了不起的盖茨比分析-英文论文

Part One Introduction1.1 Research Background and SignificanceAs “the spokesman of a crucial and revealing period in the culturalfield of his country”,(Wang Weiping, 2004:57) Fitzgerald knows the societyclearly due to his rich personal experience and creates many characterslike Gatsby out of the American life. These novels describe the disillusionment of the American dream in the Jazz Age. And the reason isalways that the transformations of the values of traditional morality makepeople not believe in any hero but pursue individual consumption andenjoyment. Fitzgerald deeply feels the spiritual emptiness and moraldecadence under the superficial splendor and prosperity in that age, sohe is called the spokesman of the Jazz Age. Most of his works describe theexpectation, dissatisfaction and disappointment of the American younggeneration in the 1920s. One distinguishing feature of his works is thatthe close relationship between his personal experiences and works. Nearlyall the characters in his novel can find the original shapes in realitysometimes even himself, especially in The Great Gatsby.1.2 Motivation and ObjectiveConsidering disillusion of the American dream, different people havedifferent understandings. “In its board sense, it refers to the ideal ofa nation such as democracy, equality and freedom. While in its narrow sense,it refers to the pursuit of obtaining success of life”. (Wang Weiping,2004:57) Essentially, the American dream is a confident desire forperfection by means of progress. But the history and reality of Americanhave proved that “the American dream”is, to some extent, a kind of illusion.The great Gatsby is one of the representative works that reflects theillusory nature of the American dream.Part Two Gatsby’s American Dream Gatsby is the representative figure of a self-made man in the twenties. He is born in a poor family in the west of America, and his parents are shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. He comes to the big city—New York where the young men are inspired to make the most of their opportunities to get the key to be successful. They believe that they can be successful men in history, just like Benjamin Franklin, who has been man “of humble origin, narrow fortune, small advantages, and self-taught.”(Chen Qing, 2006:18) The poor boy is inspired to do the great deeds by the example of Franklin, like Gatsby. So in the end, Gatsby gets wealth and fame by industry. Some people may think that Gatsby has fulfilled his dream; it is obvious that Gatsby’s dream is a symbol of the American dream for wealth and youth. However, Gatsby’s real dream is to win back his first love Daisy but not to get the money only. Gatsby genuinely has a belief that money can buy anything, innocently thinking that his wealth can erase the last five years of his and daisy’s love and reunite them at the original point of 1917. He falls in love with the beautiful and wealthy girl of the upper class and he wants to enter into the upper class through his efforts. Although he devotes his whole life to win the wealth and position, he fails totally at last. Why does he fail? In the thesis the reasons for his failure would be discussed.Part Three Reasons for the Disillusion3.1Gatsby’s Dream is out of Connection with the RealityGay Gatsby is a great young man who has many superficial characters. He tries his best to realize his dreams, but he fails at last. The reason is that he is completely an American dreamer, a man of great imagination and extraordinary hope. He is willing to do anything to gain the social status he thinks necessary to win back Daisy who is the “golden girl” inhis dream. His relentless quest for Daisy demonstrates that Gatsby has an outstanding ability to transform his dreams into reality. But actually, his great dream is swallowed up by the meanness of the upper class and his “golden girl”—Daisy, which are the superficial reasons for his failure. And the deep reason is that his dream is out of connection with the reality. In fact, the people in the twenties don’t believe in the values of traditional morality any longer and they have their philosophy of life—to “seize everyday” and “enjoy every moment”.(Chen Qing, 2006:1) The differences in the understanding between Daisy and Gatsby narrates the distance between the dream and reality; while competition between Gatsby and Tom expresses the strange points of the material wealth and how fragile of the pursuit of the spirit. And the difference between Gatsby and upper class people reflects the downfall of the American society. All these contradictions and conflicts make people realize the fragile of the idealism when the dream confronts the reality. The pursuit of the spiritual life can not realize in the society which only pays a great attention to the material life.3.2 Gatsby’s Love for Daisy is IdealisticAt the last of the novel, he expresses himself “I love only one girl forever”, (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:143) which represents a kind of idealism. But this kind of idealistic love can not be realized, because the girl whom he loves is just a superficial and vulgar woman in reality. For Daisy, love should be built on the wealth and high position and she has accustomed to this sense of security, which can make her live happily. But Gatsby who is born into a poor family gains his wealth and position criminally; he can not give Daisy the security which she has accustomed to. And Daisy will not love anyone who can not give her this kind of security. So in front of Daisy, Gatsby’s real love is an idealistic dream, and this dream can not be realized forever.Just as Americans have endued America with meaning through their dreamsfor their own lives, Gatsby instills Daisy with a sort of idealized perfection that she neither deserves nor possesses. Just as the American dream in the roaring twenties is ruined by the unworthiness of its goal, money and pleasure, Gatsby’s dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its goal, Daisy. “He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a ‘nice’girl could be.”(Chen Qing, 2006:25) In Gatsby’s eyes, Daisy is a noble fairy, but she is a superficial and vulgar woman in reality.Gatsby’s love and the American dream connect closely because his first love Daisy is the embodiment of his dream. Daisy is the symbol of wealth and position, and marrying Daisy means entering into the upper class, so he devotes his whole life to win her back. But he fails at last, that is because he can not recognize Daisy clearly and his blindness leads to his death in the end.3.2.1Daisy in RealityDaisy is born into the upper class and grows up in wealthy conditions, so she depends on wealth from her birth and only responds to surface. When Gatsby shows her around his splendid house, she admires what she sees. Later, Gatsby takes out a pile of shirts and throws them one by one before her. She likes these beautiful shirts so much that she even cries out, “They’re such beautiful shirts”, “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before”. (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:124)“Daisy hasn’t any practical value. The people whom Daisy likes are also beautiful without any true value.”(Chen Qing, 2006:15) When she takes part in Gatsby’s party, she sees many super stars that can only be seen on TV, which makes her very interested and excited. “Perhaps you know that lady”, (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:140) Gatsby indicates a gorgeous woman who sits in state under a white-plum tree. Daisy stares and says“She’s lovely”，“I’ve never met so many celebrities, I like that man—what was his name?”.( F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:141)“Daisy likes to arrest men’s attention and to get men’s compliments in order that she can depend on them. Maybe it is because she couldn’t make a living independently, so she has to attach herself to a man, which is her way to live in this world.”(Chen Qing, 2006:15) Daisy marries Tom because of his large wealth and high social position. When Gatsby leaves her, she is very sad and even wants to kill herself. But with the arrival of Tom, her life changes immediately, and then she decides to forget Gatsby, and marries with Tom who has great wealth and high social position.From this aspect we can see that, for Daisy, love is just an interesting game, whereas money and position are the most important things in it. For money and position, she forgets Gatsby quickly, and devotes herself to another wealthy man no matter she loves him or not. But in fact, she will “love” Gatsby if he can make her believe that she can live a wealthy and safe life together with him. Because they have such two different kinds of disillusions towards each other, Daisy can never understand Gatsby’s love for her and thus is not worthy of being loved by Gatsby.After the marriage, the husband Tom treats Daisy badly. Daisy knows that Tom B doesn’t care about her and has a mistress outside, so she needs a chance to complain her unfortunate life. Therefore, when Nike visits them, she complains about her misfortune to him. Nick feels very uncomfortable when he hears the complaint from Daisy because he can not understand Daisy. He says “It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms—but apparently there were no such intentions in her head.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:27) Actually, Daisy can do nothing, she will not leave Tom. Without Tom she can not enjoy the wealthy life any longer. But she cannot control her fate and she feels sad for herself. So she wants to change her fate with someone’s help. Just at this very time, his first love Gatsby appears as a wealthy man and calls her back. It seems to be a good chance for her to make a decision to leave her bad husband. But instead she refused him, just because Gatsby’s background makes her lackof safety. She destroys Gatsby’s dream totally and goes away with Tom in a hurry. Daisy has to go on living with Tom, which is her fate, so in reality she is also an unfortunate woman. To this point, we can say that at this time, she still doesn’t deserve the love of Gatsby.3.2.2 Daisy in Gatsby’s DreamNo matter how other people may think about Daisy, in the mind of great Gatsby, she should be cherished forever. Although Gatsby and Daisy have departed for five years, Daisy is always living in Gatsby’s memory and she has turned into an perfect fairy as time passes by. For Gatsby, if he can marry with Daisy, he can enter into the upper class naturally and gain the identity in the upper class. Maybe it is because in Gatsby’s mind, Daisy has been endowed with a kind of special value. For this special vale, Gatsby would rather devote his whole life to winning her back. At this time, Daisy in reality is not important for him. Because Daisy has become the noble embodiment of the upper class in Gatsby’s dream.Gatsby always thinks the reason why Daisy leaves him is that he is poor and has a low social position when he is young, and he totally believes that he can win Daisy back if he can gain the wealth and high social position. With this faith in his mind, Gatsby determines to win Daisy back, making her the single goal of all his dreams and the symbol of everything he desired. So he earns large wealth by efforts and then buys a splendid house across the bay of Daisy’s and gives parties day and night on every weekend just want to arrest her coming.Actually, Five years later when Gatsby sees Daisy again, he feels that she is different from the Daisy he dreams of day and night. In reality, Daisy has already lost her magical power and becomes a common woman. Later, Gatsby invites Daisy to take part in his party. And after she leaves, Gatsby feels very disappointed because he thinks that Daisy can’t really understand him any longer. It seems that Gatsby is so disappointed that he will not love her any longer. But Gatsby is really a great dreamer. He just pursuesevery thing in his dream and because Daisy in his dream has turned into a perfect fairy, so Daisy in reality is not so important for him; he would rather believe that Daisy still loves him.In fact, Daisy doesn’t really love anyone else. But Gatsby does not think so. He loves Daisy and he also believes that Daisy also loves him. So people think that Gatsby is a son of God. “He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about his Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:131) From this sentence, we can know that he makes Daisy as an embodiment of his dream, without thinking what Daisy is in reality. Actually, Both Nick and Gatsby notice her special voice, and are described as “full of money”and even a “deathless song”.