悲剧比较《了不起的盖茨比》和《夜色温柔》 --毕业论文.doc

【标题】悲剧比较了不起的盖茨比和夜色温柔【作者】余 艳 【关键词】悲剧;比较;了不起的盖茨比;夜色温柔 【指导老师】程 琼 向 俊 【专业】英语 【正文】I. Introduction The American Dream describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the the American Dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. But the First World War influenced the American Dream which was handed down from the older generations, and people were suspicious about the traditional notions and started breaking out them. The twenties was best known as a decade when American business was riding high and increasing its productivity. The United States produced mass commodities such as motorcars and radios that were filling peoples driveways and houses. In that case money was more accessible, so peoples desire for money was expanded. The faith in religion and culture was reduced to the relentless pursuit of money and the shallow dreams. At that time, nihilism and hedonism were formed, and the pursuit of material-luxury made people feel alien and cool. Youthful generation who lived in that period looked forward to a kind of luxuriant life, therefore, they bought cost things, took part in extravagant parties, and looked down upon others who were poor and so on.F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, as a famous American novelist, essayist, screen writer and dramatist, is a writer very much of his own time. He is best known for his novels and short stories, which chronicle the excesses of Americas Jazz Age during the 1920s. Because of his novels, Fitzgerald is mainly remembered as the spokesman and laureate of the Jazz Age and of flaming youth.Both of The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night are a realistic demonstration of the ruin of the American dream. They are always regarded as the representative works of Fitzgerald in that his narrative skill and sensitiveness to history find no better expression than in these two novels. Towards these two novels, however, the critical opinions are still mixed. Many critics put more emphasis on The Great Gatsby. They consider The Great Gatsby as a universal and timeless literary masterpiece，an icon of its time. As Tony Tanner even claimed it to be“the most perfectly crafted work of fiction to have come out of America”1 T.S Eliot has read this novel three times and concludes that it is“the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James2 But the publication of Tender Is the Night just meets cold reception from the critics who generally consider it loosely organized and that the writers attitudes toward his characters are inconsistent throughout the whole text.Despite these various opinions, the social influence and historical value of the two novels can never be denied. The author vividly describes a tragedy caused by American Dream in the two novels and each way of embodying tragedy has its own merits. This paper will discuss the tragedy between the two novels by making a brief comparative analysis. According to the brief analysis of the main heroes based on the author, Fitzgerald and the content in the two stories, to a certain extent, readers would get a better understanding about Fitzgeralds tragic novels and his writing skills.II. The Reasons for the Comparison in Tragedy Between the two NovelsFitzgeralds great influence has been recognized in the whole world. In part, this is not only because of his literary works, but also because of his writing style, which contributes a great deal to the reveal of the tragic theme, that is, the disillusion of American Dream. The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night are a realistic demonstration of the ruin of the American Dream. In this part, the author of this paper will discuss Fitzgeralds writing style and the same tragic theme, which can explain the reasons for the comparison.A. The Authors Writing StyleAs one of the most well-known authors of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald is a great stylist in American literature. His style, closely re1ated to his themes, is explicit and chilly. His accurate dialogues, his careful observation of mannerism, styles, models and attitudes provide the reader with a vivid sense of reality.“He combines art with reality perfectly in his works.”3 His fictional world is always the best embodiment of the spirit of his age and his personal experiences. During his lifetime, it is not always easy to tell when his life furnishes material for his fiction and when his fiction furnishes material for his life. Because of this intertwining of his life and his works, biographical information contributes to an understanding of his fiction. As we all known, the 1920s was a time of corruption and the degradation of moral values for the United States. As a young man of that age, Fitzgerald is fascinated with material wealth on one hand by writing hard to accumulate wealth to live an extravagant life, yet is bewildered with the wealth on the other, fully aware of the underlying spiritual disorientation and moral decay. Fitzgerald is a mirror of the exciting age in almost every way. He was the victim of his American Dream. His works is his life and the figuresdream is his American Dream, which is a illusory pursuit and leads to the destruction of people. Because of this Writing Style, readers always can find the tragedy of Fitzgeralds life and his age from his works.B. The Same Tragic ThemeFitzgeralds fictions often deal with the bankruptcy of the American Dream, which is high 1ighted by the disillusionment of the protagonists personal dreams due to the clashes between their romantic vision of life and the sordid reality. Both of The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night are about love and money, as well as the declining of young people because of the society background and class distinction. The main heroes of these two novels, Gatsby and Dick, hope to become financially successful. Finally, both of them sacrifice