了不起的盖茨比》中的修辞现象学士学位7603366

1、Good is good, but better carries it.精益求精，善益求善。了不起的盖茨比中的修辞现象学士学位7603366编号编号研究类型理论研究分类号 学士学位论文（设计）Bachelors Thesis论文题目Rhetorical Devices in The Great Gatsby作者姓名学号所在院系学科专业名称导师及职称论文答辩时间学士学位论文（设计）诚信承诺书中文题目：了不起的盖茨比中的修辞现象外文题目：Rhetorical Devices in The Great Gatsby学生姓名学生学号院系专业外语系英语专业学生班级学 生 承 诺我承诺在学士学位论文（设计

2、）活动中遵守学校有关规定，恪守学术规范，本人学士学位论文（设计）内容除特别注明和引用外，均为本人观点，不存在剽窃、抄袭他人学术成果，伪造、篡改实验数据的情况。如有违规行为，我愿承担一切责任，接受学校的处理。 学生（签名）：年 月 日指导教师承诺我承诺在指导学生学士学位论文（设计）活动中遵守学校有关规定，恪守学术道德规范，经过本人核查，该生学士学位论文（设计）内容除特别注明和引用外，均为该生本人观点，不存在剽窃、抄袭他人学术成果，伪造、篡改实验数据的现象。指导教师（签名）：年 月 日Contents1. Introduction52. Cultural Backgrounds52.1 The L

3、ife Experience of Fitzgerald and the Great Gatsby52.2 the Introduction of the Great Gatsby62.3 American Dream and its Disillusionment62. Rhetorical Devices in The Great Gatsby72.1 Simile72.2 Metaphor82.3 Contrast122.4 Irony152.5 Hyperbole172.6 Euphemism182.7 Understatement192.8 Pun193. The rhetorica

4、l function in The Great Gatsby213.1 Aesthetic effects213.2 Emotional effects233.3 Behavioral effects23Bibliography241. 目录序号按正文修改2. 内容补充 3. 翻译部分语法校对修改 4. 格式按文理要求修改 4Rhetorical Devices in The Great GatsbyCHEN Ying (Tutor: LI Guifang) (Department of Foreign Languages, College of Arts and Science, Hubei

5、 Normal University, Huangshi, China, 435002)Abstract: It will make us more pleasant and easier to accept if we use some rhetoric to express the same sentences, so it is often said that rhetoric is the persuasive speech art. This paper attempts to explore the rhetorical devices in The Great Gatsby an

6、d its rhetorical effects on expressing the theme of this novel by considering rhetoric in the novel to be the focus of attention, and the American Dream to be the clue to be the basis. Whats more, it tried to know more about the rhetoric and reveal rhetorical effect, aiming at flexibility in the use

7、 of the rhetoric.Key words: rhetoric, Devices，effect, use 了不起的盖茨比中的修辞现象摘要：同样的言语人们用些修辞手法修辞一下往往使人身心愉悦，使得说话者要表达的意思更容易被接受，因此修辞学经常被说成具有劝说性演讲艺术。本文将以了不起的盖茨比中的修辞手法为切入口，以文中的“美国梦”作为依据，探讨文中的修辞现象及修辞手法对文中主题的表达效果，进一步认识修辞手法及它们的作用，以达到能灵活运用这些修辞手法的效果。关键词：修辞手法；现象；作用；运用中图分类号:H315Rhetorical Devices in The Great Gatsby1.

8、 Introduction What is the theme of The Great Gatsby? The majority of scholars have discussed it, but little of them discussed it through discuss the rhetorical devices in the novel. We will discuss The Great Gatsby through rhetorical devices in it. We know that what rhetorical perused is good verbal

9、 expressive effect. People use speaking, writing and communication to express their feeling and ideas. They do this to complete certain speech acts. It is not purely to be pleased to see or the simply the pursuit of beauty enjoy. The general good rhetorical effect refers to accurate, concise, clear,

10、 vivid and moving speaking and it makes people easy to accept. （胡习之，2010，2） All we talked above are positive effect of rhetoric. This paper will talk about the positive effect of rhetoric，mainly on how Fitzgerald uses the rhetoric to depict the characters of people and analyze their life experience

11、and their essence. It will also explain the tragedy of Gatsby, the tragedy of the whole United States during 1920th and what causes the tragedy. 2. Cultural Backgrounds2.1 The Life Experience of Fitzgerald and the Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the popular novelists among the 1920s to 193

12、0s in the United States of America. He is the typical novelist and detached observer, the leading participant who is struggle all his life for money at that period. He becomes rich through success in literary creation, but his completion is not popular in the depression period, he died before Americ

13、an participation in the World War . His works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age. (Malcolm Cowley and Robert Cowley,1990:12). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He is also a number of the “Lost Generation” of the 1920th. His most famous novel is The Grea

14、t Gatsby. He had ever express his love to two girl, one abandon him and married rich man, another married him because he become a rich man through his writing, he lived with his wife in a very luxury life, the money he earned is not enough for their money spend on party and traveling. He lives happi

