THE-GREAT-GATSBY了不起的盖茨比

F.ScottFitzgerald

(1896-1940)SpokesmanoftheJazzAgeContentsBackgroundFitzgeraldTheGreatGatsby

PlotlineCharacterAnalysis4.Themes.5.Discussion.

Aspokesmanofthe“JazzAge”The

Jazz

Age

TheJazzAgeisthenicknameinAmericaofthedecadeofthe1920’s,beginningfrom1919totheCrashattheendof1929.

Thesetenyearswere,forAmericans,atimeofcarefreeprosperity,isolatedfromtheworld’sproblem,bewilderinggreatsocialchange,andafeverishpursuitofpleasure.,

ThesewerethetenyearswhentheFirstWorldWarwasjustover,whennewinventionsandmanufacturingtechniquesgreatlychangedthewaypeoplelived;whenpeoplemovedfromthecountrysideingreatnumbers;whenwomenwontherighttovoteandmanystartedtoearntheirownmoney;whencars,washingmachines,radiosandvacuumcleanersbecamecommonplace;andwhenmillionsofpeoplelivedbeyondtheirmeansandwentintodebtinordertoobtainsuchthingswhilethemiddleclassfranticallypursuedindividual“success”andpersonalenjoyment.Theylivedarich,extravagant,frivolousmoneymakinglife,anditwasthisstyleoflivinggavethedecadeofthe1920’ssuchnicknameasthe“JazzAge”,the“DollarDecade”,andthe“RoaringTwenties.”Men’sFashionin1920Women’sFashionin1920Fitzgeraldwasbothaleadingparticipantinthetypicallyfrivolous,carefree,money-makinglifeofthedecadeand,atthesametime,adetachedobserverofit.Hewasthemostrepresentativenovelistofthe1920’s.2Nowlet’slearnaboutFitzgeraldLife

BorninSt.Paul,Minnesota

[ˌmini'səutə]明尼苏达(州名)onSeptember24,1896.HadanexpensiveeducationinprivateschoolsatPrinceton普林斯顿.Duetoillnessandneglectofacademicstudy,helefttheuniversityin1917withoutgraduation.

Hejoinedthearmy.Inhisarmydays,hemetZeldaSayre.Sheisabeautifulsoutherngirl,fromawealthyfamily.ShelovedsocialactivitiesverymuchandtoldFitzgeraldthatshelovedhimbutshewastooexpensiveforhim.InordertomarrywithZelda,FitzgeraldwenttoNYCityandworkedhard.LaterwhenhepublishedhisfirstnovelThisSideofParadise,Zeldamarriedhim."I'vefalleninlovewithawhirlwind旋风

,”declaredtheyounglieutenantFitzgerald,havingmetZeldaSayreatacountryclub.Itwasinthesummerof1918inMontgomery,Alabama."Shedanceslikeaflame火焰

."

Life

Zelda:theprototype原型

ofaseriesofrich,beautifulwomenwhofigureprominentlyinhisfiction.Theyoungcouplefrequentlywentabroadandlivedextravagantlyaluxurious

[lʌgˈzjuəriəs]life.Tokeepearningenoughmoney,Fitzgeraldwroteshortstoriesandnovelsatarapidspeed.Life

The1930sbroughtrelentlessdeclineforFitzgeraldwithaseriesofmisfortunes:hisreputationdeclined,hiswealthfell,hishealthfailed.Zeldahadsufferedfromsomeseriousmentalbreakdownswhichconfinedherinasanitarium

[ˌsæni'tɛəriəm]疗养院

fortherestofherlife.Alcoholism,lonelinessanddespaircombinedtoruinFitzgerald.Hediedin1940ofaheartattack.1947年3月11日凌晨，珊尔达所在的精神病院失火，珊尔达困在顶楼，被活活烧死，年仅四十七岁。