themselves in the pursuit of their ideals and the salvation of their women.The story of The Great Gatsby is a good illustration to symbolize the failure of the American Dream. In the novel, Daisy is an upper-class woman and lives a luxuriant life. Obviously, the person who wants to get her love must have enough money to offer her a luxuriant life. Gatsby, a poor young man from the Midwest, is in love with but rejected by Daisy. He later attains the wealth by bootlegging and other criminal activities in order to win back his love. At that time, Daisy has married Tom. But attracted by his wealth and his devotion, Daisy becomes his mistress. When as a hit-and-run driver, she kills Myrtle, who is Toms mistress. Gatsby tries to protect her, and mistakenly is murdered by the husband of Myrtle. At his death, all of his so-called friends abandon him. Tom and Daisy go for a journey happily together without paying any attention to his death. There is nothing left to him after his death. His wealth no longer means anything, and Daisy does not come back to him, either. His dream ends up with Daisys indifference and carelessness. From this aspect, we can say that Gatsbys life is just a tragedy.On the other hand, Tender is the Night is also a tragic story about American Dream. In this novel, the author traces the decline of a young American psychiatrist named Dick whose marriage to a beautiful and wealthy patient named Nicole Diver. Although strong objections are raised as Nicole is an heiress, at last, they do marry. After marriage, Dick makes every effort to shoulder the double responsibilities as a husband and a doctor at the same time. He devotes his tremendous time and energy to take good care of Nicole. At the beginning of their marriage, they are a very glamorous couple and Nicoles money pays for Dicks partnership in a Swiss clinic and for their extravagant lifestyle. But a few years later, Dick is frustrated by the economic advantage of Nicole and is lost in his career. Gradually he develops a drinking problem and is bought out of the clinic by his partner. Eventually, Nicole has an affair with Tommy Barban, and divorces with Dick to marry him. Nicole survives, while Dick drifts into ever diminishing circumstances. Dick ignores the societys indifference and selfishness and pays a heavy price for his own authentic personality and goodness. Dicks pursuit for his ideal and love is also a tragedy in the end.III. The Comparison Between the Author and the Main Heroes of the two Novels.Many of the writers and critics paid much attention to The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night and Fitzgerald separately, and however, few of them researched the two novels and the author together. Whats more, few of people studied the author from the angle of the main characters of the two novels. Taking into account Fitzgeralds writing style and the similar tragic theme of the two stories, its easy for readers to find some other similarities between the two novels. In this part, from the research of the author by comparing him with the main characters, Gatsby and Nick, we could get to know the particular times in which Fitzgerald lived and get the evidence to prove the notion that Gatsby and Dick are the real copy of him.A. Fitzgerald and Gatsby When Fitzgerald enlisted in the army in 1917, he fell in love with a celebrated belle, eighteen-year-old Zelda Sayre, the youngest daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. Zelda finally agreed to marry him, but her overpowering desire for wealth and leisure led her to delay their wedding until Fitzgerald could prove a success. The romance intensified Fitzgeralds hopes for the success of his novel. Unwilling to wait while Fitzgerald succeeded in the advertisement business and unwilling to live on his small salary, Zelda broke their engagement. That situation also occurred in the novel The Great Gatsby, only the female protagonist changed, Daisy, the delicate, lovely, and essentially parasitic woman whose love, loyalty had to be acquired by the success and protected by the continued achievement. Gatsby fell in love with Daisys aura of luxury, grace, and charm. But he was refused in the beginning because of his poverty. From this aspect, it is clear that both Fitzgerald and Gatsby lose their lovers due to the lack of money and their low social status.Fitzgerald knew well that money is a crucial element in American culture and shaped the success and the failure of his life as well. So in the later years, Fitzgerald was crazy about literature and tries every means to get success in order to marry with Zelda. With the publication of This Side of Paradise on March26, 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary sensation, earning enough money and fame to convince Zelda to marry him. Just as Fitzgerald managed to establish himself as a promising writer with the success of This Side of Paradise and in the end wins back Zelda, Gatsby tried every effort to get rich in order to win Daisy back. He later attained the wealth by bootlegging and other criminal activities. Fitzgerald and Gatsby choose the same way to pursue the girl they loved. Both of them think that they can got love as long as they have enough money. Their interpretation of love itself is a mistake. Their dreams of wealth and love are doomed to be a tragedy.Having become a celebrity, Fitzgerald fell into a wild, reckless life-style of parties and decadence, while desperately trying to please Zelda by writing to earn money. But the money got from the artistic creating was not balanced with the large cost for the party hold for showing off their wealth and the greedy of Zelda. The only way to get out of this condition Fitzgerald could use is drinking with the helpless tears. Similarly, Gatsby amassed a great deal of wealth at a relatively young age, and devoted himself to acquiring possessions and throwing parties that he believed would enable him to win Daisys love. After he got rich, he bought a luxurious mansion in front of Daisys house across the bay.