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从编年史家到艺术家

山东大学

硕士学位论文

从编年史家到艺术家姓名:王雪青

申请学位级别:硕士专业:英语语言文学指导教师:郭继德

20040315

山东大学硕士学位论文

摘要

少年早慧的菲茨杰拉德二十岁刚过就已成为“爵士乐时代”的代言人和战后十年优秀的编年史家,但其早期作品如《人间天堂》和《漂亮冤家》并未得到评论界多少赏识。直到1925年《了不起的盖茨比》发表后他才赢得作为一位严肃艺术家的殊荣。作为一部艺术作品,它深刻揭示了美国价值观的失落,即“美国梦”的幻灭。菲茨杰拉德还刻画了各种迥然不同的人物形象,并成功运用新颖的叙述技巧及其他写作手法。该论文以讨论其前两部小说的成败为开始入手并结合作家生平,从主题、人物刻画和写作技Ij等方面对他的这一代表作予以分析。

第一章分析其前两部小说的成败,尤其是不足之处。尽管《人间天堂》轰动一时,《漂亮冤家》取得些许进步,在艺术上菲茨杰拉德仍然是一个失败者。而他放荡的生活作风也严重阻碍了其文学发展道路,他不能退后一步进行评析以至于只能做一名大众编年史家。在着手写《了不起的盖茨比》之前,他有幸读到康拉德的《水仙花号上的黑水手》序言,使他消除了自卑情结并获得了对自己文学创作能力的自信心。

第二章从三个方面艉析小说的主题:盖茨比梦想的悲剧特征、盖茨比的主人公形象和作者的道德关注。拥有浪漫梦想无可厚非,但如果在一个并不浪漫的世界而且梦本身已被玷污,悲剧的毁灭性结局则是不可避免的。在这种情况下,盖茨比却仍然甘心为爱付出并忠诚于一个也许永远无法实现的不真实的梦,必定是一种非凡之举。而菲茨杰拉德在小说里真正关注的是美国社会中的道德问题,《了不起的盖茨比》是一部关于理想主义在腐化现实中破灭的道德故事。

第三章讨论菲茨杰拉德在小说中成功的人物塑造。通过非时间顺序叙述,作者展示了主人公盖茨比复杂但可信的人物形象。而某些次要人物也因其简洁的细节描写变得令人难忘,如默特尔?威尔逊的起居室,汤姆?布坎南紧绷的穿着,乔丹?贝克尔用下巴平衡什么东西的姿势等。菲茨杰拉德甚至赋予人物象征含义,扩大并深化了美国梦的主题。与前两部小说相比,男女主人公在性格上更加复杂和丰满。

第四章对作者小说中所运用的精湛艺术技巧进行了阐述。菲茨杰拉德摒弃前期作品使用的饱和原则而采用筛选原则处理写作素材;第一人称叙

述人、叙述角度的转换及叙述空白则展示了作者灵活的叙述技巧;除由新鲜比喻、颜色意象和音乐效果所创造的印象主义画面以外,小说还充满了极富感召力的象征:意义不同的颜色、灰烬谷、艾克尔伯格博士俯视一切的眼睛及布坎南码头仁的绿灯等;在结构上,作品与戏剧非常相似,而戏剧式的组织原则又影响了作者的写作技巧尤其是小说中的诗化语言以及喜剧色彩的情节和场景描写。

第五章讨论康拉德对菲茨杰拉德艺术技巧的影响。《了不起的盖茨比》在文学上取得的巨大成功在几个方面受惠于康拉德。康拉德笔下年轻的吉姆无力挽回丧失的荣誉,盖茨比同样经历了年轻时代梦想的幻灭:叙述人双重看法的采用也得益于康拉德;小说结尾处作者运用的“渐降法”同样受康拉德的启发。

在二十余年的创作生涯中.菲茨杰拉德一度不自觉地完全陷入“喧嚣的二十年代”无法自拔以至于/f;能客观评价周围的世界,但其伟大之处在于后来摆脱了放荡生活并能够用艺术的眼光审视美国社会。《了不起的盖茨比》堪称菲茨杰拉德的一部杰作并使他从大众编年史家成为严肃的艺术家。

关键词:美国梦走瓣艺术技巧茎爿弦而善囊,如。

Abstract

AsaprecociouSboy,Fitzgeraldbecomeswell—knownasspokesmanofJazzAgeaIldcllrOIliclerofpost一、vardecadein11ise盯lytwenties,butgainslinle

criticalappreciationabouthisearlyworkslike砌如&出矿勘,鲥缸eaIld砌口m口“f泓,口ndD口m玎PdThehonorofbeingaseriousanistisn’tawardedtohim

uIltilme”blicationof砌PG旭删G鲫妙in1925.Asaworkofliteraryart,itis

Am套ricanvalues—thelossofregafdedasapmfounddennitionofthelossof

“theAmericalld崩lnl”.Fitzgeraldalsoponraysmanyessemiallydiffbrentindi、’idualsandemploysdistinguishedn册a廿、retecmquesa11dothervariouswritingskills.Inthisthesis,thenoVelistobediscussedintheaspectsiftheme,characterization.andflctionaltechniquesbyresearchworkonFitzgerajd’searlyappremiceshipinan.incombin“onwithhisautobiographjcallife.InChapterOne.Fitzgerald‘si眦1aturityistobef试lyrevealedbyt11ea11alysisofhisnrsttwonoVels.DespitethesensationalbegiIlllingof乃打.研也可砌r口d妇a11dsomeencouraging

