seems to question the value and meaning of speed and accept subjective time as the “interior brake” of “speed up”. moreover, the narrative structure of the novel reflects fitzgeralds subjective time. all in all, the great gatsby is strongly suggestive of the subject of time in the characters experiences of time and the artistic forms of the novel. by dealing with the motif of time, fitzgerald implies his idea and treatment of time. basically, fitzgerald affirms the significance of subjective time in the value of subjectivity and the value of the past and history. however, fitzgerald is also aware of the destruction along with the flowing of time which is implied in the “incoherent failure” (181) of gatsbys house, the futile efforts of resisting the flow of time by the characters and the tragic accidents. amid the ruins by time, nick, out of his desire of creating order and sense in the modern wasteland, is finally able to give meaning to the present experiences by turning to old virtues and tradition of the past. in this thesis, with a close reading of the great gatsby, the motif of time will be profoundly explored so as to figure out fitzgeralds idea and treatment of time. in the first chapter of the thesis, i will present bergsons theory on subjective time. in the second chapter, i will analysize the motif of time in the novel from the major characters experiences of time. this chapter will be divided into three parts in which the significance, the limita