15、ly with his wife but his wife got lunacy in latter years, he becomes a man who is boozy as his not success in writing Tender is the Night at that period and his wife got lunacy, and he died in 1940 for his heart failure. We know that he is the prototype of Gatsby from his similar life to Gatsby. His

16、 writing style is closely related to its theme. His writing style is from the carefully observed in life, carefully selected and the accumulation of satirical details. He reproduced the language and peoples way of thinking of that era accurately. In the section of the novel, he converts from one liv

17、ely scene of description to the next, let the reader to develop their understanding and imagination of the tedious process. (跃世，1985：7) 2.2 the Introduction of the Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is the most famous novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald，it has ever been played as film in 1929, 1949, 1974, and 20

18、00. It will be played in 2013. The story took place in 1922. During 1920th, the United States becomes a prosper country after World War . This book is written in this period and it received a lot of critical acclaim, it also widely regarded as a “Great American Novel”, it expresses the essence of th

19、e era. Unlike his previous works, he changed his expressing his luxury life in the novel before and expresses the essence of that era in this novel. There are many rhetorical devices used to portray the essence of that era and the disillusion of American Dream in the novel. 2.3 American Dream and it

20、s Disillusionment The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each

21、 woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." （James Truslow Adams，1931：214-215）. We know from it that all men are created equal. The Amer

22、ican Dream means that everyone could grow up, receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. And we shouldnt regard the class, caste, religion, race and ethnicity. In the novel, Gatsbys American Dream is the seek for money and love of Daisy, As Daisy left him because he is poor, sh

23、e married a rich and powerful man Tom. He thinks that money can help him to get what he wants so he bought a villa in the west egg and spent large money for the party to attract Daisys attention. In Toms mind, Daisy is his goodness, she is rich and pure. In order to get Daisy, he quits his belief an

24、d becomes a bootlegger. Gatsby is a good man that Nick has ever met, he loves Daisy so much and he can do all for her, even the life. But Daisy married with Tom because Gatsbys poring even though she had hesitated. Daisy thinks money and position are the most important in her life, she betrayed Gats

25、by two times. But Gatsby didnt realize this. He lost his life under the plot between Daisy and Tom. This is the disillusionment of his American Dream.2. Rhetorical Devices in The Great Gatsby2.1 SimileSimile refers to a figure of speech that directly compares two things though some connectives, usua

26、lly “like,” “as,” “than,” or a verb such as “resembles.” A simile differs from a metaphor in that the latter compares two unlike things by saying that one thing is the other thing.（X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia，2007：594）There are some similes used in the novel as follows：1) “In his blue garden men an

27、d girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the star.”（F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：43）, the people in attendance are like moths, the attend Gatsbys party because they are attracted by the bright lights and commotion, they are attracted because they yearn the richness an

28、d the commitment on Gatsbys party. This reflects people pursue money like moths fly to the fire. They dont respect the Gatsby and talk something bad to him, they attend the party only for money and free enjoyment.2) In the sentence that” and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the h

29、ot struggles of the poor.” （F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：159-160）Daisy is described as “gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor”. Silver, a most pure element, gives her an image of beauty and regality, emphasizing her status as an East Egger above the lower people. Daisy

30、 is rich and she enjoys this rich, she regards this import as well, she chooses to marry to Tom is also oriented from her thought that money beyond everything. Gatsby doesnt realize this enough lead to his tragic death. 3) We know from the sentence “They only completely stationary object in the room

31、 was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house”(F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：10). This image gives the t

32、wo women a very flighty and airy feel, as if they had no substance, yet also a feel of a great energy. We can see it from Daisys circling around Tom and Gatsby and she looks power and money over everything. Jordans showing herself to be strength also reflects it. Their later action and character als

33、o show this image. 2.2 MetaphorIn Websters New World Dictionary, we knew that a metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another. (李鑫华，2000：18) It tells us not literal meaning but implied meani

34、ng. Lets discuss the metaphor used in The Great Gatsby. 1. It uses things as metaphor1) Gatsbys house: The most characteristic metaphor in The Great Gatsby is Gatsbys house, what happened in Gatsbys house is the best metaphor of the whole era of 1920th, as everything happens in the Gatsby mansion is

35、 also happened in America at that time. Wealth gained heavily among the period from the World War to depression period, it was called “the Jazz Age”. But in domestic, social contradiction becomes sharp. Wrier use “the Gatsby residence” as a metaphor for contemporary American Society, it reveals the

36、serious moral crisis people faced.2) Gatsbys green light: The green light appears repeatedly in the novel, the green light represents Gatsbys ultimate aspiration: to win Daisys love. In the sentence “Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished foreve

37、r. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：159-160). Gatsby realize his he must face that Daisy married to Tom 4and has a daughter, there are something he doesnt about her among the five years, he cant pass the time ga

38、p among them. Daisy is as ideal as the protagonist he creates in his mind.3) Car: We often use the car as a means of transportation, but many people use it as a symbol of social status and personal glory, it reveals this in Great Gatsby. The upstarts-Gatsby flaunts his wealth to recover his dream of

39、 Daisy. Wilson doesnt own his own car, he repairs the car to make a living, and he is making a dream of a car. Mrs. Wilson looks a car as a direct way to enhance her identity and change her fate. When she goes a date with his lover, she let four taxis go away and choose the new light purple car. We

