Reading(1)：Appreciatingliterature.docx

The Great Gatsby1The Great Gatsby was not well received when it was published in 1926. F. Scott Fitzgerald appeared to destroy the American Dream, where anyone, with enough hard work, could get rich and have whatever they wanted from life. He exposed the truth about such myths in this classic book. Basically, the plot could be described as follows:2Poor boy goes East in search of wealth, bored and dissatisfied with inactive Mid West country life.3He meets the super-rich there, attends parties and makes friends with one man in particular, a lonely millionaire of uncertain origins, Jay Gatsby.4He becomes involved with these rich but immoral people, the worst of whom are his own cousin Daisy Buchanan, and her husband Tom.5He observes, with dawning(beginning) recognition, the corruption in their lives, how lacking in human values they seem to be.6He watches an extremely sad eventunfold, brought about by the wealthy, and visited on the poorer characters.7He remains the only friend of Gatsby, arranging his funeral and mourning his death, and possibly the death of his own American Dream.8He wakes up to the reality of what is important in life, and decides to choose what is of value to him.9He returns to his origins, having recognized the worth of his up-bringing(cultivating) and the moral values it instilled(灌输). He sees that money is not everything.10But let us look at this in a little more depth, because the novel is much more complicated than those simple outlines above suggest.11The young man, Nick Caraway, aged 29, lived in a cottage on Long Island. He was an apprentice (a young person who works for an employer for a fixed period of time in order to learn the particular skills needed in their job) and in 1920s, when the novel is set, this job represented a way to get rich, the most important part of the American Dream.12Gatsby was a millionaire, who chased a dream too, one of rekindling(starting again) love with Daisy, Nicks cousin, a bored, rich, totally unfeeling and spoilt woman. Her rich husband, Tom Buchanan, a businessman, was also less than moral, flattering his mistress(情妇), Myrtle Wilson, the wife of a garage owner. It was George Wilsons love for Myrtle that brought about the tragedy contained in the Gatsby plot.13Gatsby wanted to recapture his dream of love. So he began an affair with Daisy; she was flattered and bored. This action helped to erode(gradually destroy) Nicks illusions, and show what wealth can do to people. Gatsby suffered from the realization that Daisy was not the wonderful person he dreamed of, but a shallow and materialistic person.14Eventually, Tom Buchanan suspected what was happening between Gatsby and Daisy, and confronted(对质) Gatsby. It was soon after this that Daisy ran Myrtle Wilson down, while driving Gatsbys yellow automobile.15The tragedy was begun, when Tom Buchanan put the idea into head of George Wilson, that Gatsby had killed Myrtle. In fact, Daisy was secure in the belief that superior status and wealth made her safe, and also, her character was such that she cared little for another human being. Tom Buchanan was the person that sent the emotionally disturbed George to shoot Gatsby for killing Myrtle, then committing suicide. Two dreams turned to dust：Georges of love and the chance to pursue the dream of success, Gatsbys of recapturing romantic love and the more innocent past, when, in his mind, Daisy was golden and true.16The complete destruction was symbolically expressed when none of Gatsbys rich “friends” were touched by his death. It was left to Nick, a relative stranger, to make the funeral arrangements. This highlighted the total shallowness of that wealthy, corrupt society, and showed what a worthless person Daisy herself was.17At the end, Nick returned to the beliefs of his Mid Western upbringing. After one last meeting with Tom Buchanan, one last look at Gatsbys mansion, having buried his friend, he left for home. As Gatsby lost his dream and his life, Fitzgerald drew a portrait of the death of the American Dream.18Its time to have another close look at The Great Gatsby .Here are five reasons given by some professors and actors why The Great Gatsby should rank as The Great American Novel.19Its the most American of stories. Encoded at the very center of our national DNA is admiration for the self-made success story, the mythic figure who pursues and fulfills his dream someone like Jay Gatsby, a Mr. Nobody from Nowhere who rises from poverty to wealth. (DiCaprio)20The romance of the Roaring 20s.The 1920s is the most fascinating era in American culture, and everything was changing so much. The wildest parties and bad behavior among the rich and famous today have nothing on the you-only-live-once hedonism (及时行乐) described in The Great Gatsby. (Nilsson)21It remains relevant. West, an English literature professor at Pennsylvania State University, has been teaching the book to college students for decades. He feels surprised how it never seems to lose its modernity; it has that kind of staying power. (West)22Crazy love. What makes Gatsby magical is his motivation. Although hes made his fortune as a bootlegger(私自造酒者) and gambler(投机商), greed doesnt drive him. Rather hes on a quest to reclaim Daisy. Still, The Great Gatsby isnt a romance about how a nice millionaire almost wins back the girl of his dreams. To Gatsby, Daisy isnt a married woman with a daughter. Shes an object, something he lost and wants back. (Jashan Kaur)23Wonderful language. Forget the critics, the theories, even the characters. For Fitzgeralds fans, its the language. Theres not one flabby sentence. Instead, its language is actually strong and effective.(T.S.Eliot)24Meanwhile, an increasing number of students also show their great interest in evaluating the characters in The Great Gatsby. The following are some remarks about Nick Caraway.No 25Im Dale Fox and I will be speaking against Nick. 26To begin with, he goes East only with the purpose of becoming wealthy because he is bored and dissatisfied with inactive country life . As a result, he becomes involved with these rich but immoral people. Worse still, he doesnt do what he should have done to prevent a potential tragedy when he watches tragedy unfold. Therefore, it is not highly appreciated when he makes the funeral arrangements for Gatsby.27For all these reasons mentioned above, it is safe for me to draw a conclusion that Nick is really a bad character.Yes 28My name is Frank and Im speaking in favor of Nick- I believe that he is a good person. There are two points which must be included when we analyse this character.29First, he is not to blame when he wants to seek his fortune in the East . After all, he is not the only one with the American Dream, where anyone with enough hard work can get rich and have whatever they want from life. Besides, he eventually wakes up to the reality of what is important in life and decides to choose what is of value to him. Last but not least, a shallow and materialistic person will never make the funeral arrangements for Gatsby as a relative stranger.30Therefore, I hold the belief that Nick is a positive character who hel