(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:59) Her voice is seemed to jingle with a sound of wealth to Gatsby. For Daisy, it seems that wealth is more important than love itself. So Gatsby can’t get true love from her no matter he is poor or wealthy. This indicates that Gatsby’s dream for Daisy will be inevitable destructed.3.3 Gatsby’s Dream for the Upper Class is IdealisticFitzgerald deeply feels the transformations of the values o f traditional morality and people will not admire any self-made hero longer and they only care about individual enjoyment. So in a society with spiritual emptiness and moral decadence, Gatsby with much imagination is doomed to fail.Compared with the wealthy people, Gatsby is different in nature. He has dreams and ambitions, and tries his best to realize them. But he can not see the upper class clearly. The upper class in Gatsby’s dream is different from the one in reality.And his dream can not be realized in this kind of upper class nowadays.3.3.1 The Upper Class People in Gatsby’s MindIn Gatsby’s mind, if he has money, he can get into the upper class naturally, and being an upper class member, he should be a moral personwho has many virtues. So he stresses himself with the self-improvement and hard work; it can be proved easily in Gatsby’s schedule:No wasting timeNo more smoking or chewingBath every other dayRead one improving book or magazine per weekSave$5.00[crossed out] $3.00 per weekBe better to parents (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:231)Gatsby’s list of self-improving resolves is similar with Benjamin Franklin’s rules for self-improvement on eighteenth-century. Gatsby learns to him, and decides to be a decent person like him. In Nick’s eyes, “he was a handsome young man about thirty years old and dressed very well. He spoke very politely and it is a little funny to me. Most men in his age were not so polite. He spoke as if he is carefully choosing his words.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:42) He does his best to be the same hero as Benjamin Franklin, believing that he can also be successful if he sets strict demands on himself.3.3.2 The Upper Class People in RealityBut in fact, people in that age do not believe in any hero of the American dream. They only care about themselves and enjoy themselves without considering the feelings of other people. They just like to pursue the enjoyment. And they have their philosophy of life—to “seize every day”and “enjoy every moment”. (Chen Qing, 2006:1) That can be proved easily in the novel of The Great Gatsby.In the party of the upper class, everyone needn’t know the name of anyone else and talks friendly as if they have known each other well for a long time. People taking part in Gatsby’s parties don’t know him at all and even don’t see him before. They will not appreciate Gatsby who holds party for them, but making the rumors for him. In their eyes, Gatsby is just a subordinate. Maybe, some of them do not care about who he is. They comehere just because they want to enjoy themselves, and they need these big parties to prove their positions, while Gatsby also need them to raise his social position. They have mutual needs, so the parties can be held on every weekend. But nobody will remember him after they go away from his big parties. “All over the party, people were laughing, talking and drinking. But all the happiness seemed so empty.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:40) In the society which people don’t care about others and just knowing to enjoy them. Gatsby, who doesn’t really understand the true value of wealth in real life, can not live longer and his dreams can not be realized.3.4 Destroyer of Gatsby’s Dream—Tom3.4.1 Tom in RealityTom is the representative person in the upper class. In the novel, he is the direct destroyer of Gatsby’s dream. Both Gatsby and Tom possess wealth, but they are very different. Gatsby earns his wealth by diligence and discipline and uses his wealth to realize his great dreams, while Tom do not have any large goals and lives happily on the wealth that his father has created. In the end, Tom wins and goes away with Daisy in a hurry, while Gatsby is killed by the husband of Tom’s mistress, George Wilson. From this aspect, we can see that Tom is a vicious man in reality. Maybe it is because he is born into a wealthy family and has been spoiled. Tom is a former football player at Yale and enjoys the high status, but he is an arrogant, cruel person who does nothing important everyday, just playing with cars and racing horses. Only in this way can he win his own ego. It is obvious that he does not have any moral standards which he demands for the people around him. He is the representative person of the upper class in reality which has replaced American idealism.Tom is also an immoral person who just knows to ask others to be honest. In order to meet his desire, Tom has an affair with the fleshly woman Myrtle and keeps an apartment in the city for their dating. But he is not upset at all and he even opens their relationship in public. He treats Daisy badly,however, when he knows that Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair. He even becomes outraged and forced them to confront it in the room at the hotel where he irritates Gatsby to win his wife back and thus destroys his rival’s dreams. From this aspect, we can also see that Tom actually is a man of violence, because he tells the group of people that Gatsby’s wealth is criminally obtained and thus he is cheating Daisy all the time. Then he forces Daisy to change the declaration that she has never loved him. To be honest, Daisy does not love Tom, she loves Tom for his wealth and will be reluctant to leave him, for he can provide her with security and the lifestyle to which she is accustomed. The victory of Tom reflects that Gatsby can not really enter into the upper class. For the upper class people like Tom, they will never take Gatsby as their friend but a subordinate.Tom is also a careless person who will not be worried about the sufferings he causes. When problems arise, he will run to his money and safe situation, leaving it to be dealt with by others and will never take the responsibility. After the death of Tom’s mistress Myrtle, Tom tells her husband that Gatsby is the killer and then runs away with Daisy quickly until the affair finishes.3.4.2 The Differences between Gatsby and TomComparing with Tom, Gatsby is really a strange hero of the Jazz Age. Because he creates wealth by diligence and discipline but he doesn’t really understand the true value of wealth in real life, that is, “wealth makes people enjoy life”. (Chen Qing, 2006:16) He doesn’t know this point, so he still lives a simple life. “His bedroom was the simplest room of all—except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:122)He holds big parties not to enjoy himself, but to arrest his first love Daisy’s coming. “When the party is over and the guests go away, Gatsby soaks in large loneliness” (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:78) and at this moment he is himself.Tom is a representative person of the realism, while Gatsby is arepresentative person of the idealism. Tom is a realist who lives in reality while Gatsby is an idealist who lives in his dreams. Gatsby’s dream is out of connection with the reality, so his dream can not be realized.Part Four ConclusionAlthough Gatsby’s dream fails, his greatness still rests on his dream, which distinguishes him from the other disillusioned people, who have lost the capacity to wonder and to dream. But as time goes by, Gatsby reveals himself to be a man who stakes everything on his dreams, unaware that his dreams are out of connection with the reality and unworthy of him.To sum up, Gatsby’s dream is incompatible with reality. Gatsby is a great dreamer who just lives in his dreams, without considering the changes of the society. In his dream, every thing is beautiful: Daisy is a perfect fairy who can give him hopes; the upper class people are all decent ones who can cooperate with him very well. But in reality, every thing is different: his dreaming girl can not really understand Gatsby’s love for her; while the upper class people are the disillusioned ones who just make Gatsby as a subordinate. Facing the reality, Gatsby does not adjust himself to suit the society, but to pursuit his dreams which are out of connection with the reality. At last, it leads his dream to be a disillusion.Considering ourselves, we are the students who are going to devote ourselves into the society. Some of us may have great dreams and are ambitiously hoping to realize them immediately, just like Gatsby. But we must remind ourselves every moment that we are living in reality but not in our dreams. Dream is always very beautiful while the reality is always impersonal, it can not be changed as what we want to. So we should suit ourselves with the changes of the society and make achievement step by step. If we can persist in the above principle and work hard everyday, I am sure we will succeed and then fulfill our dreams eventually.Bibliography[1] Cheng Qing, The Disillusionment of The American dream in The GreatGatsby and Tender Is The Night [J]. Shanghai International Studies University, June 2006.[2] F.Scott Fitzgerald, The great Gatsby [M], 2004[3] Wang Weiping, Wang ping, The Great Gatsby—The reflection of theillusory nature of the American dream [J]. Journal of Grangxi University Wuzhou Brabch, 2004[4] 籍晓红．菲茨杰拉德的“美国梦”主题—了不起的盖茨比和夜色温柔之比较[J],晋东南师范专科学校学报，2002[5] 菲茨杰拉德（著），巫宁坤（译）．了不起的盖茨比[M]，漓江出版社，2003[6] 张伯香，龙江．美国经典小说赏析[J]，武汉大学出版社，2005.8[7] 郑成功．美国梦的开始与破灭—解读菲茨杰拉德的了不起的盖茨比[J], 唐山师范学院学报, 2006[8] 郑婷, 李红霞, 贾丽丽．“美国梦”的一曲挽歌—评了不起的盖茨比[J], 淮南职业技术学院学报, 2007。