in确PBP口叫脚彻dD口小脬e吐he

progress

su疏rSfromaniStic刚We.Inaddition,hisdiSsipated1ifestylealsoseverelya胁ctshisliterarydeVelopmentaIld,asarepresentatiVeofJazZAge,Fitzgeraldcall’tstandbacktocriticizea11dthusremainsmerelyapopularcmDnicleLFommately’before、Ⅳriting7强已6阼删G玎坫缸’.heflndsConrad’sThePrefaceto7协P^r谵弘r可I、白胛担f淞,whicheliminateshisinferioritycomplexandempowerShimtobeself-confidentinhisabili每forlitera可creation.ChapterT、v0approachest11ethemeencompassedin乃PGM讲Gd,s妙int}lreeaSpects:t11e般画cnarureofGatsby’sdre锄,tllehemicimageofGatsbyandthemoralityconcemsofFitzgerald.TbhaVearomallticdreaIIlisofnofault,butwhenitisina11u11romantic、vorlda11dmedreamitselfhasahadybeent删shed,thetragicdestnlctionisinevitable.Undersuchcircumstances,Gatsby,whois、villingtocor衄“llimselftoloVeaIldremains腼m如1toaIlunrcaHsticdre锄血atmayneVerbemlfilled,almostcertainlybecomesextraordina融in

mterialisticaninldeaIldthe姗biguoussourceOf11iswealm.Whatspiteofhis

Fitzgeraldconcemsmo巩however'istllemoralityissueinAmericansociet)jwhichhasbeendiscussedin"圯G旭讲G口“妙.amoralitytaleofidealismdestroyedbyaconllptedworld.

Chaptern鹏eisdesiglledtoanal>rZeFi乜gemld’ssuccessfulcharacterizationin功P帆讲函,s吵.Gatsbybecomes也emostcomplicatedbutbelieVableprotagoniStinmeprocessofnon—sequentialpresentation.Someminorcharactersarealsounfo唱enablebecauseofFitzgerald’sconcisedepictionofdetails’suchasMynleWilson’ssm“1apanment.TomBuchanan’stightdress.andJordanBaker’spostureofbalatlcingsomeobiectonherchjn,etc.FitzgeraIdeVenendowscharacterssymbplicmeaning,whichenla瞎esanddeepenstllethemeofAmericalldream.Theheroesandheroinesinpersonal畸of砌P6w口,G口坫妙arericherandmorccomplicatedt11anthoseinhispreviousworks.comparedwithheroesa11dheroinesinhispreviousworks,thosein功PGM口,(油船妙arericheraIldmorecomplicatedinpersonality.

ChapterFourfocusesonFitzgemld‘scons雌ⅡnateteclllliquesemployedinthenoVel.HeabandonstllesatIl】mtionprincipleheadoptedinthe矗rsttwonoVels,aIldsortsouthisrichmaterialswithselectionmetllod.HedisplayshisflexiblenaITativeskills:theadoptionofanrst-personnarratorhelpshimtoachieVebothdetachmentandobjectivi毗theshimngofpoimsofviewleadstocoherenceandunityoftheplot,aIldt11edesignofnarrativegapscreatesroomforimaginationa11drenection.Besidesimpressionisticscenesdesc曲edwim舶shmetaphors,colorimages,a11dmusicale毹cts,thenovelisalso棚edwitheVocatiVesymbols,suchasdi馈rentcolors,theValleyofAshes,thebrood访ge)7esofDLTJ.Ecklebu唱,a11dmegreenli曲tattheendoftlleendofBuchanans’dock.ThesnllctureOfthenovelisverymuchlikeadr{瑚aorplay’whichfuIthera艉ctseveryaspectofFitzgerald’sanis仃y,especially也epoeticlangllage

of砌PG您讲G船砂aIld吐1ecomic-toneddescriptionofactionandsDectacle.

ChaptcrFivediscussesCoImd’sinnuenceon

Fitzgerald’sanis时.The

Comd’sinfluenceingreatliterarysuccessofZ砑已G憎叫Gd坫妙owesmuchto

s“eraJaspects,LikeConrad’syoungJim,whoendeaVorsinVaintorecoVerhislOsthonor,Gatsbyexperiencessimilardisillusionaboutllisyouthdre锄.MallycriticshaveagreedtllatthedoubleVisionpOssessedbythenarratorbenefitsalotf如mCoIlrad.Andthe“dyingf砒1”Fltzgeraldusesattheclosingof%eG陀斫

G口“6yowestoConrad’sinfluencetoo.

D嘶nghislitemrycareerofmore山antwentyyears,FitzgeraldonceunconsciouslyimmersedhimselfentireIyimotheRoaring1、ventiessothathecouldn’tcommenttheworldaroundhimobjectiVelyButitisgreatofhimthat

hehasobtainedtherareabilityofseparatinghimselff.romthedissipatinglifc

andscrutinizingt}1eAmericansocietyw曲ananisticeyein豫eG陀d,G口船砂,whichdesenfestobethemasterpieceofFitzgeralda11destablisheshimasaseriousartistratherthaJlapopularc虹onicIeL

Words:Americandre锄characteriza“onfictionaltechniquesKey

artiSt

原创性声明

本人郑重声明:所呈交的学位论文,是本人在导师的指导下,独立进行研究所取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外,本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的科研成果。对本文的研究作出重要贡献的个人和集体,均已在文中以明确方式标明。本声明的法律责任由本人承担。

一年

论文作者签名:王!蕴整日期:坦丝至!刍

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本人完全了解山东大学有关保留、使用学位论文的规定,同意学校保留或向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版,允许论文被查阅和借阅:本人授权山东大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索,可以采用影印、缩印或其他复制手段保存论文和汇编本学位论文。

(保密论文在解密后应遵守此规定)