“If it wasnt 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.”4 Almost five years, Gatsby never stopped recalling his first lover Daisy. Because of his wealth and his devotion, Daisy became his mistress. But at last, he lost his life in order to protect Daisy from an accident. After his death, there is nothing left for him.The romance between Gatsby and Daisy is much of the revision of that between Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Both of Fitzgerald and Gatsby reestablish their relationships with their lovers when they are rich. But Fitzgeralds marriage to Zelda is critical. His luxurious marriage life needs money to support and he, himself becomes the victim of the money. No wonder Gatsby is designed to be a worshipper of materialism, meanwhile, a victim of it. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald is driven by his love for a woman who symbolizes everything he wantes, even as she leads him toward everything he despises.B. Fitzgerald and DickAfter produced his masterpiece in Paris, The Great Gatsby, in 1925, In the following years, Fitzgerald began to feel the decline of his writing talents and was unable to make significant progress on his novel. He suffered from the great pressure of economy and this condition became continued and intensified. At that time his wife once blamed him for the lack of money, which was a strong proof to show that her greedy became more and more bigger. The dream his wife told him is not the dream he wanted, but the dream of his own direction of his life had become blurred in the luxurious life. His talent and literary dream was gradually passing away with his confusion.Fitzgerald poured his confused feelings ioto the novel Tender Is the Night, which was a faithful depiction of his dramatic marriage with Zelda. In this novel, Dick Diver, a promising phychiatrist, fell in love with beautiful Nicole who was one of his patients and very rich. And later, Dick married Nicole without considering the big difference in social statue between the two families. After marriage Dick was the center of the world of the sick Nicole. Nicole admired him and needed him to conduct her how to lead a nomoral life. So Dick spent a lot of his time and energy to take care of her. But a few years later, he was frustrated by the economic advantage of Nicole and was lost in his his medicine career. At that time, Dicks Sense of boredom was a true portrayal of the author, Fitzgerald himself.In the 1930s, Zelda experienced a series of mental breakdowns that eventually led to her institutionalization. She did whatever she wanted and cost money just like using water. In order to send his wife to the best mental hospital in the country, Fitzgerald had to make more efforts to write for the sake of money. Debts accumulated as his income cut down. During the mid-1930s, Fitzgerald published little. It seemed that his writing career had ended with the twenties. Fitzgeralds American Dream failed in the1920s. Loneliness, combined with alcohol and the awareness that he was dissipating, his talent, broke him down. Life became a tragic mess. Between 1934 and 1937 Fitzgerald was on the brink of despair and disintegration.On the other hand, When Dicks deterioration began as a result of his frustration in medical career and in his affair with Rosemary, Nicole, in contrast, was growing mentally stronger. The growth of self-awareness in her changed her attitude towards Dick and their marriage. Nicole was no more the innocent angel as before in Dicks eyes. He began to doubt his own love for Nicole, whose love was an unexpected surprise for him. As he admited,“he had never felt more sure of himself, more thoroughly his own man, than at the time of his marriage to Nicole.”5 At last, they divorced, with Nicole recovering psychologically while Dick totally lost in his medical career, retreating to a succession of American towns each smaller and more remote than the one before.Strong financial support does not bring them happiness but foredooms crises and conflicts in their marriage. Just as Fitzgerald cared for his wife Zelda Sayre, Dick devoted most of his time into the treatment for Nicoles mental breakdown and gave up his medical research. But in the end, he just accepted his wifes betrayal and abandonment. To some extent, Dicks tragic fate caused by himself. He was unable to resist the status and wealth that Nicoles family can provide for him. He blurred his clear consciousness at the relationship between love and wealth. Lastly, he became a lost lamb in the process of realizing his dream. From this point, its easy to conclude that both Fitzgerald and Dick are destroyed because of money and self-indulgence.VI. The Differences in Representing the Tragedy of the two NovelsFitzgerald is remembered as the spokesman and laureate of the Jazz Age not only because his Writing theme that always Reflects the reality of the United States, but also because of his excellent writing skills in his novels. This part will discuss the differences in representing the tragedy between the two novels from three aspects in order to help readers understand more about Fitzgeralds tragic novels and his writing skills.A. The Arrangment of EndingsAt the beginning of this novel, the author uses a large of words to describe Gatsbys party. Everyone is glad to come to his party and everyone wants to be his friend, even Daisy has taken much notice of him and falls in love with him again. But in the end, when Gatsby died, his funeral is rather deserted and cheerless compared with his parties. Its a record of human coldness. Nick has invited some people to come to Gatsbys funeral. These people are all Gatsbys so-called friends. They find a lot of excuses for their absence because they know clearly that Gatsby is no longer useful for them. Gatsbys generou