伟大的盖茨比影评英文作文英文：The Great Gatsby is a classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and it has been adapted into several films over the years. The most recent adaptation, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character, Jay Gatsby, is a visually stunning and emotionally gripping film. The story is set in the 1920s, and it follows the enigmatic and wealthy Gatsby as he tries to win back the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, who is married to another man.One of the things that I love about The Great Gatsby is the way it captures the glamour and decadence of the Jazz Age. The costumes, the music, and the lavish parties all contribute to the film's immersive and intoxicating atmosphere. The cinematography is also incredibly beautiful, with sweeping shots of Gatsby's mansion and the glittering lights of New York City. The film does a fantastic job ofbringing the opulence and excess of the era to life.Another aspect of the film that I find compelling is the character of Jay Gatsby himself. Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a powerful and nuanced performance, portraying Gatsby as a man who is both charismatic and deeply flawed. Gatsby's unrelenting pursuit of Daisy and his tragic past make him a sympathetic and tragic figure. The film does a great job of exploring the complexities of his character and making the audience empathize with him.In addition to the stunning visuals and compelling characters, The Great Gatsby also has a timeless and poignant story. The themes of love, wealth, and the American Dream are still relevant today, and the film does a great job of exploring these themes in a thought-provoking way. The tragic ending of the story is both heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.Overall, The Great Gatsby is a visually stunning and emotionally gripping film that stays true to the spirit ofthe original novel. The performances, the visuals, and the storytelling all come together to create a truly memorable cinematic experience.中文：《了不起的盖茨比》是一部由F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德（F. Scott Fitzgerald）所著的经典小说，多年来已被改编成多部电影。

TheGreatGatsby了不起的盖茨比简洁英文影评第一篇：The Great Gatsby 了不起的盖茨比简洁英文影评Just for love---The Great GatsbyWhen talking about Gatsby many people may think of great house and splendid parties.But it's more than what we have seen.Gatsby was born in a poor family.The fact makes him want more out of destiny in his ambitious mind.So he leaves his home to find what he can do to fight against his destiny and he made it.By saving a rich man from an accident he gains the trust from that man and learnt alot to become a gentleman.After helping the rich man on business he also get benefits from this and fall in love with a beautiful girl named Daisy the cousin of his best friend Nick who helps Gatsby to get close to her by inviting Nick to his amazing party after 5-year struggling from wars and business.During the 5-year time Daisy heard from the war that Gatsby had been killed, the year after his death, she married a rich guy called Tom who had affair with the beautiful wife of the gas store owner.When Gatsby and Daisy get together again, Tom is losing hismistress for the couple is going to move to the town.Knowing the affair between Gatsby and his wife, Tom tries to make Daisy to stay with him.Gatsby was extremely angry and goes back from the town with Daisy driving the car that Tom drove before on the way to the town andseen by the gas store owner and his wife.Knowing the news of moving away, the woman is desperate and eager to meet Tom.Coincidently she sees the car coming and run to it.Out of anger Daisy cannot control her speed and run into the lady and kills her and run away because of fear.Mistakenly the store owner thought it is Tom whokilled his wife, but Tom clears it out.When Gatsby decides to take Daisy away, and then knowing about this T om comes to the Gatsby's to persuade her to go with him.While waiting for the phone call from Daisy about running away Gatsby is killed by the store owner.Knowing this entire Nick tries to contact with Daisy but is rejected by her butler.She leaves with her husband without knowing the fact.There is nobody but Nick on Gatsby's funeral.Story ends here;we can see that the death of Gatsby is just out of the love.He is ambitious, but finally he is just a simple human with great but selfish love.第二篇：了不起的盖茨比英文影评The Great GatsbyThe film is told us the story of Gatsby by Nick’s tone.Nick came to New York from his hometown the America Middle West, and he rent a small house nearby Gatsby’s luxurious mansion where hold a grand banquet every night.The story began with the meet between Nick and Gatsby.Nick had an exploratory interest to Gatsby and understood that there was a lost love in Gatsby’s deep heart.Gatsby and Daisy loved each other when Gatsby was young, but because of Gat sby’s poor family they were broken up.Then G.joined the First World War.While Daisy was married to Tom who was a rich dandy, but her marriage was not happy because Tom had a mistress.Therefore, the material couldn’t satisfy her spiritual empty.Gatsby was v ery painful and he believed that Daisy betrayed the pure heart for the money, so he resolved to be a man of wealth and a few years later he managed it.What’s more, in the opposite direction of Daisy’s house Gatsby built a mansion.In order to attract Daisy and aroused the lost love, Gatsby spent money like water.Nick was moved by Gatsby’s passion of love, so he visited to his youngfemale cousin Daisy and told her Gatsby’s mind.Then Gatsby made date with Daisy, often.Finally, Gatsby found Daisy’s vanity, vul gar and selfish.Gatsby’s pink dream finally broke up, but he still insisted it, still retained any illusion about Daisy, and even led to his tragedies.One day Daisy was in a drunken driving Gatsby’s car ran over and caused an accident that killed Tom’s mistress, and she planned a plot with Tom to put the crime to Gatsby.It led to the mistress’ husband shot Gatsby.Gatsby died, only his father and Nick attended the funeral.Nick witnessed the virtual mood of human reality.At the end, Nick backed to his hometown with a tragedy mood.第三篇：了不起的盖茨比(影评)了不起的盖茨比我一直相信，在这个世界上的一切事物都是存在因果和缘分的。

了不起的盖茨比英语专业毕业论文Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION (1)Chapter Ⅰ BACKGROUND INFORMATION (2)1.1 Fitzgerald and His Literary Works (2)1.2 Lost Generation and the Jazz Age (3)1.3 The Main Plot of the Novel (3)1.4 American Dream (4)Chapter Ⅱ THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsby’s AMERICAN DREAM (5)2.1 The Establishment of Gatsby’s American Dream (5)2.1.1 Gatsby’s Dream of Wealth (6)2.1.2 Gatsby’s Dream of High Social Position (6)2.1.3 Gatsby’s Dre am of Love (7)2.2 The Disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream (8)Chapter Ⅲ THE REASONS FOR THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsby’s AMERICAN DREAM93.1 Hypocritical Interpersonal Relationship (10)3.2 The Worship of Money (11)3.3 Unrealistic Dream of High Social Position (12)3.4 The Wrong Understanding of Love (13)CONCLUSION (14)Bibliography (15)Notes (16)An Analysis of American Dream in The Great Gatsby: From the Establishment to theDisillusionmentINTRODUCTIONThe thesis is a brief longitudinal study of American Dream in the novel The Great Gatsby. This thesis analyzes the establishment of Gat sby’s American Dream and the reasons leading to his American Dream’s disillusionment. Through this thesis, we can have a dialectical view of the reasons why Gatsby can not realize his American Dream. The main body of the thesis is made up of three parts. The first part is a general introduction to the great author Fitzgerald, his novel The Great Gatsby and its writing background. In order to trace back to the reasons that result in the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream, the second part reviews the establishment and the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream. The third part focuses on analyzing the reasons for his American Dream’s disillusionment. In the end, the thesis comes to a conclusion that the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream is unavoidable.Chapter Ⅰ BACKGROUND INFORMATION1.1 Fitzgerald and His Literary WorksFitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 and St. Paul Minnesota was his hometown. While he was a student in Princeton University, the young man developed his hobby and skill in writing. When the First World War broke out, he became a soldier. In a training camp in Alabama, he met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre. This woman finally married Fitzgerald and became the model for most of the beautiful female characters in his novels.This Side of Paradise, the Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby were his four well-known novels. The last one The Great Gatsby, which established Fitzgerald’s significant position in American modern literature, is often viewed as a mirror of American society in the 1920s.In 1925, Fitzgerald published his most famous novel The Great Gatsby. The novel reflected the selfishness and bossy of American vested interest groups represented by Tom and pointed out that Gatsby’s tragedy is caused by his fantasy of life and his lack of comprehension of the uppertendom’s essence.1.2 Lost Generation and the Jazz AgeFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was one of the greatest writers in the twentieth century, and his works reflected the Jazz Age. He is regarded as a member of the Lost Generation in the 1920s.Lost Generation is a term used to refer to the generation appeared after World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it for his novel The Sun Also Rises. Lost Generation were characterized by being pessimistic about the society and losing confidence for the future. Influenced by the First World War, they could not tolerate and accept the cruel reality. They lived a hopeless and degenerate life.The Jazz Age refers to the period starting from the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression during which jazz became popular. In this period, the traditional puritan moral standards collapsed and hedonism was very popular. Fitzgerald once said that this is an age full of miracles, arts, luxury and irony. And due to this, Fitzgerald was titled as the representative of the Jazz Age.1.3 The Main Plot of the NovelThe Great Gatsby is a very profound and moving novel, and the main plot of the story is as following. A young man named Nick Caraway comes to New York City in the spring of 1922. He is involved in the life of his new neighbor Jay Gatsby who lives at Long Island. Gatsby is a very rich man and regularly holds parties visited by hundreds of people.Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy is his lover before the First World War. Although at that time he is very poor, Gatsby still loves her. Gatsby tries to persuade Daisy to break up with her present husband Tom. On the contrary, Tom reveals that Gatsby earns money by bootlegging. Daisy gets so impetuous that she drives Gatsby's car and accidentally kills Myrtle Wilson who is Tom's mistress.Tom intentionally tells Myrtle's husband Wilson that Gatsby hits Myrtle when driving his car. Gatsby keeps silent to protect Daisy. At last, Wilson killsGatsby and then commits suicide. Nick prepares a funeral for Gatsby. Although he wants to make a decent funeral, nobody wants to attend the funeral except Gatsby's father and one former guest. Nick goes back to his Midwest hometown, reflecting on Gatsby's dream and the cynical nature of the past.1.4 American DreamIn order to escape from the political persecution and seek freedom on a new continent, some Englanders started their voyage to the North America. In 1620, 35 Puritans and 67 Non-Puritans drifted to North America in a famous ship called May Flower. Before they landed, 41 travelers signed a treaty—Mayflower Compact.It was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony and the oldest historical document recording those people immigrating towards the North America. The Compact not only regulated equality and justice but also implied the struggling spirit of the Puritans. Even though American Dream has different definitions in different times, yet under political persecution these Anglo-Saxons hoped to create new life with political equality. This is the beginning of American Dream.Different people have different understandings of American Dream and the ways to achieve their American Dream are also various. The definition of American Dream can be introduced in broad sense and narrow sense respectively. For the former one, American Dream means the equality, freedom and democracy on the land of the United States. The latter one means that everyone in America who works hard and never gives up can achieve his or her dream and live a better life in this piece of land. That is to say, people should make efforts to realize their dreams rather than depend on the help from others.James Truslow Adams was the first person who put forward the term American Dream in his book The Epic of America written in 1931. “It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall beable 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.”