论文作者签名:圣宣盘导师签名:——日期:丝!生i:!y

Introduc“0n

FitzgeraldwaSaMiddle—Westemer,bomin1896atSt.Paul,Minnesota.HisfirStnoVel,砌括所如∥凡嘲d趣,waspublishedin1920afldwasimmediatelysuccess凡1.A

Vol岫eofshortstories,只哆即日坶册dp^洳sDp办e憎,asecondnovel,孤eBe鲫f咖hndDo郴etandanothefbookofstories,扬feso厂.见口爿∥,followed.砌已G陀口,Gd拈印印pearedin1925and爿f,胁e勋d均枷曙朋毒打waspublishedayearlateLAndmentheJazzAgewasover,anditseemedthatFitzgerald’scareer、vasoveLtoo.Hebecame“oneoft}10semenwhoreachsuchanacutelirnjtedexcellenceattwenty—onemateverythingaRenvardsavorsofanti—climax.”(p.6)ln1934,死”如,尽r加Ⅳ姆缸waspublished.Althou曲itwasapreciseindictmentofin℃sponsiblesocialValuesofthe1930s,thecriticsharshJyaccusedFitzgeraldofignoringtheDepressionwhilehewaSw订tingamVolousnoVelaboutderallgedAmericanswhopreferredEuropeovertheirnatiVeIand.Beforehe矗nishedanotbernoVel,劢P上甜,刁啦o。”,Fitzgeralddiedin1940,aged44,amanurholivedinthelasttwili曲tdecadeofhisshonlife.7协PG陀甜(谄船砂,姗ongmeabove—mentionedliteraryworks,isFitzge脚d’smasterpiece.Wthfnjnorexceptions,revieWersin1925noticedtheadVanceof劢日(沁讲G船砂overhjspreviouswork.Gco略eJeallN甜laIlt01dFitzgeraldina1etterthatit哪“leaguesinadVanceofany“ngyouhaveeverdone.”1EvenT.S.Eliot,oneofmeestimablea11dtougll.m血ledcritics,sawthenoVel‘sincandescentqualityaIldmadeafamouseulog)fofi拈being‘岫efirststeptllatAmericaIlfictionhastakensillceHenry

J锄es.”2InMencken‘s、vords,

“Fitzgeraldhasle锄ed

economyofwordsa11ddevices;hehaSbeguntogive

thoughtto蛐mctllre;hjswholeat£itudehaschanged丘om也atofabrilliami瑚pmVisatortothatofapainstakillgandconscientiousanist,”3Hehad,inshon.broughtintoclearfocusallofthepreoccupationsandeXper{enceslesscapablytreatedinhisearliernovels;a11dhenever仃eatedthemsowellagain.

LikeaIlysuccess甜workofan,砌PGM甜G口捃砂canbeviewed矗omavarietyofcriticalperspectiVes.ThemostcommononcistodiscussmenoveIjn

te锄sof。itsIllemeS__theAmericandre锄a11ditsuIlattamability.AnotllercornmonwayofstudyingmenoVelistoex疵neFitzgerald’suseofsymbols,whichincludemeeyesofDr.■J.EcUebu唱onhisadVertisement,meuseof

Feena11dwhiteaSsigIlificantcolOrsinmenoVel;afldaJlusiven锄es—East

Egg,

wbstEgg,JordanBakerandGatsby.砀PG阳dfG日船砂hasaIsobeenstudiedforsi弘sofFitzgerald’sliteraryillnuences.ThemostcoInmoIllycitediIlfluenceis也atofT.S.Eliot’spoem孤e肋sfe£Ⅱn正whichprobablyiInpelledFitzgeraldtopresemthedumpbeMeenNewYorkC时aIldtheLongIslandhomesoft11echamctersinsymbolicteⅡns.

Thisthesisis锄anempltocommenton7协PG憎日f(珏“妙,访combinationwitht11ehistoricalbackground,itsautllor’sautobiographicalinfo衄ationa11dliteraryinnuenceOfCo哪d,onpurposetodemonstmteFitzgerald’ssolidpositionasa11anistintheliteraryworld.ARerathorou曲reViewonFitzgerald’sf|rst.[wonoVels,wKcharelackofdepthincomemandm锄一tyinfbHn,itwillinterpretitstheme,characterization,andfictionaltechniques,throughacomprehensiveanalysisofthismasterpiece.

Chapterone

EarlyAppren“ceship

ItisabsolutelywrongtoconsiderFitzgemldasa粕1edliteraryhopejust1becauseofhisindulgenceinadissipatedlife,buthedidproduceaneno∞ousnumberof“slick”storiesforthehi曲-pricedmagazinesw11ilehisfirst“∞noVelswere“bestsellers”舶mafinancial,ifnotliteraIy,pointofviewDespitemeawarenessofmosemoralaIldintellectualflawswhichwereshapingthedirectionofAmericaaSanation,inhisearlywork.however,heseemedtopossessnoaestheticobjectiVitysothathef撕ledtoViewtlletimes吐1roughastruct埘ngoffictionwhichwouldstaIldalone,independentoffashionableliteraryposture,becausehehadbeentooclosetohistimes.