40、all knew that new car is more scenery style and purple is a rich color; Mrs. Wilsons vanity and potential heart bore there completely.（陈法春，1997：1-2）. In a result, she runs away from her husband and this strata the Wilsons dream of car. Car provides comfort but also risk. In the novel, the car is not

41、 only used as damaged weapon but also the tool used to test the level of morality, it even is a sense of responsibility. As a weapon, it crushed the right hand of the drunken man. It also killed the Mrs. Wilsons life. As a tool of testing the morality, it shows the irresponsible of Daisy and Tom, it

42、 also shows Gatsbys compromise of ideal love to take the responsibility.（陈法春，1997：2-3）4) Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg: These gigantic blue eyes look out at the valley of ashes behind a pair of yellow eyeglasses, George Wilson refers it to God, it is seeing everything happens before it, he saw the dea

43、th of Myrtle and know Daisy run away after rushing to Myrtle, he witness the moralitys corruption of people. As in the novel “God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing”. (F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：170)2. It uses the name of people in novels as metaphor1) The name of Daisy

44、 refers to the essence of her personality The names used in the novel are not arbitrary, the name used in the novel implied something except the surface meaning. （王万兵，2003：2）. Daisy is a name of a flower; the white color is around the flower, while the yellow is in the middle of the flower.（卢珺 杨祎 郭徽

45、，2008：4）. The yellow and white color of the flower suggests the money along with the emptiness. Daisy is the typical role who seeks for money, she loved Gatsby, but she married Tom and abandon Gatsby for money, after she meets Gatsby many years later, she circles round Tom 5and Gatsby because Gatsby

46、 was a rich man at that time. She can betray love and his husband for money, she was born for money, and drunk for money. It is her empty of spirit, her degenerated morality and her dark heart that lead her cooperation with her husband plot to kill Gatsby.2) The name of Mumble refers to the essence

47、of their personality Mumble means inarticulate speaking; this is the pungent irony of the people who went to Gatsby without paying. They talked about something not be good for him, they enjoy everything Gatsby supplied at the same time. We can know their immortal from all this, thus the name of Mumb

48、le refers to the essence of their personality.2.3 ContrastFitzgerald changed the past straight forward Syria and preaching, he separated the story in the novel as some pictures, we can see the picture of the story and compare them, he doesnt declare and be silent about his argument. But we can know

49、the theme of the novel through our contrast of the picture. This picture seems different, incompatible, even conflict with each other, their natural and vivid explanation from every different point of view will present in front of us. We can know the Fitzgeralds originality creation and remarkable w

50、riting skills. Coincidentally, this novel reveals the infinite artistic charm and deep ideological implication. There are many contrast in the novel, lets analyze it. 1. The contrast of the party and the funeral Fitzgerald contrasts the big, noise and resplendent party when Gatsby is still alive wit

51、h the variegated coloration, desolate and sad funeral. “In his blue garden men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the Champagne and the star.”（F. Scott Fitzgerald，1925：43） they lost themselves in the Champagne and Jazz music of car. Unbelievably, the guests invited to the p

52、arty only a few. The majority of people are unexpected. Sometimes, they havent seen Gatsby since their coming and leaving. All these people look Gatsbys home as amusement ground of full filled with song and free enjoyment. On the contrary, those who like flying moth in the banquet never appear at hi

53、s funeral. On the crucial moment, Gatsbys lover-her real culprit Daisy shows her ingratitude for favors to leave him.（郑庆庆，2003：2）. This reveals the essence 6of the people at Gatsbys party. The using of the contrast makes it clearer to know the essence of people at Gatsbys part.2. The contrast of the

54、 eastern and the western Fitzgerald looks the east egg as represent of the upper class, and looks the west egg as birthplace of fallen avatar. It is more likely to lead to our self- examination that Fitzgerald compares these two places. The couple of Buchanan gathered in the hustle and bustle of the

55、 east egg, while the upstart Gatsby, who makes huge fortune overnight, lived in the west egg. Gatsby makes money all for his own effort. He insists his dream and loyal to love, he represents the people who live in the West. The western symbolizes the young, hope, enterprising, vigorous. On the contr

56、ary, the couple of Buchanan depends on their background of their family, and their inheriting of huge fortune. They lead a gay life, and have nothing to do. They have no goal in life. （郑庆庆，2003：2）. They live in depraved life and their moral corrupted. 3. The contrast of Daisy and MyrtleThe novelist

57、compares Daisy and Myrtle. The comparison of two female tells us corruption of morality and perishing of their worths standard.Daisy is Toms wife while Myrtle is his lover, they are different in identity, status, family background or appearance, the former noble birth, from the upper classes, and sh

58、e is the legal wife of upper-class, she is melancholy and beautiful, with bright look, bright eyes, and bright warm mouth. She is a lady of high station. The latter is the wife of a poor car mechanic. She is the mistress who cant be shown at all. She is vulgar, artificial. She is not beautiful at all, but she is full of vigor.（郑庆庆，2003：4）. Even they have so man