①This ideology is based on the principle that one should be responsible for oneself, and hold every opportunity to gain success by courage and hard work.Chapter Ⅱ THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE DISILLUSIONMENT OFGatsby’s AMERICAN DREAM2.1 The Establishment of Gatsby’s American DreamAs for the American Dream, it is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work and strives. “There are several factors lying in the American Dream: equal chances for each person; success is obtained by efforts, not the social background and extraction; everyone is equal; and everyone has his own rights to pursue success.”②There is no doubt that everyone living on that land actually has an American Dream and is eager to achieve it. “E veryone can work their way up from the rags to riches just like Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US. In other words, American culture focuses on values of individuals, opportunity, pursuingof democracy and freedom, the promotion of deportation and competition and the need of realism and practicality.”③After the Industrial Revolution, American Dream can be realized by commercial activities. Most of individual possessions in the United States were brought by those successful businessmen and these merchants used some capital to build up corporations. Compared with agriculture, Americans preferred business, because engaging in business was a quicker way to make individuals gain wealth. And Gatsby is one of those Americans that pursue American Dream by engaging in the field of business. Obtaining wealth, social position and love are his three goals.2.1.1 Gatsby’s Dream of WealthBecoming wealthy is the most basic element in Gatsby’s American Dream. Gatsby’s dream of wealth reflects the gold rush in the new continent America.Born with a humble family background, Gatsby is a young person who has ambitions and dreams. In order to realize his personal ideals, he changes his original name Gatz into Gatsby that has the meaning “the son of god” and Gatsby's ambition can be seen here clearly.Gatsby is a practical, active and perseverant person. We can see from his schedule that he is an ambitious youth who does things in a planned and orderly way. His plan to realize his dream is arranged very well and he takes getting rich dream as the first step. He believes that if there is a material base, he can live a wealthy life of high social status.Therefore, in order to make the dream of wealth come true, Gatsby is willing to suffer and bear pains. He even runs risks to commit smuggling. In the end, he can hold grand banquets in his blue garden, the guests generally laughing and chatting.2.1.2 Gatsby’s Dream of High Social PositionWith enough money and wealth, the next dream of Gatsby is to become a member of the upper class in the society. And the method he uses is constantly holdinga large banquet to show off his wealth and to get acquainted with characters belonging to the upper social class at the same time.Gatsby hopes that the society can accept him, and therefore feel at ease when enjoying everything that the upper classes enjoy. This kind of idea can also be considered as a microcosm of American Dream, because from the beginning of the establishment of the American society, equal opportunity and people’s subjective initiative were advocated.However, the upper classes still look down upon those who have a humble background such as Gatsby. A lot of new upstarts like these people are only smuggling guys. It is easy for us to see that Gatsby, through every struggle, can not be accepted by the society either from his appearance or from his inner world.2.1.3 Gatsby’s Dream of LoveGatsby's first two dreams are the basis of the third one. The realization of his dreams of wealth and high social position is only to make preparation for winning back his love that is once lost because of poor economic conditions and low position.Gatsby regards Daisy as the embodiment of beauty, kindness and truth that he pursues. In this case, getting married with Daisy and living together with her forever is an important goal in his life and also one of the motive forces of his struggle. However, his pursuit is doomed to be in vain, because Daisy is just superficially beautiful but empty inside. She is a shallow and selfish girl of the bourgeoisie. All day long, the ultimate goal of her life is to seek money and enjoy pleasure.Gatsby can sacrifice his own life in order to protect her, but Daisy refuses to pay any cost for Gatsby. This is the fundamental difference between the two characters. It is also doomed that Gatsby’s dream of love cannot be realized.2.2 The Disillusionment of Gatsby’s American DreamIn this novel the protagonist Gatsby is single-minded in love, ambitious and strong-willed in career, and persistent in the pursue of dreams. The establishment of his dreams is a good beginning, but during the process of achieving the dreams he gradually takes the wrong way. He is a typical victim of the Jazz Age. All of his three dreams fail to be realized.First of all, all of his wealth that he gains through hardships is gone with the loss of his life. The original values of American Dream such as hard work, thrift and moderation are weaker and weaker, and they are replaced by money worship. The real world is an empty shell, and everyone is fond of the immediate pleasure. Gatsby cannot escape from the fashion of luxury. He spends all his money on meaningless things and gets nothing valuable. In other words, he loses his dream of wealth.Secondly, he dies without the acceptance by the upper class. He does not get his ideal social position and his death has little influence on others. Gatsby is a very idealistic person. This kind of people often seem naive or run counter to the reality, because they are not aware of their own condition correctly and the psychology of upper class clearly. He does not know the real attitude of others towards himself. People are always living in certain social groups. When one’s behavior is not consistent with the social mainstream, he or she will be sacrificed. Gatsby belongs to this type. He just pretends to be a person with high social position through such superficial methods as squandering money and making contact with decent people. However, he is no more than a speculator in essence. His behavior and his essence do not match.Thirdly, his dream of love is disillusioned before he has any chance to get Daisy’s sympathy. All the time, Daisy, the perfect girl in the mind of Gatsby, is his unrealistic dream. Deeply attracting Gatsby, she seems pure, beautiful and innocent. Gatsby’s love for Daisy is selfless, and he always wants to protect his beloved person. Even though his own life is threatened, he is willing to sacrifice for her in the end. On the contrary, Daisy's love is selfish, because it is based on material benefits and her own interests. Daisy and Gatsby’s valuesof love are not balanced. Although after Gatsby becomes wealthy, with Nick’s help, he could be able to meet his lover, his dream to stay with her together for a lifetime fails to be realized. When he tells Nick that “of course the past can be repeated” (Fitzgerald.F.S, 2009: ) or that “Tom’s love for Daisy was just personal” (Fitzgerald.F.S, 2009:182), he may be just finding some excuses for his inability to recapture his former lover Daisy.His dreams are distant and unreal, and no one can touch it. The disillusionment of Gatsby's dreams is closely associated with the society he lives in, his characteristics, and his lover Daisy's personality.Chapter Ⅲ THE REASONS FOR THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF Gatsby’sAMERICAN DREAMThe Great Gatsby is a well-known novel in the history of American literature. Many scholars both home and abroad have analyzed and commented on this work from different perspectives. And the reasons leading to the disillusionment of Gatsby’s dream has always been a hot topic to discuss. Different people have different ideas. In general, those reasons can be divided into external reasons and internal ones, which depend on each other. Both the two kinds of reasons play an important role in Gatsby’s tragedy. Gatsby’s struggle for the realization of his dreams can not avoid the influence of social environment, and his personality is also one of the important reasons leading his dream to fail.3.1 Hypocritical Interpersonal RelationshipThis is the most important external reason leading to the final disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream.In the 1920s, most people wanted to enter the upper classes and pursue material enjoyment. They were very cynical to seek superficial enjoyment and greedy for material wealth. During that period, treasure and collapsed moral standards made the pursuit of freedom and happiness gradually impossible.The society was so cruel that a person like Gatsby could not break up the bondage. There was little sympathy in the relationship among people. And there was no doubt that people were indifferent and ruthless. The relationship among people was based on money and real love did not exist. If you did not have money, nobody would pay much attention to you.A friend indeed is a friend in need. It means that a true friend is someone who can share both happiness and sorrow together with you. However, Gatsby has no real friends, he only has friends who can share happiness together, but can not tolerate pains together. When Gatsby is rich, everyone comes to his party and curries favor with him. However, when he dies, few people attend his funeral.In the capitalist society, the relationship among people just depends on money and people do not care about one another. There are no permanent friends or enemies. There are only permanent interests. In order to make benefits, people take advantage of others.The hypocritical interpersonal relationship can also be reflected in the relationship of classes in American society where class prejudice is a very critical problem.The contradiction between upper classes and lower classes is the reason why Gatsby can not realize his dream of social position. The vested interest groups who have already stabilized their social position and gained a lot of economic benefits will not allow any poor person without high social background to share wealth and pleasure with them.Although he makes an effort to obtain a good position in the society, he still does not belong to the upper classes. He opens his mind to everyone, but others do not open to him. The old aristocrat Tom hates the new speculator Gatsby, so Tom oppresses Gatsby. In other words, there is a contradiction between Tom and Gatsby, because they are not only love rivals but also belong to different classes.Although the visitors to his parties are strangers, he is still friendly to them. Meanwhile, his guests attend the parties just for fun and wealth. They are not real friends. He is just a victim of that period. His death is a great tragedy of the age. And nobody cares about