1.SensationalbegiⅡⅡiⅡg

砌括s池∥户口朋幽P,arealisticpictureofPrincetonunde聊duatelifeand山eunde唱raduatemindinJazzA薛,isactuallyt11emostautobio伊aphicalof

Fitzgerald’smajorworks.Amory,t11eprotagoniStoft}lenoVel,projectsasli曲tlyrom觚ticizcdScottFitzgeraldexceptforhisglamorousch订d1100d,beautimlyet

in.esponsiblemotherandaf爸wadditionalinchesofheight.Withexperiencesmostdrawn矗DmFitzgerald’slife,AmoryspendspanofhisteenageryearsinSt.Paulandanendsprepsch001atPrinceton.Amory’sinnuentialrelationshipwitllDarcyrecallsFitzgerald’srelationshipwitllFatllerC)一lFay.Amory’sunhappyromallce埘mIsabellepafallelsFitzgerald’s吼successmlcour七shipofGinem飚ng,a11d血eprotagollist’smoreseriollsinvolvementwi血andlossofRosalindConnagearebasedonFitzgerald’sloVeafrairwithZelda.Therefore,essentiaUy也ebookdesc曲esFitzgerald’sseIlseoffailure、vim11isacademicperfonTlallceand血e自ls拄ationofhisdreamsatPrincetont11roughaIl印isodicaccountingofayoungman’smaturation.

ThenoVelattemptstoputtherealmofresponsibilityand也esigllificanceofasocialinStitImonimoala塔ercontextⅡlanthatofjuSt血eindiVidual.Thou曲Amory’sengagementhasbeenbmkenandheispemliless,t11ereisah印py

矗mlrcinstore

“Herewasanewgenerationshoming也eoldcries,1e吼ingtheoldcreeds,tllmu咖areveryofdaysaJld11i曲ts;destinedfiIlallytogo0utimothatdi啊伊ayturmoiltofollowloVeaIldpride;anewgenerationdedicatedmore也antllelaSttothefcarofpoverty姐dmeworshjpofsuccess;酽ownuptonnda11godsdead,a11warSfought,allfaimsinmanshaken.”(p.253)

LookingbackgIoomilyoVerhist、venty—fouryearS.hereflects,“Iknowmysele~bmthat’sa11.”(p.305)BesidesmisinVariablywill缸limmaturityincharacterS,FitzgemldfailstobuildasensitiVerelationbetweenAmory’sperSonaland蹦nceton’sinstitutionalsun侧ndillgs.AmoryreInainso柚yaexperience

passiveobse九TerofmereVolutionarystudents,sodoesFitzgerald,whojerkSllisf1印persandjellybeansbeforetllereaderaIldsayssomewhatcyllically,“Here

are.Whatareyougoingtodoaboutit?”Heo仃ersnosolutionbutmerelyyou

idelltincation研mpresemsitAttllecIosingofthenovel,AmoDr’ssudden

socialismleadstoalooseconnectionbetweensociet)r砒血euniversityandsocietyatla唱e.

Intemlsofwritingtech蚵ques,especiallytheuseofpointofVie、v,FitzgemldpossessednoabilitytoseehismaterialobjectiVelymoughheplacedhjmselfatsomedistallce劬m吐屺tale.In砌括&如0厂P计ddbP,headopted血elimitedommsciencebyma姑ngacomprornjsebe铆eenknowingeverymingandknowingnothing.Tbbemorcspecific,thestoryisseentllrou曲Ⅱleeyesofasinglecharacte卜-AmoryB1aine、Vhileitisnamtedbyanon—participatingnarratonThust11eautllorcaIltellat谢Uwhatdifrerentcharactersaredoingi11di脏remtimesandplaces.Me趴枷iehecaIlalso丘eelyime甲ret锄dcornmemonthcirbchaviorbyseeing劬mtheangleofAmo阱Then也enoVelconveysmesenseofsubjectiVit),aSwellast11esenseofobjectiVi够

Butasaresult,t11enovellacksimmediacya11dlife—likepresentadon.FOrinstance,theactionsareoRensuⅡ瑚_arizcda11dthereaderhastogetthetalealwayssecond.hand.SometimesAmory’sl工lindwillberevealedpredominantly.Morcover’丽也outttleawarenessofshjRingpoiIltsofView'FitZgeraldhastouse

mallysubtitlessuchaS“Spiresa11dGargoyles”,“TheEgotistConsiderS”a11d“NarcissusOfrDu可”etc.tointroducet|leepisodeswllichc踟0tberelatedtooneano山erandsoastohelpAmorytotraInsfer丘Dmscenetoscene.Thismetllod出l工Ylagest王lecoherenceandinte酣tyofmenovel姐dmusthewholebookseemstobeamosaicarraIlgememofirrelevantevents.Inaddition,asa

storyna“ated舶mt11e

protagollist‘spoimofView’thereadershouldbeleRwi出

Amory’sjudgment.HoweVer,也eautllorofknintrudesimotheprogressofplotduetotheuseofomniscience.

criticshaveobservedtllat血砌括s胁矿尸甜口如PFitzgeraldemployedt11esaturationmethod.mixingaV撕etyofstylesandfo订ns—_verseaIldshortplays,forex锄ple,areincludedwitllinhjsnarrative_aswellasatleaSttwosometimesinconsistentpointsofView:AmoryBlaine’sandtheautllor’sownomniscientVoice.ThenovelestablishedFitzgeraldasaliterarycelebrityin1920,butwascriticizedby1iterarycriticsbecauseitwasamechaIlicalmixtureofv撕ouslitcrarymodes,forcedinteIlectualsmannessa11dacenainbookishanxietyto“shock”aswellasplease.AsHeywoodBmwnremarked.。。Thereistoomuch旬ot、vorkandtoomuchfeimingforanythingtohaveblooddra、vnin

anysuchexhibmonaSthat."4Itbec锄e

immenselypopularsimplybecauseit

cau曲tt王letoneoftlleage.

