论盖茨比悲剧的必然性英语论文.doc

论盖茨比悲剧的必然性论盖茨比悲剧的必然性 Abstract 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 摘 要 了不起的盖茨比 是20 世纪20 年代美国著名作家菲茨杰拉德的一部反映美国梦破灭的小说 也 是一则被赋予了深刻含义 充满譬喻和警句的语言 本文从盖茨比之梦的实质 盖茨比性格中的不 足以及社会历史原因等多方面探讨了导致盖茨比梦毁人亡这一悲剧必然因素 菲茨杰拉德曾这样 总结那个时代的特点 一切神明都统统死光 所有战争都已经统统打完 所有信念都已经统统完蛋 爵士乐时代的人蔑视一切传统的价值观念 反叛老一辈人所遵从的道德风范 小说结尾 作者更 是以人们的冷漠和盖茨比葬礼的冷冷清清彻底反映了20 世纪20 年代美国社会人性的冷酷与丑恶 在这样的社会 盖茨比从一开始就注定是孤立无助 注定是要失败的 关键词 盖茨比 美国梦 悲剧 化身 Introduction Scott Fitzgerald is a prominent novelist in the American literature owned the title of the spokesman of the Jazz Age and the laurel of poet From the contents and thoughts the creative traits his book the Great Gatsby is a real masterpiece of Fitzgerald which made him get success in writing As soon as it was published publicly in 1925 the Great Gatsby gained many critics affirmation and praise becoming as one of the most excellent works in the 20th century The famous poet and critic Aerate said that the Great Gatsby took a great progress in American novels since Henry James Donaldson 1984 283 In this novel with a brief and serious style the author vividly described a tragedy caused by American Dream and successfully molded a suffered figure Gatsby He was the author s favorite character in that they had many things in common such as many experiences and spiritual virtues that are different from the comprehension and chase to American life of common people Gatsby owned marvelous genius incomparable resolute romantic volition to his dream as well as his loyalty to his ideal which won high praise of the author The essay on one hand gives deep sympathy to Gatsby about his tragedy on the other hand it indicates that it is vain and dangerous to seek American Dream at that time The paper is analyzing the inevitability of the hero Gatsby s tragedy by examining the essence of Gatsby s dream the potential destructiveness in Gatsby s characters and social backgrounds that lead to Gatsby s destruction I Description of Gatsby s Dream A Origin of Gatsby s Dream Gatsby s dream originated from the American dream and the so called American Dream in American society especially in the period of exploiting the New Continent formed and developed a rather commonly attracting ideal It has long history dating from the period of European emigrants exploiting the New Continent and this dream owns tremendous enough connotations of American desire and hope to spirits and materials Consequently many people defined it as the synthesis of Wealthy Dream Transcendent Dream and Love Dream Benjamin Franklin the first and well known embodiment and advocate of American Dream in the world edified and encouraged people how to enrich their families and to fulfill American Dream by their struggle especial in his Autobiography From the birth of it to 1920s American Dream of owing the success in materials to the individual virtues and struggles was always publicized by the people as powerful as possible and then without doubtness it became the ideal which average American people tried their best to struggle for day by day and the fundental spiritual strength which prompted American Capitalism prosperity and maintained capitalism social system generation by generation Gatsby s American Dream originated from his childhood Then he returned the wallet and pulled from his pocket a ragged old copy of a book called Hopolong Cassidy look here this is a book he had when he was a boy It just shows you He opened it at the back over and turned it around for me to see On the last fly leaf was printed the word SCHEDULE and the date September 12 1906 and underneath Rise from be 6 00 A M Dumbbell exercise and wallscaling 6 15 6 30A M Study electricity etc 7 15 8 15 A M Work 8 30 4 30P M Baseball and sports 4 30 5 00P M Practice elocution poise and how to attain it 5 00 6 00P M Study needed inventions 7 00 9 00P M Fitzgerald 2002 206 Above mentioned shows that on the last fly leaf of Hopolong Cassidy Gatsby used to read were recorded his transcending decision and a piece of strict timetable for working Over so many years Gatsby always persisted in it and observed it From the Schedule as everyone knows Franklin and Addison giving a good example depended on the struggle by themselves and got a success at last and their stories which made every one believe that each youth could become a millionaire or the president of U S in the future In their age the novels describing American Dream were best sellers but they gave the preaching contents As long as one person was honest patient and independent he would have the equality with every one to do everything namely it is possible for him coming from the poor family to become a rich and noble person while Gatsby was one of the believers of it The dream which seemed to happen in fairy tales was the endless infinite power that encouraged Gatsby struggle for it The author contact Gatsby s pursuit with European emigrants ancient desire to New Continent and Franklin representing American Dream and its invert forms later defined Gatsby s tragedy as huge historical background and deep typical senses The traditional model of American Dream as many critics and writers pointed out were full of falsity especially under the condition of capitalism developed rapidly and polarization intensified increasingly It made a point of evidence that Gatsby made a fortune relying on personal virtues diligence and frugality Since his childhood Gatsby used to abide by Franklin s teaching and try to practice the main inquire of the traditional model following his own comprehension and the background of 20 century society in U S it is vagary for one person to come