him.3.2 The Worship of MoneyThis is the internal reason why Gatsby’s dream of wealth fails.Gatsby represents those who have a wrong idea of the relationship between money and love. The novel reflects the social reality vividly. They think money talks. However, not everything can be obtained by money. The best things in life do not cost money.The most important point for realizing the dream of wealth is that one shouldincrease income and decrease expenditure, but Gatsby earns money and consumes wealth in an irrational way.In order to win back his lost love eagerly, becoming wealthy is the most important and necessary thing for Gatsby. However, he uses a wrong way to get money. A large amount of fortune cannot be obtained honestly and legally. Gatsby earns a large amount of money by selling illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities.After getting the money, he lives an extravagant life. He wastes a lot of wealth just to pursue fashions and high-quality material life. First of all, he gets a large house and an expensive car. Secondly, he holds parties day and night every weekend at home. He becomes famous around New York. The parties are nearly incredibly luxurious. “It looks like Wor ld Fair” (Fitzgerald.F.S, 2009: 50) He makes “friends” with famous people and makes himself elegant and noble. In general, he squanders his money.3.3 Unrealistic Dream of High Social PositionThe impossibility of realization of Gatsby’s dreams is the underlying cause resulting in the failure of Gatsby. Since Gatsby has an unrealistic idea about himself and the society he lives in, this is also the general internal reason why he can not realize his dream of high social position.Gatsby’s dream is to become a member of upper classes, but it is far away from him. Firstly, the love between Gatsby and Daisy has become the past, and there is a gap between them. It is impossible to return to the past, because all the things have changed. Secondly, Tom is his biggest enemy, because he has less money than Tom does. Tom is more ambitious than Gatsby according to their personalities. Thirdly, when Gatsby has the necessary condition to obtain a decent social position, the other people do not really accept him.In general, his unpractical dream is based on fantasy instead of reality. In the 1920s, American Dream was materialized. The inner essence of American Dream was changed. Becoming materially rich and pursuing the former spiritualprinciples of American Dream became a dilemma for the lower classes. He must admit the fact, because the postwar world in which he lives is meaningless and almost wholly loveless.3.4 The Wrong Understanding of LoveThe internal reason why Gatsby’s dream of love fails is that he has a wrong understanding of love itself. As it is known to all, we can not buy love by money.But Gatsby thinks he can not get Daisy’s love only because of money.Gatsby has no vigilance and trusts everyone. When he knows Daisy’s gown has been torn, he gives her a new one. He pursues his dream bravely, but he is too innocent to understand his dream which is impossible to realize. He is so loyal to Daisy and loves her all the time. However, he never knows what his dream is on earth and he does not know Daisy clearly.At the very beginning, Gatsby tells a lie to Daisy. He hopes to make her believe that he can let her live a happy life. Gatsby does everything he can to make his life and possession perfect only for winning back the love between Daisy and him. In his opinion, to be rich is the easiest way. However, it can derail one’s conscience into corruption. The way would deteriorate the true meaning of life and love. Gatsby loses sight of it, so it is unavoidable for him to corrupt.CONCLUSIONAfter collecting information and completing this thesis, we can understand better the beginning, development and disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream. Now we can not only feel empathetic with Gatsby’s intricate and tragic life, but also see the inhumanity and cruelty of the society during that period.Through this novel, Fitzgerald shows the collapse and disillusionment of American Dream in the 1920s. Here, heroes and heroines including Gatsby, Daisy and Tom together serve as metaphors by Fitzgerald to reveal the deviation of American Dream in the 1920s. This thesis generalizes the reasons why Gatsby fails in the pursuing of his dream. Due to all kinds of factors, the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream is unavoidable.All in all, this novel The Great Gatsby can be absolutely termed as the masterpiece of Fitzgerald, and it actually strengthens the famous and talented American author Fitzgerald’s honor. It takes up an important position in the history of American literature even in the whole world literature.BibliographyBurnham, T. A Re-Examination of The Great Gatsby. College English, 1952. Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Classics, 1994.Malcolm, Cowley. What is the Meaning of the Jazz Age. New York University Press, 1986Miller, James E. F. Scott Fitzgerald: His Art and Technique. New York University Press, 1964.James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America. New York University Press, 1931 Wang Qiong. The Narrative Technique in “The Great Gatsby” from the Point View of Narration. Journal of Huzhou Teachers College, 1996.Wu Dingbai. An Outline of American Literature. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1998.Yang Qishen. Selected Readings in American Literature, Volume 2. Shanghai Translation Press, 1987.Zhao Hongwei. The Definition of American Dream. Shanghai Language Education Press, 1998.胜利, 英美文化中含“国家名”的复合词解析, 师学院学报：人文社会科学版,2010葛靓, Doom of American Dream in Great Gatsby.《文学界(理论版)》 2012.慧群, 菲兹杰拉德的小说了不起的盖茨比浅析.广播电视大学学报, 2002.红石, Characters’ Lives in The Great Gatsby.《科技信息》2010.Notes①James Truslow, The Epic of Ameri ca, Page 27~28②葛靓, Doom of American Dream in Great Gatsby. 《文学界(理论版)》2012. Page 12~13③赵红石, Characters’ Lives in The Great Gatsby. 《科技信息》2010. Page 19~21。

Gatsby，as the name of book goes, he is great. he lives during the First War,in this time, people cherish a kind of a skeptical attitude for the traditional concept and try to break this concept, In this book, traditional American dream is distorted. in the novel, Daisy was born in a wealthy family, for this kind of woman, They lives a cozy life when they are very young, Sure, Daisy is not exceptional. A man must have a lot of money to mak e her live a cozy life in want of Daisy’s love, Gatsby is doomed to be the man. For regaining Daisy’s love, he makes the money by all kinds of means, even becomes a smugglar in order to achieve the target. he is attracted by Daisy’s beauty, but blinds her shortcomings. In his opinion,only in this way can make him make a fortune, but he violates the premise that anyone can’t commit a crime. However,finally, he has no anything,Daisy leaves him, Money become no any sense for him,worse still, he is murdered mistakenly.For Gatsby, On the one hand, he commit a blunder, he mistakes money can buy anything, he has a lot of money, indeed, is always treating his friends extravagantly. In his world view, money can buy love, friendship, even anything. but when he died, in his funeral, his so-called good friends is so practical, no one joins his funeral. On the other hand, his destiny is very miserable, he loves daisy from beginning to the end,in order to regain her love, regardless of whether she has already got married, He is the model of single-minded. Even when daisy drives the car and knocks the down woman, he makes the choice that undertakes responsibility for daisy. But finally, which leads to his death. We can know he only exchange for her indifference and ruthless. The roots of tragedy lie in the social backgrounds and people’s spiritual state in that time. Not only the novel expresses the ruthless of people, but also indifference of society.Daisy, Frankly speaking,from her appearance, She is beautiful and charming, but also frivolous , from her heart, money first, hesitating, fickle, shallow, bored,Daisy is in love with money, ease, and material luxury. She is capable of affection but notof sustained,loyalty or care. Actually,she decides to deliver Gatsby that will go abroad regardless of her family’s object, even can’t say with her family in several weekends, which suggest that she loves Gatsby deeply, but finally,in face of money and cozy life, she shakes and deserts her heart’s true feelings, choosing t marry Tom rather than Gatsby, from the beginning, her marriage is laying on the foundation of money, her marriage is a kind of exchangeable relationship, exchanging her marriage withmoney. She cherishs a kind of irresponsible attitude for her marriage and her future, when Gatsby becomes a wealthy man and has ability to give her a kind of cozy life, and Daisy takes notice of him, she should has the thinking to be love with Gatsby again. From this piont,Daisy’s love view is laying on the foundation of money,she loves money rather than the man. she is very offish,there is no other anything but money in her eye. What is more,she is very ruthless,After Gatsby died,she turns a blind eye to his funeral, because she can’t see the hope of Gatsby, only see his comedown. Which reflects Daisy’s indifference.In the novel, Tom is a wealthy man that has arrogant and fierce personality.It seems that he is always light of heart, but in opposite, he is heavyhearted, his life is even dull, though he has a lot of money, but his spiritual life is very empty, such as he says, ’’I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things.’’ which suggests wealth can’t cover up his loneliness and empty heart, in contrary, leading to his sorrowful mood. though he is in the culti-vated society, he is actually not safe, his pretend to be mighty and active, but can’t cover up the truth that his heart is very vunerable, which exposes his crafty and subtilty adequately. what’s more, he is an aggressive and provocative man, such as he says,’’ Cody-told it to me because ’’Jay Gatsby’’had broken up like glass against Tom’s hard malice.’’ Tom is described as a irresponsible and indifferent man in the novel. as though he gain Daisy’s love finally, but he don’t love Daisy truly like Gatsby, because he still looks for a lover, but when his lover is knocked down to death, he leaves there with Daisy for another place regardless of his lover, even no a greeting or a visit. From this, we can know he is so ruthless and indifferent, at the same time, he is also very irresponsible for his marriage like Daisy, he betrays Daisy. Thus it can been seen, marriage isn’t connected with emotion, is connect with money and cozy material life in that time, this kind of marriage deviates the aim of marriage, which reflects the atmosphere that money is first in the society of that time.Nick, the symbol of logos and intelligence, he is positive figure but Gatsby in the novel, is Gatby’s neighbor, Daisy’s counsin, Tom’s university classmate, because of this kind of relationship, his image is used as the bond of novel. As though he is floating east of America, but he is good at thinking, his personality is calm and sober. he is the model of American traditional moral rules. As the same with Gatsby, he also loves a selfish,indifferent and greedy woman like Daisy, she is Jordan, but when hediscerns Jordan’s essence, he chooses to say good-bye with Jordan without any consideration, rather than Gatsby, when he kow Daisy’s essence, but he still tries to regain Daisy’s love so that died in this matter. From this , we can know Nick is very sensible. What’s more, he is a sincere man, such as when Gatsby dies, no one joins his funeral, but only he join his funeral. He also like helping his friend, he creates the condition to help Gatsby to meet with Daisy. In all, he is one of the indispensable figures in the novel.What’s more, from the book of the great Gatsby, we can find some tracks of social backgrounds in American by analysing the figures. In general, This is a society that is filled with money, cheat and indifference, is a society in order to maximize the benefits. From the figures, we can know historic backgrounds of America. Such as Jordan，a fabulous golfer, Not only i s Daisy’s good friend, but also is Nick’s weethearts. In all, she is a woman with a gloomy heart, is good at cheating, what’s more, she is dishonest, selfish, indifferent and very irresponsible. She reflects temporal historical background in America and someone’s spiritual outlook.First of all, she is dishonest, when she join a match, she moves the ball, the fair of match is a fundamental professional ethics for an athlete, but she turns a blind eye to this. Second, she is good at cheating, such as when she break up with Nick, actually, Nick give up her firstly, but she cheats to say that she has been engaged to another man to meets herself vanity, which reflects temporal historic character in America, filling with cheat and dishonesty.By analysing the figures of novel, we can know the American historical backgrounds in that time and American people’s spiritual features.。