Itponraysageneration笋awnupto矗nd“allgodsdead,allwarsfought,allf瓠thinmenshaken”wi血twoconcemsintlleirlives:mefcarofpovertvajldtheworshipofsuccess.Itspublicationisconsideredtobe也eevent血atmarked也ebeginningoftheJazzAgeas、靶IlasthebeginIlingofFitzgerald’swritingcarceLButdespite也erarecombinationofprecocityandtrIJeori西nalityinthenovel,itisdenouncedmmostu11a11imouslyasapieceofseriOuSwriting.ItisomyarepononayoungmaIl’semotionalreadinessfor1ife,but,asafi芏1ishedworkofan,itisratller证lperfect.

2.EncouragingpI.09ress

In恤follo池gyears,Fitzg刊dbotllenjoyed11isfilllleandstmggledhonesnytomakesomemingmoreofhistalemm姐a11earlysuccesssecmedt0

demalld.In1922,tlleSecondbook,劢PB鲫“,泓,鲫dD口聊行耐appeared如dhe

wmte,asus训,muchofhimselfintoit.TheS仃ongestautobiogr印hicalelementsint11isnovellieinitsponra)alofama玎iagebomdefinedands饷inedbyendlesspartiesinNewYorkC时Butint}lewondofpanieswimF趾deurand

ex廿avaga工lce,thereisanaIlxietyoVermoneH西oomyspirimalbarrellnessarldallintofdecadenceanddecay锄ongthehustleaIldbustleofrccUess

merry—making.The仃agichero,firStseenin砌西所出可P口阳如P,beco驴esmoredeflnablehere.WhereasAmorydeclaressomewhatoVer-optimistically:“Iknowmyself._-butmat’sall,”AnthonyPatch,an01dera11dmoredissipatedAmo融endsbrokenbothphysicallyaIldmemally.Hisyoum,healtha11dloVe

havebeenexhaustedinthesordidstnl991etoinherithisgmd蛐∥smillionsofpropertyHecannotfacelife、vitlloutmem,buttheycannolongergiVehim

t哪edf毫Verishandtheanypleasure.Theglitteroftheirresponsiblelif色has

dancersmecha面callyrepeat山edancetheyno10ngerenjoyThenoVelisa“mora】pardble”5、v11icheVokesa”dreamyatmosphere”6dealingwithacentralthemeandmedegenerationa11ddecayofagloriouscouplewhOareguiltyof“excessiveindulgenceinillusionsanddreams.”7ButFitzgeraldallowsAntllonytocapturetheobjectof11isdesiretooquickly,toofulIy,toophysically.Hedoesn’tallowdistancetope怕rnlitsfunctionaSin砌口GM讲∞肛砂,causingthe出eamtodeveloptomorecomplexpmportions.Asaresult.in砌eBP口Ⅳr泓fd疗dD口,”"Pdthepowerofthis“dream”is仃agicallyoVershadowedbyitsmpiddegeneration.

A』10theradvancementmadein砌eBP目“,泓,Ⅱ聆dD口聊"副ist11atFitzgerald

showsdisliketothegemlemenofAmthonyPatch’sworlda11da撕ksthem州吐lallthesavageryofyoum.Hedoesn’tbelieveinpmhibitionasalaW,buthedoesn’tbelieveindrhlki工lgeimeLHehashishero,amaIlofpromise,almostdrirll【11imselftodeam,indicatingt11atmoneyhasades缸uctiVepower.ThernjsfortunesofAnmonyaIldGlo西a,are,however,forcedinmeplota11dFitzgeralddoesn’tkIlowwhattodo、vitllhjsheroa11dhemineinmeendbutmakettlemsu舵LThenovcl埘llplacenob1跏eeimeronmenm聆ofthjngsorontheinjusticesoftlleumlappyco芏lsequencesaSiftheyhadeamedttlem.Incomparison、vim砌括s胁盯凡m如口,de印iteamoreseriousgmtude,the

f撕tsin7诲P占P口Ⅲ咖d口聆d上k聊聆Pdaremoreharmfulandtheredeemingelationisabsent.

FitzgeraldalsohadimproVedhisnar姐tiVeskillbyusingalessobtmsiVeaumorwhodoesnotdisturbthestorysosuddenashedidbefore.ButhestilloccasionallvaddrcssedhimselftothereadeLThedrawbackinnarrationislargelydueto山eomIliscientpointofviewemployedint11ework.Thestoryistoldprimarilyt}∞ughtheeyesofAmmonya11dGloria'butattlles锄etimeFitzgeraJddoesnothesi扭tetoadopttheperspectiveof

V撕ous幽orcharacterswhenitisnecessaⅣ.ThjsadVallcement,howeVer,indicatesthathebegaIltoanempttos王1iRpointsofViewTherefo陀thoughitstillsu矗brs行ominconsistemstyleaIldtone.authorialintmsions,a11dawkwardlytamperedmaterialfbmothergenrcs,砌8&口“,以h"dD口Ⅲ肝耐jsmoreti曲tlyconstmctedthan砌括sideofPnrnd{se.

Inaword‘乃PB阳“,泓7鲥(,D忉川刀P吐lessvivacious山柚thefirstnovel,r印ectsthee丘’ortofagenuineanist.InsteadofrepeatinghisfiI苫tsuccess,Fitzgeraldwritesmoreprofoulldlyandconsciously.ItwasnotuIlt订1919,justashewasrewriting劢如彤如0,P日rddb已fort11et}lirdandlasttime,t11athediscovcredthetraditionofAmericannaturaJism.In1920一1921,FitzgeraldexperiencedatemporaryconVersiontomeAmericannal[uI试isticfictionw订ters—merealistswhoportmyedcharactersasVictimsofdeterrninisticforces.Undersuchcircumstances,hemodeled7协P曰e日“,驴hf口门d.D口m门e吐inwhichthe

maⅡiageof灿曲onyandGl蕊abreaksup恤ou曲acombinationof

dissipation

andofimpotencebroughtonbyAnmony。ssenseofthefutilityof1ife,

consciousIyon血e正ctionofsomenativen叽姐lists,no诅bIyNorris’s砌甩如vPrand砌P甜“阳andDreiser’s砌PG明f淞.