当年菲兹杰拉德从如日中天的二十年代每况愈下，文学圈里的朋友众口一词骂珊尔达毁了他。“珊尔达生活太铺张了，他不得不写那些不入流的小说糊口。”“珊尔达太古怪啦，太多变啦，他心肠真软。”六十年代菲兹杰拉德被评论界再发现，各类学术研究风生水起，女权主义者掀起了研究珊尔达热，珊尔达的书信日记一经公开，诸多女权主义者又异口同声：“是傲慢自私的菲兹杰拉德毁了一个天才的作家、画家、芭蕾舞演员。”

他毁了她，她毁了他，可这远远不能说清他和她之间最深沉的理解和冲突。他控制不住把她灵光四溢的日记抄袭进自己的小说，她控制不住在作家的妻子之外为自己寻找其他的身份。他和她都困惑了，哪一部分的生活是自己的，哪一部分的生活是对方的。即使在她最疯狂最虚弱的日子他们还交换着炙热的情书。她对他：“月亮像失落的钱币掉进深山，草地阴沉而刺鼻，我想让你靠近，我触碰你，像秋天的平静，甚至带一点夏天最后的回声。”他对她：“你是我见过的最精致最可爱最温柔最美丽的人，即使这样也言犹不及。你所忍受的我没有其他人能忍受……”

3Nowlet’slearnthestoryPlotOverview—Gatsbyisapooryouth—fallinlovewithDaisy,awealthygirl—nomoney—Daisymarriedtoarichman—bootlegging（非法制造私酒）,“shady”activities—enoughmoney,dazzlingparties—alluringDaisy—meetagain,notquitetheidealloveofhisdream—asenseofloss—Daisykillsawomaninanaccident—shifttheblametoGatsby—GatsbyisshootandBuchanansescape.JayGatsby

TomBuchananDaisyBuchananTheWilson’s

Nick

CharacterAnalysis

NickCarrawayThedramaticnarrator.NickissuitedtonarratingTheGreatGatsbybecauseofhistemperament.Heistolerant,open-minded,quiet,andagoodlistener,and,asaresult,otherstendtotalktohimandtellhimtheirsecrets.Asaresultofhisrelationshiptothesetwocharacters,Nickistheperfectchoicetonarratethenovel,whichfunctionsasapersonalmemoirofhisexperienceswithGatsbyinthesummerof1922.NickCarrawayCarraway’slimitedomniscience(全知，无限的知识）determinethefactthathedealsoutinformationinsuchamannerthatheseemstowithholditfirst,thuscreatingasuperbeffectofmysteryandsuspense.Atlast,thewholesecretisunraveledandpastandpresentmingletobringthetragicdramatopathetic,significantfinish.NickTom,DaisyandfriendsWilsonsGatsby富有傲慢清高狂妄《星期六晚邮报》缺乏知性粗俗《闲谈》疯狂默默无闻不为人知的悲痛Threegroupsofpeoplesociallydistinctfromoneanotherinbehavior,languageandeverythingelse.Nickgenerallyassumesasecondaryrolethroughoutthenovel,preferringtodescribeandcommentoneventsratherthandominatetheaction.Often,however,hefunctionsasFitzgerald’svoice.InsofarasNickplaysaroleinsidethenarrative,heevidencesastronglymixedreactiontolifeontheEastCoast,onethatcreatesapowerfulinternalconflictthathedoesnotresolveuntiltheendofthebook.Ontheonehand,Nickisattractedtothefast-paced,fun-drivenlifestyleofNewYork.Ontheotherhand,hefindsthatlifestylegrotesqueanddamaging.Nickrealizesthatthefastlifeofrevelry(狂欢)ontheEastCoastisacoverfortheterrifyingmoralemptiness.Symbols1TheGreenLight2TheEyesofDoctorT.J.Eckleburg3TheEastEggandWestEgg1TheGreenLight

“Gatsbybelievedinthegreenlight,theorgastic极度兴奋的futurethatyearbyyearrecedesbeforeus.Iteludedusthen,butthat’snomatter—tomorrowwewillrunfaster,stretchoutourarmsfarther....Andthenonefinemorning—”

“Sowebeaton,boatsagainstthecurrent,bornebackceaselesslyintothepast.”