邯郸学院外国语学院School of Foreign Languages of Handan College 20世纪美国文学学期论文论文题目：《了不起的盖茨比》中象征主义分析Title：On the symbolism in The Great Gatsby专业：英语（师范）_On the symbolism in The Great GatsbyAbstract:F. Scott Fitzgerald is a great novelist of the 20th century in American literature. The Great Gatsby is written by him and this novel is one of his best works, which is so important for researchers to study the life of “roa ring twenties”. In this novel, Fitzgerald describes the failure of American dream and crisis of values through the different characters’ life. The author stresses the themes from several aspects, among them; the symbolism is an obvious one. In this novel, the dream, the colors and the name of characters are very vivid, and all of them, have their true meaning. This thesis intends to show a comprehensive analysis of the symbols in The Great GatsbyKey words: symbolism American dream valueIntroductionThe Great Gatsby portrays a young man’s dream of pursuing of love and wealth, however, after he is successful to reach his aim of money, he is fallen into a series of fantastic accidents. The hero, Gatsby is a poor youth from Midwest, and falls in love with Daisy who is a wealthy girl, but he is too poor to marry her. After the girl married to a rich young man, he decides to make his lost love be back. Gatsby earns enough money to buy a palatial house through some improper means. In order to allure the Buchanans to come, he holds dazzling parties every weekend. However, after they finally come, Gatsby is only to find that the woman is no longer the ideal love of him. His wonderful dream is almost destroyed. At last, Gatsby is shot when Daisy kills a woman in an accident and her husband shifts the blame on him.“Fitzgerald’s greatness lies in the fact that he found intuitively, in his personal experience, the embodiment of that of the nation and created a myth out of American life. The story of The Great Gatsby is a good illustration.”(A survey of American Literature. 2008 :217)To sum up, F. Scott Fitzgerald is the great writer who is full of imagination and creation. He skillfully employs plentiful symbolism in this novel to reveal the themes.1. The symbolic meaning of charactersIn American society, the people who lived in the midst of the “roaring twenties” drove fast cars, drank hard, and just took an immense delight it. Fitzgerald describes those people’s life by using various characters.The hero, Gatsby, is a romantic dreamer; he intends to pursue his ideal love, wealth and splendid life. It is actually a mirror of the whole American life. Gatsby’s life follows a clear pattern: there is, at first, dream, then disenchantment, and finally a sense of failure and despair. So, Gatsby’s personal experience approximates the whole American experience up to the first few decades of the twentieth century.Daisy is a shadow of American woman. At the beginning, For Gatsby, Daisy is a total perfect woman, who represents noble, wealth, grace and all of beautiful things. A creature of "whiteness" indeed, Daisy is the "fairy girl" of Gatsby's dreams in more ways than one--and her essential lack of emotion provides an important link in the chain of perverted "Ideal," pathetically futile gestures, and sordid circumstances that finally destroy Gatsby and his dream. Daisy, in short, is "in love" less with Jay Gatsby the man, than with Jay Gatsby the "Knight Errant". Some comments say that she loves the gesture which Gatsby has made, the "romance" of unrequited love and noble devotion. This attitude, of course, is a basic irony of the book. ( Stanley Cooperman. 1996 :44 )2. Symbolic theme of American dreamThe American dream is based on the ideology that each one can be successful through his own efforts and cultivating his qualities. Lots of American has realized their dreams by lots of methods. Frankly speaking, American dream relates to an aspiration for spiritual and material improvement, especially the pursuit of material. This dream, after all, is one of the most glowing visions of civilized man --a vision of a New World, of unbound opportunities, of a potential Garden of Eden whose lack of limitations staggered the imagination. ( Stanley Cooperman. 1996 :42 ) From Gatsby' adolescence, in short, he has been pursuing the Holy Glow of some vaguely imagined "Succes" an "identity" gleaming like a mirage just over the horizon of tomorrow. The result is both complete romanticism and complete lack of any real identity at all. In this society, Gatsby is destined to be isolated helpless and to fail in all. Obviously, Gatsby is one of typical representatives of American Dream that all generations of American people pursued. Although Gatsby struggle for his dream, he almost can not get into the upper class entirely. What's more, Gatsby's smile is another symbol of the vacuum beneath the surface of his appearance. Representingnot a state of emotion but a state of ambition, the "smile" is an instrument to be deliberately manipulated; it is a stoical weapon rather than a personal tribute.3.Symbols about colorsSeveral colors are used for symbolism in the novel The Great Gatsby. For example the colors green, white, gray and yellow are used throughout the book.The green light at the end of the Buchanan's dock represents Gatsby's yearning for Daisy, the hope of a better life and the birth of the American Dream, because in this new found land people could have anything he wants if he works hard enough. Thus, Gatsby is driven to become rich and throw lavish parties in order to get the attention of Daisy. Over time the association changed. The green trees had made way for Gatsby’s house and now green represented the greedy thoughts on money. If one work hard enough one could have as much money as he wants, a subtle change that people don’t notice until they ha ve all the money they want and realize they still are not happy. Because of this Green also represents corruption and the failing or death of the American Dream.Besides,the color of white means innocence. Daisy's car is white, so are her clothes and the rooms of her house. But, here, Daisy is hardly the picture of girlish innocence. At the end of the novel, she's described as selfish, careless, and destructive.As for, gray, it is connected to barren lifelessness. And it stands for the waste and destruction caused by the luxurious lifestyles of the rich. The valley of the ashes is the dumping ground for all the waste from New York that has been burned and the ash covered workers there represent the forgotten working class.The color of yellow represents corruption or a lack of moral values. Gatsby’s car is yellow because he bought it with drug money. The girls at his party wear the yellow are showed that they lack of values (they go to his parties, drink he alcohol, gossip about him and try and pick up rich men), a nd the yellow rims of Dr Eckleburg’s glasses that surround his eyes indicates he has cut himself off from the world.Symbolism can make a story complete. In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald presents a novel with intricate symbolism. Fitzgerald integrates symbolism into the heart of the novel so strongly that it is necessary for reader to read the book several times to gain any level of understanding. The overtones and connotations that Fitzgerald gives to the dialogues, settings, and actions is a major reason why The The Great Gatsby is one of the classics of the 20th century.ConclusionIn brief, F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of famous writers in American literature. Some critics point out that it is a legend of “Americans adolescence before pain set in.” Fitzgerald become “the angel of the twenties”and his writing those of a man inside that legendary period (A survey of American Literature. 2008 :215)His description of American people’s manners, dreams and attitudes provide a vivid picture about the social reality. Thus, there is no wonder that he is one of great stylists in American literature. What’s more, as The Great Gatsby is treated as Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, it marks the highest point of his artistic achievement. So a number of critics study it hardly, especially for its symbolism which is so splendid.T. S. Eliot once read The Great Gatsby and concluded that it was “the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James”.(A survey of American Literature. 2008 :215) Therefore, in American literature, the significance of this novel is immeasurable; it is easy for readers to find that Fitzgerald put symbols with theme harmoniously to accomplish the work which is well worth studying. In addition, this style influences for a long time even for today.BibliographyBruccoli, Matthew J. The American Novel–New Essays on The Great Gatsby. Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 1985.Hoffman, J. Frederick. The Twenties. New York: Collier Books, 1965.Fahey, William A.F. F. S cott Fitzgerald and the American Dream. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scriber’s Sons, 1925.常耀信. 美国文学简史[M].天津:南开大学出版社, 2008.库普曼. 作品赏析--了不起的盖茨比[M].王小梅译.北京:外语教学与研究出版社, 1996。