3.PopuIarchroⅡicler

ThefactthatFitzgeraldbecaIllealite删可celebritytooe州y811dtoorichlymakes11iscriticalr印utationun硒rlyvulnerable.Inadditiontomisaspect,however,山ere、VaSaIsothefkt也athebccamesothomughlyidemified谢t11吐lc91itte血g、Ⅳorldofn印pers,disillusioIlSa工ld“early50rrows”romalltjcal】ya

当奎盔兰鎏圭兰竺兰兰

partofmemy血ologyofmeAmericant、venties,tllathewaSunconsciollSlydepdVedof血epowertoscrutiIlizetlleworldaroundllimatadistance、Ⅳi血acriticaleye.

劢括&出矿P删d妇notonlyoveIjoyedtlleyollIlga叫10r、)lri血immediatesuccessbutalsofinarIced11imtoleadaIlex仃aVagaIltandintoxicatedlifeoftllewealtllyFitzgeraldwaSatt11ecenterofthemosts拄il(ingmaIlifestationofmeBoomyears—arecUessa11dex仃aVaganta滟mpttoseekafterwealm,pleasureand船edom.Inhiso、Ⅵ1words,itwas‘‰emostexpensiveorgymhistory’’o,‘‘awholeracegoinghedonistic,decidingonpleasure’坩,‘‘dlewholeuppertenthofanationliVingwiththeinsouciallceofgmddukesa芏ld血ecasualnessofchoms2irls”10

Duringthe1920s,t11eanistshouldbeanalienatedfigⅦ陀:bydedicatinghimselftothereligionofart,heautomatica|1yrenouncedme孕℃atprizesofwealth,poWerandpopularity.Inthepost-WWIperiod,America“loSt,’manynneyoungwriters、vholeRhomeaIldexpa研atedthemselvestoParisforthesal(eofanbecausetheirnatiVecount叫waslikeasp试tualwagtelalldasTS.E1iothaddescribedinhispoet阱UnlikemostnovelistswhOshunnedthe

dissipatedlifeaIldatmosphereofc啪iValinnleir

mo也erland,Fitzgeraldwas

irresistiblydra仉mtothe91itterhechronjcledbecauset11e“chanceofhavinganytllingyouwaIlted”,asEdmondWilsonputit,f瓠cinatedhim.Fitzgeraldgrewup、Ⅳitllasenseofbeingapoorboyinarichman’sworld,whichledhimtobelieveinme山nericaJldrearnofsuccess,personal“fillnlent,a11dwealth.Hisenthusiasticresponsestomoneywerefirstfolmedbyhjsfarnily’s锄biguoussocialpositioninSt.Paulandby11isexposuretot11esonsafld

daughtersofthe蚯luematprepschoolandPrinceton.Hissenseof

being

excludedf如mthefkedomandoppommitiesprovidedbymoneyhadbeen蛐erintensmed

byhisinabili母tomarryZeldarightaway.

nlerefore,ramerlikeAmoryBlainein砌括黜D,P舢挑扑efeltthat“itisn’ttllatImind廿1e91itteringcastesystem…butgosh…I’vegottobeoneof廿lem.”(p.113)Fitzgeraldinvolvedhjmselfentirely、vithnleglossyandwe出血y

cosmopolitanlife趾d舢chofhisstyle,i11lifeand

writing,hetook仃ommat

immerSion.Wtll踢妇删0矿P酊口如P,hehadsethimselfmetaskofcatching8

当.j::ji星圭i竖j:::

themoodofyoumanditssuccessencomgedhimtobecomeastyle—setterfor山etimes,toidemifytightly诚也itsmoodsandf如hions.TKsidemi矗cationsatisfiedmanvofhiscrudestambitionsaIldhisobsessionwith、vealth.He

caught蛐melfupin也eAm硝canupperclassatatimewh∞itdominatedthepaceofmodemStylebyitsmoneya11ditsdelicatetasteforfashionaIldwhent11e

morerootedsocialcultllreof也ewealthyinthepastmadewayforalifeofsplendiddiSplay,abndofdI℃ambehaVioLA11wercconVertedintoapopular’easyaI—money-makingkjndoffiction.

Inthenexttwoyearsanerthepublicationof砌括sfd毒0厂尸日阳矗缸P,

Fitzgeraldheldbigpaniesmessantlywhetherin协hionabIeNewYorkorinFraIlceandItalyHeplayedashardasa11yofhisweal出iestandmOstwasteful

youngcomemporaries.HeeVenfcItthattheabintytospendmoneyrecklessly

wasSomehowidentmedwithy。uthaIldtalentand10、7e.Ina1ettertohismot|lerFitzgeraldhimselfsaid,“AllbigmenhaVespentmoney丹eely.IhateaVariceor

evencaution.’’11

Beinga11anist.forFitzgerald,alsomeaIltworkiI培formoney

andbeingapmvideLaneconomicaI】ysu珩cientmallwhosupportedllisf砌lyaIldcouldnottoleratedebt.Ho、vever,theperpetualparties,noodedbynotonly

uninvitedbut,often,幽owngustsbegalltoresembletllosedesc曲酣in劢PBe口“,∥h,口以dD口研”PdFitzgeraldfelthimselfdesperatelyindebt,pressedto埘iteaniclesaIldstorieswhoseadVallcepaymentshadalre{ldybeenspent.Hegotavaguerecognitionthatweal山,likebeau吼wasinsomewayassociatedwithevil’buthehadnointemiontocountertllebl觚dmaterialism,whichheidentmedaroundhimin11isearlyworks.