盖茨比信奉这盏绿灯，这个一年年在我们眼前渐渐远去的极乐的未来。它从前逃脱了我们的追求，不过那没关系——明天我们跑得更快一点，把胳臂伸得更远一点……总有一天……

于是我们奋力向前划，逆流向上的小舟，不停地倒退，进入过去。

1TheGreenLightThegreenlightisonlyagreenlightattheendofDaisy’sdock,buttoGatsbyitbecomestheembodiment体现;化身

ofhisdreamforthefuture,anditbeckonstohiminthenightlikeavisionofthefulfillmentofhisdesires.

“apairoffading,bespectacled带眼镜的eyespaintedonanoldadvertisingbillboardoverthevalleyofashes.”2TheeyesofDoctorT.J.Eckleburg“…blueandgigantic---theirretinas视网膜areoneyardhigh.Theylookoutofnoface,butfromapairofenormousyellowspectacleswhichpassoveranon-existentnose.…anoculistsetthemtheretofattenhispractice...”2TheeyesofDoctorT.J.EckleburgTheeyescouldmeananythingtoanyobserver,buttheytendtomakeobserversfeelasthoughtheyaretheonesbeingscrutinized.['skru:tinaiz]

仔细检查,细看3EastEgg&WestEggWestEggislikeGatsby,fullofgarish耀眼的

extravagance,symbolizingtheemergenceofthenewrichalongsidetheestablishedaristocracy

[ˌærisˈtɔkrəsi]贵族ofthe1920s.EastEggisliketheBuchanans,wealthy,possessinghighsocialstatus,andpowerful,symbolizingtheoldupperclassthatcontinuedtodominatetheAmericansociallandscape.Theme主题主旋律TheDeclineoftheAmericanDreaminthe1920sTheunrestraineddesireformoneyandpleasuresurpassedmorenoblegoals.WhenWorldWarIendedin1918,thegenerationofyoungAmericanswhohadfoughtthewarbecameintenselydisillusioned,asthebrutalcarnagethattheyhadjustfacedmadetheVictoriansocialmoralityofearly-twentieth-centuryAmericaseemlikestuffy,emptyhypocrisy(伪善）.EastEggrepresentstheestablishedaristocracy,WestEggtheself-maderich

Apersonfromanysocialbackgroundcould,potentially,makeafortune,buttheAmericanaristocracyscornedthenewlyrichindustrialistsandspeculators.ThevarioussocialclimbersandambitiousspeculatorswhoattendGatsby’spartiesevidencethegreedyscrambleforwealth.JustasAmericanshavegivenAmericameaningthroughtheirdreamsfortheirownlives,GatsbyinstillsDaisywithakindofidealizedperfectionthatsheneitherdeservesnorpossesses.Americandreaminthe1920sisruinedbytheunworthinessofitsobject—moneyandpleasure.Now,let'shaveadiscussionDoyouthinkGatsbydeservestobecalled“thegreat”?Itiscomplicatedtosay

Gatsbydeservestobe“great”ornot.Foronething,Gatsby’scapacitytodreammakeshim“great”.Gatsbywasambitious,hardworking,generousandpassionate.HewassoextremelyloyaltohisloveDaisythathecoulddoanythingtogetDaisyback:hedidshadybusinesstoearnmoneyandsocialposition;hethrewluxuriouspartiesjusttodrawDaisy’sattention;hecouldtaketheblameforadeaththathedidnotcause.Gatsbynevergaveuphisidealisticdreamwhilestrivingformaterialjoy.Gatsbykeptonmakingeffortstobalancethebothsides.Inthisrespect,heisgreat.

Foranotherthing,GatsbyneverrealizedthatDaisywasn’tthegirlhelovedanymore.Heisnotsowiseandhecannotseethepeopleclearly.Gatsbywassoinnocentthathestakedeverythingonhisdreams,notrealizingthathisdreamsareunworthyofhim.Inthisrespect,Hewasn’tsoberenoughtobegreat.ThescheduleisareflectionofGatsby’s

determinationandamb