毕业设计（论文）题目 A Brief Stylistic Analysis on “The Great Gatsby”《了不起的盖茨比》的文体分析专业英语学生姓名学号指导教师2006年4月29日Abstract:The Great Gatsby is regarded as one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpieces. The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s American as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American Idealism in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. This paper concentrates on the delusions of American dream which is conveyed in this novel, and also attempts to analyze the characteristics of writing devices employed in this novel from the aspects of stylistics.Key words: F. Scott Fitzgerald linguistic presentation metaphor simile1. Introduction1.1 A brief account of the authorScott Fitzgerald was born at the family home on Laurel Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. F. Scott Fitzgerald holds the franchise. A glittering success as a writer when he was just twenty-four, but Fitzgerald died still a young man, at forty-four. Fitzgerald's parents were Roman Catholic, and he was raised in the church and sent to a Catholic boys' school on the East Coast before attending college. As a boy, Fitzgerald was anxious to be a popular socialite. His youthful flirtations with St. Paul girls, the parties he attended, and the private prep school he was finally sent East to attend are the stuff on which his early stories “Basil and Josephine” and “The Rich Boy” are founded. One of his very finest short stories, “Winter Dreams,” encompasses a more realistic look at his yearning distance from the country-club, upper-class world, a world to which his mother's family had given him entrance, but of which he never felt comfortably part.He wrote several plays when a young teenager, and staged them with classmates and friends at home in St. Paul. From 1911 to 1913, at the catholic preparatory Newman School in New Jersey, Fitzgerald saw his work published in the school magazine and participated in theatricals. It was at Newman that Fitzgerald met Monsignor Francis Fay, the dedicatee of This Side of Paradise as well as the model for Monsignor Darcy in that novel. Msgr. Fay encouraged the bright young man to enter the priesthood, but Fitzgerald was never more than briefly interested.Fitzgerald was one of the best known American authors of the 1920s and '30s and is closely associated with the optimism and excesses of that era's "Jazz Age." Fitzgerald's stories often featured people like himself: middle-American types infatuated with the wealth and status of upper-crust society. In the mid-1920s he lived in Paris where he was friends with Ernest Hemingway and other literary expatriates. Fitzgerald was a popular celebrity of the day and he and his wife, Zelda, became famous for their extravagant lifestyle, drinking bouts and (eventually) erratic behavior. His major published novels include This Side of Paradise (1920), The Great Gatsby(1925), and Tender Is the Night (1934).1.2 A brief account of the storyGatsby is American Everyman. His extraordinary energy and wealth make him pursue the dream. His death in the end points at the truth about the withering of the American Dream. The spiritual and moral sterility that has resulted from the withered American Dream is fully revealed in the article. However, although he is defeated, the dream has gave Gatsby a dignity and a set of qualities. His hope and belief in the promise of future makes him the embodiment of the values of the incorruptible American Dream .1.3 The major theme of the storyThe Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may themes, however the most salient one relates to the corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream is that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her own hard work. The dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur making it successful for himself. The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth. The American dream is sublime motivation for accomplishing ones goals and producing achievements, however when tainted with wealth the dream becomes devoid and hollow.2. Stylistic analysis of “The Great Gatsby”2.1 Characteristic traits of the characters are revealed in different ways.In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, all the characters are, in one way or another, attempting to achieve a state of happiness in their lives. The main characters are divided into two groups: the rich upper class and the poorer lower class, which struggles to attain a higher position. Though the major players seek only to change their lives for the better, the American Dream is inevitably crushed beneath the harsh reality of life, leaving their lives without meaning or purpose.Gatsby is great, because he is dignified and ennobled by his dream and his mythic vision of life. He has the desire to repeat the past, the desire for money, and the desire for incarnation of unutterable vision on this material earth. For Gatsby, Daisy is the soul of his dreams. He believe he can regain Daisy and romantically rebels of time. Although he has the wealth that can match with the leisured class, he does not have their manners. His tragedy lies in his possession of a naive sense and chivalry.Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, belongs to the traditional moneyed class; Tom does not pursue any particular profession, he simply lives on his wealth. He is a former football-player and physically strong. But the surplus of his physical power contrasts with his limited intellectual capacities. He is arrogant, self-confident and not intellectual. He is also a racist and a totally careless and brutal person, a heavy drinker and has lack of style and education.Daisy suggests the flower for which she was named. She is fresh and bright, yet fragile. She is a golden girl, beautiful, rich, innocent and pure in her whiteness, which is mixed with the yellow of gold (money). But this is just her outward appearance. In reality she promises more than she gives, like money. She wants to be liked and popular but she is just dishonest, false, artificial and superficial. Her whole behavior is childish and everything is put on like a facade.Jordan, Daisy's friend, Jordan Baker's most striking quality is her dishonesty. She is tough and aggressive- a golfer who is so hardened by competition that she is willing to do anything to win. Jordan is the smart new woman, the opportunist who will dowhatever she must to be successful in her world. In many ways Jordan Baker symbolizes a new type of woman that was emerging in the Twenties. She is hard and self-sufficient, and she adopts whatever morals suit her situation.She is hard and self-sufficient and does what she wants to do. Her name, body and style are blunt. She is an opportunist who will do what ever she must do to be successful in her world, which is the world of the rich and influential people.Myrtle Wilson is Tom’s mistress. She hates her cheerless and wretched life at the gas station in the valley of ashes and wants to flee into the city full of jollity, money and glamour. She only is able to realize that with Tom's money. She is a very sensuous and vital woman therefore Tom loves her.2.2 Lexical featuresIn section (1) and section (2), we can see that there are many differences in choosing lexicon.2.2.1 In section (1) many multi-syllabled adjectives and abstract nouns are used, such as, riotous (adj.)，excursion (n.)，privileged (adj.)，glimpse (n.)，unaffected (adj.)，sensitivity (n.) . besides, there are many formal words used in this part in meaning, such as, exempt，register. Therefore the usages of lexicon in section (1) are formal and gorgeous.2.2.2In section (2) there are no other multi-syllabled adjectives used except the word “curious”, and there are no abstract nouns either. But a lot of verbs are used, such as decide，call，mention，do，give，stretch，sworn. The usages of lexicon in this section are formal and simple.2.2.3From the lexical features, in section (1) the writer describes Nick Carraway’s psychology by using a lot of multi-syllabled adjectives to modify the abstract nouns. While in s ection (2) the writer mainly describes Nick Carraway’s actions.2.3 Syntactic features2.3.1Complex sentences are used in section (1) , there are only three sentences which describe the internal complex feelings and life experiences of Nick Carraway. So in this section a lot of attributive clauses and coordinate clauses are used as the modified components. For example, 1) Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name tothis book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented every thing for which I have an unaffected scorn. 2) When I came back…. If personality is an unbroken…, as if he were related to….2.3.2 In section (2) long sentences are used , but they are very simple, only one objective clause and several coordinate sentences are used. For example, ...Miss Baker had mentioned him at dinner and that…. …he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him,… Therefore, the complex and simple sentences are used in turn, it reflects the writing style of the author and also can make readers easy to understand the novel.2.4 Phonological features and Graphological features2.4.1There are different points of view in The Great Gatsby. The first person “I” is used in section (1) to show that Nick Carraway recalled what had happened in the past and to express Nick Carraway’s thoughts and feelings. So it is more subjective to express the effect of the novel by using complex sentences, while compared with section (1), in section (2) it is more objectives to narrate Nick C arraway’s meeting with Gatsby from an onlooker ---- Nick Carraway himself. In a word, some similar points of view are used in the whole novel. At the same time in this novel, there are few dialectal speeches, it uses more formal and simple language, so it can better contribute to reveal the major theme of the novel.2.4.2In The Great Gatsby, presentational sequencing is used to organize the structure of the novel. For example, in section (3), it describes the situation of the first meeting between Nick Carraway and Gatsby. It exactly shows that the writer uses presentational sequencing to arrange the story. Using this kind of method is to show the sense art in the novel.2.5 Figures of speechAnother some salient features of The Great Gatsby are figures of speech. The Great Gatsby is rich in simile.2.5.1In section (4) the writer describes Miss Daisy and Miss Baker’s lying on an enormous couch as sitting upon an anchored balloon. their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been back in after a short flight around the house. Thissimile gives readers a new curiosity, it also reflects the life of the upper class for those women who did nothing.2.5.2In section (5), the sentence “ Her voice is full of money” is a metaphor, the usage of metaphor here can give readers an aesthetic sense. It looks as if it were an imagery poem, and it describes the clear and understandable sound of her singing as the abstract idea ---- money. This can guide readers into the plots of the novel.2.5.3Using the simile in this novel can create the unimaginable effect. The writer uses the indirect method to make readers to think, to feel and to appreciate the interesting plots of the novel. Therefore, it can create a kind of “ feeling of distance” between the readers and the novel, which makes the tragic plots in The Great Gatsby more exciting.3. ConclusionThe Great Gatsby was published in 1925, it reflects the real world in the Jazz Age. It describes the hollowness of the Upper Class at that time. At the same time, it tells us that The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth. In The Great Gatsby, Fitgerald applied imagism and symbolism to present moral history of his contemporary times from the view of Nick. The application of symbolism made his work surpass the narrow individual world, connect the subjective with the objective, and amplify as well typifies individual experiences. As many critics have pointed out, the method Fitzgerald adopts in The Great Gatsby is a brilliant one. He starts the novel in the present in the first three chapters, Having established the characters and setting in the first three chapters, he then narrates the main events of the story in Chapters IV to IX, using Chapters IV, VI, and VII to gradually reveal the story of Gatsby's past. The past and present come together at the end of the novel in Chapter IX. As the story moves toward its climax, we find out more and more about the central figure from Nick until we, too, are in a privileged position and can understand why Gatsby behaves as he does. Thus the key to the structure of the novel is the combination of the first person narrative and the gradual revelation of the past as the narrator finds out more and more. The two devices work extremely effectively together, but neither would work very well alone.References:1. Carter, Ronald, 1997, Investigating English Discourse, New York: Routledge.2. Garrett, George, 1985, “Fire and Freshness: A Matter of Style in The Great Gatsby”. In Matthew J. Broccoli (ed.). New Essays On The Great Gatsby, New York: Cambridge University Press.3. Leech, Geoffrey N. & Short Michael H., 1981, Style in Fiction, New York: Longman.4. 郭鸿，1998，《英语文体分析》，北京：军事谊文出版社。