T0someextent,Fitzgemldwasr印resen诅tiveatdi位rellttimesi芏ldi疏rentways.IIli石allyhehelpedtocreatet11eJazzAgebytellingpeoplethathefcltmeydid,matsomeminghadtobedone.HewroteaboutcunPmchaIlgesinbehavior,feelingaIldmoraloutlooksasif如eywereaccompIishedfkts.Hebrou曲tsocialchallges诵thintheorb“ofhiscomemporaries’eVerydayconsciousness.Hemadetlleun∞砌ingeffbctofmewarclea】trtot11em;hetaughtmemtotakearelaxedviewofthcdecayingPl埘tan

res删ntsondrillldnga11dhssingin

automobiles;heinspiredmem埘mcontemptformematerialworriesofmebus血∞smn.Throu曲hisPortrayalsofIsabelleaIldRosalindin弛妇&出矿

Pd,?口。(班已,hedeflnedanewsocialtype——_thenappeLBy也etimeZ协P。日已口“f∥h,Ⅱ雎dD口小一Pd印pearedin1922.TheperiodwhenFitzgeraldnotoIllyreflectedandrecordedtheagebutalsohelpedtofomlit_、vasoveL

Asaresult,Fitzgeraldbec锄elimemoret11anachronicler,“amanwhoseimmersionint11esociallifeandcommerceofMstimes,intheprevailing锄bitioIls,tlleshjRing1ife-唧les,the‰andme舳nZies,the锄usementsa11dtunes,廿1efhsllionabledisplaysandthecurrcmmores,theum耐ndingdetailofhistomgavellimnorealdistance、vithwhichtostalldbackandshapeorcrjticjZe”12

4.Difficunrecovery

ThesenseofinferiorityhauntedFitzger“dwhenhe、vasstillateenager,、vholivedinahousebelowmeaverageonast陀etaboVetheaVerage.WhetheratSt.PaulAcademyorinPrincetonUniversity,hewasalwayst11epoorboyina

richschooltHisunfhvorablef砌lybackgrounddeepenedhisself.doubtsfbrmelackofany1(indofintellectuaIinheritallcef如mparents:“Myfamerisamomn

a11dmymot}lerisaneurotic,halfinsane、vithpam0109icalne“ouSwOrD,.Bet、veen出emtheyhaven’tandneverhavehadthebrainsofCalvinCoolidge.”¨MeanwhileFitzgeraldremainedpanicularlyiIldmatedbytheWilsons,BishopsaIldMenckensofhjsliteraryworld.Atschool,theywerehisintellectualsuperiors—hehadstruggledeVentopasshjsPrincetoncourses.

nleybrou曲tincessaIltchargesagaillsthisworkofbeiIlgimmatl盯e,shortofpr0‰di吼insufficientlySerious.Mostofmetimeheacc印ted,埘moutfi曲ting

back,thm血erewaSasu耐icialitya_bommsworkandeVen也at11issupposedimellecnlalshortcorningsWereadisabIingcharactefisticofmsan.Hecoul血’t舶e王limselfentirelyofsuchaco曲dence-drainingnotionasheputittoEdmulldWlsonaslate够in1939,tllathewaS“StillnleigIlommllsthatyouandJohn

woteaboutat胁ceton.’’14

Bishop

Infact.sincemesummerof1922—面出edalrnost舶mthcmomentofmepublicationof,协eB已d“ff厅0口nd.D口mHe4一Fitzgeraldhadbeguntoconceivehisthirdno、吧!.Butitwas访t11esUmmerof1924aRerhe,Zeldaand也eirdaughter

moVedtotheFrenchmVierathathereallycommencedthewntlng.。rhe

intenl】ptionofendlessbtps,day—aRer—daypartiesandweekendguestsmighthavecausedsuchadelay.Anotherimportantfhctor,whichhasoRenbeenignored,istheabove—memionedinferioritycomplex.HehadwrittentoPerkjns,that“Idoubtiea矗eraij,I’儿everⅥ一teanythingagainwormpu砸nginto砸m.’’15Tllisu11cenain可a11dself_doubtmighthavefoullderedllisanisticself-beliefandaeStheticself-confidence.

FortunatelxFitzgeralddiscoveredCoIlrad‘sPrcfaceto砌gⅣjgg已r矽.v口厂c.抽sw,amajordeclarationofhisaestheticbeliefasanoVelist.Conradinsiststhatthepoweroftheanisth“enothiIlgtodowimthebrillianceofrnindor

depthofmou曲t.unlikethethinkerorscient瓯ananistobtainshissourcesofaestheticpower,whichliesdeepwithintheindiVidualhimsel£“Conf如ntedbythes锄eenigmaticalspectacletheartistdescendswiminhimself,andinthat

temlsofhisappeal.”16Healso10nelyregionofstressandstrife,…hefindsthe

encouragesthenovelist“togoundeterredbyfalterin舀weariness,ooreproach.”¨From血ispreface,Fitzgeraldobtainedaperspective,whichfil】edhimwithane、Kexhjlarating,andreleasingsenseofpoweLHewrotetoPerkjnsthathefelt“aIleno珊ouspowerinmeno、v.”Itisthiscreativepowerthatwillinfbnnhisnewwork:“T}lisbook谢llbeaconsciouslyartisticachieVementa11dmustd印endonthatast|lefirstbooksdidnot.’’18Itisalsobecauseofmispowerthatheco玎lpletedtllefirstcraRof乃PG陀臼,∞,s砂withjnt}鹏emonthsin1924