to the fore who only depended on virtues diligence and frugality however Gatsby s story of getting rich just certified it When he was young Gatsby could not gain any appropriate consequence that he wanted to get so that he was surrendered by his beloved lover Daisy for he was penniless and fameless at that time And later he absurdly became a millionaire Obviously it ought to be tremendous irony for him to believe in American Dream By all appearances as were same with other magnates at that time Gatsby still understood and practiced following principles Theoretically borderland here referred to the whole American were equal paradise to every one and the reward completely owed to diligence frugality and good luckiness but in fact the rewarding often depended on trickiness greed and mercilessness as well as cruel ruthlessness and completely rotten means It is the American dream but it is the origin of Gatsby s dream B Essence of Gatsby s Dream Even if his dream originated from American dream the essence of Gatsby s dream is the essence of American dream With his growing Gatsby s American Dream went by an evolution when he was young He dreamed making a good fortune transcending common people and getting rid of poorness as much as the heroes written by Ben Franklin and Horatio Alger Later he met Daisy by chance and then lost his heart to her thus Daisy became the personification of his perfect ideal and the embodiment of concentrating his entire ideal and the he endeavored to do everything in the direction of them Because in his mind Daisy represented all beautiful creatures of the upper class society in America and in his memory the first love between Daisy and him seemed to be a human fairyland whereas the cruel reality was that he lacked rich family supporting him and his love The great disparity of their status made him sense that he had no right to touch her hand Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth impressions and preserves of the freshness of many clothes and of Daisy gleaming like silver safe and proud above hot struggles of the poor Fitzgerald 2002 98 So having lost Daisy he desperately earned much more money and fantasized about recapturing his beloved Daisy with money when he was rich enough afterwards he really made a fortune Once I wrote down on the empty space of a timetable the names of those who came to Gatsby s house that summer including film stars boarders duke prince etc Fitzgerald 2002 13 while the narrator Nickel s finn servant informed me that Gatsby dismissed every servant in his house a week ago and replaced them with half a dozen others Gatsby became very rich beyond people s imagination nearly owned magical power could gather all rich men and dismiss servants and employ any one and even made West Egg become a constant magnificent feast Surely what have been finished was not to depend on the traditional teaching but illegal deals in gangdom or underworld however luxurious life could not bring Gatsby a little happiness since in essence he was different from those who sought for benefits and fames In Jazz Age wealth was not the most significant to Gatsby while what he only recalled was to repeat the past with Daisy day and night and to get the lost pure love After he got rich he bought a luxurious mansion in front of Daisy s house across the bay If it wasn t for the mist we could see your house across the bay said Gatsby you always have a green light that burns all nights at the end of your dock Fitzgerald 2002 110 Almost five years Gatsby never stopped recalling his first lover Daisy He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion adding to it all the time decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way No amount of fine or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart Fitzgerald 2002 113 As a result the more perfect his ideal became the more far away reality was C Symbol of Gatsby s Dream In the novel the green light represented that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future and at the same time longed for the history namely the green light represents his dream Gatsby believed the green light the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us It eluded us then but that s no matter tomorrow we will run faster stretch out our arms farther And one fine morning So we beat on boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past Fitzgerald 2002 188 American Dream actually originated from the past and made him sincerely persist in the traditional ideal foundation however when he was borne back ceaselessly into the past he made efforts for exploring various possibility in the future To some extent Gatsby s love to Daisy reflected his wonderful memory of the past Four years before he realized her and then loved her It was deeply engraved on his mind of original love In the long time to the love of missing Daisy Gatsby memorized that Daisy fantastically became a beautiful miracle story in his mind a historical event with wonderful experiences and a fairy maiden in a mysterious Vail He desired to make the historical past transform to the future with same historical meaning through his own persistent efforts And this green light representing his good ideal echoed with a fresh green breast of the world mutually at the end of this novel which made Gatsby s experiences indicate the whole America s ones nevertheless after five years when Gatsby met Daisy again the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory The distinction between ideal and reality was huge And she doesn t understand he said she used to be able to understand We d sit for hours