Chapter1Ⅵo

ProfoundTheme

Likeotllerw打cersof血e1920s.Fitzgeraldwasfascinatedbythespectacleofwhathadbecomeof“TheAmericanDrc啪”~avisionofaNewWorldofboundlessoppommities.Yetsomewhereinthe“drea武’itse拉hadbeenspoiled,notcompletelydestroyedbuthadbeendegraded.AsWWIc锄etoaIlend,theslogallsof订aditionalAmericallmomlityhadbeenexposedaSverbalgestures,Whichcouldhardlycoverthegrossestaspectsofsems}111ess,hypocrisyafldmoral、7acu啪.HoweVer’Fitzgeralddidnot“retreat”fbmAmericaandneitllerdidheattemptto州tewashthesordidness.InnPG卯讲G船咄usingwhaIheknew—whathehimselfhad,Fitzgemlddramatizedthedreamswllichhefelttob“hecoreofAmedca’sgreamess,arIdreVealedthoseaSpectsof“TheAmericanDre踟”whichhadcauseditsdegradation.

1.DemiseofAmericandream

7协PG旭讲G口船砂hasbeenpraisedbycriticsasaprofounddefinjtionofmelossofAmericanvalues—thelossof“TheAmericanD忱anl”.ARerⅥ,M.meAmericandrcarr卜_thebelief出ataspirationscouldbemlfilledthrough

work—seemeddeadorat1eastterriblycornlpted.ManyimaginationaIldhard

young、确tersmoVedtoE啪pe,w}lichseemedtoprovideamorestimulatingbutlesshypocriticaJenv曲衄em.A1thou曲FitzgeraldlivedabroadfornearlysixyearsandwasoneoftllemajorAmericanwritersinthe1920s,hedidnotsharethedisinusiomemwi也cenainAJnericans.Instead.hebelievedmatAmericaremainedthe1andofoppornmi坝ofidealism,ofgreatpotentialitiesaIldpossibilities.Yethealsorecog【lizeditsrealmeaIl证gwaseluSive+In乃P毹讲渤拈砂,Gatsby’sdreaInsarenoble,“enincorru州ble;butasNickCarrawaysays,“is‘、vhatpreyedonGatsby,whatfouldustnoatodinthewakeofhisdre锄s”(p.4)matdefeatshhandhisowni衄ocenceaboutt11edifrerencesbet、Ⅳeennewand01dwealtll.and血eh纠山essandcarelessnessoftheB1】chanans

Forthel7-year-oldJamesGatz,hjsdreamistoserve“avast,Ⅶlgarandmerctriciousbeamy.”Hebelievest11at‘‘therockof吐屺、vorldwasfouIldedsecurelyonafairy’swing.”(p.90)Heimagines11imselftobe“sonofGod”a11dso‘’nustbeaboutHisFather’sbusiness.”(pp.89—90)Inf.act,Gatsbydoesn’t

rec印tureoreVenneverreallygetstllebeautyDaisy,a11dwhe山erheisabootlegger,amurdererorabusirlesSmandealingwithstolenbonds,itisf打疗om山ehoIyworkasheonce油agined,

ThedeIniseofAmericalldre锄证劢PG知谢G口坫砂isbo血血evitablea11d

扛a西c.Gatsbytakespursuitoflovcashislifecareer,butactuallyhekeepsblindlydedicatedtoanonexistentideal.Hestubbornlyre血sestoregardDaisyasa“feofanotllermanandmot}1erofaIittlegirl.Hefollowsthcgraillikeapiouspil鲥ma11dinsists也atonecallindeed“repeattIlepast”.(p.99)He

choosesto印proachhisdreamgirlbyeVerypossiblemeans:hefirsttransfomls11imselfintoamillionajre,t11enbuysamansionjusttobenearDajsy,a11dfj舳】】yar瑚gespa而esinexpectationofDaisy’sarTival.ButwhenGatsbyreallymeetsDaisyinperSonaRerfiVe?yearseparation,hehasexperiencedas仕ongsenseoflos卜_‘‘DaisytIlmbledshortofIlisdre锄s.”(p.86)SheisincapableofunderstalldingIlim,aSGatsbybelievessheuSedto,a11d‘mervoiceisfullofmoney.”(p.108)LaterWhenTomforcesashowdo、Ⅵl、vitllGatsby,t}lemostt11at

DaisycaIlmarlageis“Ididlovehimonce—_butIlovedyoutoo.”(p.118)Tom

is‘‘№甜acksGatSbyof

doingsomethjnguIlderthetableandinTom’seyes,he

Nobody舶mnowhere.”Ga曲yaimostcrushesu11dertfleheavybfow’Heisforcedtorealize也athedoesn’tnecessarily珥)peart0omersinhisass哪edPlatollicconceptionofhimself.HeissimplyaVulgarpan,erm,ab00tlegger,ache印s讯ndler,aIlaSsociateofcrooksandg锄blmgopemtors1ikeMeyerW0lfsheim.111eident酊hehasdesi口edfor№selfoutofdrearIls姐dillllsionsisso缸画let11atitdisintegmtesatatouch:‘‘JayGatsby”11asbrokenup敞egJass

f猢comestohiIIlwhenDajsyfailstoagainStTom’shardmalice.nlemost

telephonehiIn甜tert}lecaraccidem.Itisofnoimportancewhetherhedoubtsthephone、villcOmeorhenolongercares.InNick’swords,“hehadlostmeold

dre锄.¨‘HeWarrll、Ⅳ0rld,paidahighpriceforliVingtoolongwi血asin91e

fb吼d、^,hatagrotesquetllingaroseisaIldhowraw也esunlightwasupon血e

13

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