He broke off and began to walk up and down a desolate path of fruit rinds and discarded favors and crushed flowers I wouldn t ask too much for her I ventured you can t repeat the past Can t repeat the past He cried incredulously Why of course you can He looked around him wildly as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house just out reach of his hand I m going to fix everything just the way it was before he said nodding determinedly she ll see Fitzgerald 2002 130 1 Through these words author gave highly emphasis to the figure of Gatsby as if American Dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush the realistic world appearing in front of people was bleakness and dejection that it was full of fruits rinds and discarded favors and crushed flowers here and there Gatsby could not build his hope future on the basis of cruel reality He uniquely recalled the past only to make the past illusion take place of the reality and future He could not face squarely the reality of uniting the past with the future in the realistic environment These reflect the essence of Gatsby s dream II Ideal Personification Unworthy of Name Gatsby ideal personification in his mind is Daisy because she was just a beautiful woman and the Gatsby s first lover Surely he loved her very much however Daisy was rather earthly woman and bad virtue A A Worldly Beauty Woefully Daisy was not as perfect as Gatsby always imagining in his mind and his ideal personification that Gatsby desperately sought was only a badly worldly beauty with a good appearance and empty soul In a cocktail party once held by Gatsby when Daisy with her husband Tom came to Gatsby s mansion together Gatsby being a host of course serving them especially serving Daisy introduced all customers to them one by one When they came to the front of a pair of outstanding ones he gave them a special introduction and description Perhaps you know that lady Gatsby indicated gorgeous scarcely human orchid of a woman who sat under a white plum tree Tom and Daisy stared with that particularly unreal feeling that accompanies the recognition of hitherto ghostly celebrities of memories She s lovely said Daisy The man bending over is her director Fitzgerald 2002 120 Seen from the surface it is a very elegant picture as the famous drawing in the world was exciting while observed from the essence the picture was none of deep sense The scene of the movie picture star and her director never appeared in reality but in a rehearsal After the author finished introducing other scenes he took readers attention to the pair of figures again giving readers a static and wonderful image as if readers went to the back of the white plum tree and saw another scene It was like that Almost the last thing I remember was standing with Daisy and watching the movie picture director and his star They are still under the white plum tree and their faces were touching except for a pale thin ray of moonlight between them It occurred to me that he had been very slowly bending toward to her all night this proximity and even while I watched I saw him stoop one ultimate degree and kiss at her cheek I like her said Daisy I think she s lovely Fitzgerald 2002 127 But the rest offended her and inarguably because it wasn t a gesture but an emotion Daisy liked the movie picture star because the star had no any virtual thought and connotation She who was just a furnishing a prop except for the image on the screen had no any practical sense and as for her beauty meant a concrete body In effect she completely separated from the realistic environment in which human beings lived and became a solid gesture The narration and speaking was actually Daisy s profession of the life belief so here she asserted the attitude to emotions and the principles of actions In essence her emptiness and superficiality inevitably led to his indifference in emotion and corruption in morality Daisy was not the figure that Gatsby described and chased perfectly in his mind but a scrumptious representative in Jazz Age When he wrote to Parkinson F Scott Fitzgerald said that Jazz Age referred to the period of ten years during May 1st 1919 and Oct 1929 when the stock market prices went down and typically essential personification in the worldly society Of love and marriage she was also a failure for her voice was full of money She s got and indiscreet voice I remarked It s full of I hesitated Her voice is full of money he said suddenly That was it I d never understood before It was full of money that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it the jingle of it the symbols song of it high in a white palace the king s daughter the golden girl Fitzgerald 2002 143 Without doubtness Daisy was the concrete embodiment of epicurean money first and material prominent B Bad Virtue Contrast with Gatsby s hospitality spoon and romantic Daisy possessed neither romantic ideals like Gatsby nor the real sacrificial bravery of sacrificing for the ideal only to desire for comfortable worldly life It was true that she loved Gatsby but later in order to enjoy magnificent and comfortable life she married Tom against her wills As she found that Gatsby was richer than Tom Buchanan she returned to Gatsby the climax of the novel was arranged in a hotel when Tom told the fact that Gatsby was a bootlegger and his wealth was illegal Daisy shrank at once Even alone I can t say I never loved Tom she admitted in a pitiful voice It wouldn t be true Fitzgerald 2002 158 Impatiently after Daisy cracked up Tom s mistress by chance when she drove she escaped away with her husband Tom together and left the