本科生毕业设计 (论文)题目：A Contrastive Analysis of the Greatness of Gatsby and the Meanness of His Foils in The Great Gatsby教学单位外国语学院__ _ ________姓名 _朱兴春 ________年级 2007级 ________专业英语 _______指导教师文培红__________________职称 _副教授_________________2011年 5 月 14日Abstract: The scholars the book The Great Gatsby which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, such as the writing styles of the author in the book, symbolism and metaphor, the failure of the ―American dream‖, the analysis of the protagonist —Gatsb y—the representative of ‘s selfish and mental emptiness. On the basis of these, it revealed the failure of the ―American Dream‖ people that times when they paid more attention to the materialistic Dream‖—Daisy—was doomed to failure. However, Dream关键词：了不起盖茨比大众的粗恶美国梦ContentsAbstract (I)1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...... .12 The author‘s experiences and the socialbackground (1)2.1 The author‘s experiences (1)2.2 The social background (3)3 The analysis of Gatsby‘s greatness (4)3.1. Gatsby‘s courage and persistence (4)3.2 Gatsby‘s kindness and generosity (6)3.3 Gatsby‘s sacrifice, filial piety andself-discipline ……. ………. …….. ..64 The analysis of Daisy‘s and Tom‘smeanness (7)4.1 The analysis ofDaisy (7)4.1.1 Daisy‘s beauty and of the follies (9)6 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..10References (12)Acknowledgements (13)1 IntroductionThe Great Gatsby is written by American author Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who is considered a member of the ―lost generation‖ of 1920s. It was first published in 1925. The following is the main plot of the novel. A young man named Nick Caraway, who came to New York City in spring of 1922. He became involved in the life of , who entertained thousands of guests who did not know each other and Gatsby at love with Nick‘s cousin Daisy before the war. However, , a rich but boring man of . When Gatsby came back after the war Daisy by earning money as a bootlegger. After . Gatsby tried return, Tom revealed that Gatsby to sob . Driving Gatsby‘s blue car, she , and she was so crazy that she did not know what she could do. Gatsby remained silent in order to protect that it was Gatsby who killed murdered Gatsby and then committed suicide. Tom and Daisy left Long Island in the afternoon when Gatsby was killed and did call neither Nick nor Gatsby. Nick was left to arrange Gatsby‘s funeral,attended only by Gatsby‘s father and one former guest. The Great Gatsby was the reflection of the times which Fitzgerald called ―the Jazz Age‖ and recorded the life people lived in that time.2 The brief introduction of the author and the social backgroundFrancis Scott Fitzgerald lived in the period that was between the WWI and the roaring twenties. He traditional value which was contradicted to the main value in those years. So to the authorFrancis Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, and named after St. Paul, Minnesota. Though an intelligent child, school and was sent to a New Jersey boarding school in 1911. Despite being a mediocre student there, in 1913. Academic troubles and apathy plagued the army in 1917, as World War I came to the end. Fitzgerald became a second lieutenant, and was stationed at Camp Sheridan, in Montgomery, Alabama. There love with a wild seventeen-year-old beauty named Zelda Sayre. Zelda finally agreed to marry , and leisure led of This Side of Paradise in 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary sensation, earning enough money and fame to convince Zelda to marry 1925. Like Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway was a thoughtful young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick‘s case, Yale), who move d to New York after the war. Also similar to Fitzgerald was Jay Gatsby, a sensitive young man who idolized wealth and luxury and who fell in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South. 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. Similarly,Gatsby amassed a great deal of wealth at a relatively young age, and devoted Daisy‘s love. As the giddiness of the Roaring Twenties dissolved into the bleakness of the Great Depression, and Fitzgerald battled alcoholism, which 1934, and sold short stories to The Saturday Evening Post to support 1937, 1940, while working on , era that in 1925, The Great Gatsby was one of the greatest literary documents of this period, in which the American economy soared, bringing unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation. Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol mandated by the ―Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution‖ (1919), made millionaires out of bootleggers, and an underground culture of revelry sprang up. Sprawling private parties managed to elude police notice, and ―speakeasies‖—secret clubs that sold liquor—thrived. The chaos and violence of World War I left America in a state of shock, and the generation that fought the war turned to wild and extravagant living to compensate. The staid conservatism and timeworn values of the previous decade were turned on their ear, as money, opulence, and exuberance became the order of the day. Like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald found this new lifestyle seductive and exciting, and, like Gatsby, an era in which unrestrained materialism set the tone of society, particularly in the large cities of the East. Even so, like Nick, Fitzgerald saw through the glitter of the Jazz Age to the moral emptiness and many ways, The Great Gatsby represented F itzgerald‘s attempt to confront by who symbolized everything as she led Dream‖ and showed the mental outlook of the ‘s in the ―waste era‖ during the Great Depression. He not only and reality,success and failure, proud and down, to revel in and decadent, love and suffer, the conflict between the American culture and Europe culture, between the east and west, between the dreams and disillusionment, etc.. With all these feelings in . So ‖.2.2 The social background between the WWI and the ―Roaring Twenti es‖The WWI was ended in 1919 and America was undoubtfully the winner. Since America afforded the munitions to the both sides of the countries at the beginning of the WWI, America got a lot of money and its economy was strengthened which made America become a creditor nation from a debtor nation. After the war, America was in an unprecedented era of economy prosperity and bountiful substance. At the same time, its society was filled with the moral decadence, because justice and faith became the cheating words which defeated the whole generation as the essence of the imperialist war was exposed gradually. Of the ruins of the ancient tradition, faith, and idea, the American youth lived in a deficit spending and pleasure life. Money was regarded as the most important thing in the world. While the traditional value faced challenge, the new value was not formed. So the people in these years . ―American Dream‖made all the people‘s eyes dazzling as a colorful balloon wandering in the air. (吴建国，p32)―All the gods f inished, all the faith all years from the year of 1919 to the year of 1929, and Fitzgerald described the atmosphere of this period as ―This is a constantly miracles era, a prosperous times, a profligate era, an era of irony.‖(Fitzgerald,p14) in age when individual effort counted, when a man could rise efforts, and when if the systemfailed, it was the fault of rapscallions and crooks; the version remained an ideal and the standard from which criticism and judgments could be made.However, WWI shattered this version. It ended once and for all the faith in individual effort that eroding since the Revolution and the fiction in this period. As Mark Schorer system and the efficacy of individual effort was the distinguishing characteristic of postwar American writing. “The rootlessness of postwar American society, its restless alienation, and its consequent reliance on money were regarded as a code for expressing emotions and identity.‖(Brueccoli,p46)3 The analysis of Gatsby‘s greatnessGatsby was a man who spared no efforts to achieve order to realize it, made money by bootlegging. However, whose wife was killed by Daisy. Though Dream‖ and a life who tried my right was a colossal affair by any standard-it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby‘s mansion.‖（Fitzgerald,p9）From these words, we can speculate .He fell in love with Daisy when the army, Daisy again. Thus, to get some information of Daisy. For five years order to get money, inherited money from Cody. ―James Gatz-that was really, or at least legally, and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of Cody‘s yacht drop anchor over the most insidious flat on Lake Superior.‖(Fitzgerald, p97) At that time when Gatsby saw Cody, Cody was fifty years old and .Cody got lots of money through copper transactions in Mantana. Thus, many girls and women wanted to gain Ella Kaye got it after Cody‘s death. What ; the vague contour of Jay Gatsby .Gatsby‘s pursuit for love, Daisy, and money and Dream.‖―Gatsby‘s life was filled with dream, the dream of beauty and love. He dedicated all and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.‖(Fitzgerald, p49) ―On weekends omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and -shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.‖(Fitzgerald, p49) ―Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York –every Monday these same oranges and lemons left a pyramid of pulpless as a kind and generous man. When on a chair, and Gatsby asked in it. Gatsby treated all the people in it. His smile let other person feel comfortable. When Gatsby planned to meet Daisy in Carraway‘s . He wanted to introduce Carraway a job as a reward.3.3 Gatsby‘s sacrifice spirit and filial piety, self-disciplineWhen Daisy drove Gatsby‘s car on the way order to protect Daisy. And that night that afternoon. ―He spoke as if Daisy‘s reaction was the only thing that mattered.‖(Fitzgerald, p140) The next day Gatsby was murdered by George and Daisy and Tom left for. He pursued this sense, .Gatsby also loved the last fly-leaf was printed the wordSCHEDULE, and the GENERAL RESERVES. Gatsby visited front of idling away their bored life. They were selfish, irresponsible, retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they who was beautiful, elegant, lovely, and romantic but illusion. She was a cold and detached person with an empty spirit. What she pursued was the desire for material.4.1.1 Daisy‘s beauty and carraway came to Daisy‘s blown back in aftera short flight around the she asked Carraway some question in to it. Daisy‘s voice was the kind of voice that the ear followed up and down, as if each speech was an arrangement of notes that would never be played again. Her beauty and charming voice made many men propose Daisy killed Myrtle, she did not admit its master needed it. She did not love she knew that Gatsby was not belonged to did not exist in the world. To sum up, Daisy only cared about . She could desert anyone in order to protect love with each other; Gatsby took apart in the army she married Tom who was very rich because Gatsby was poor. During the five years Gatsby knew that Gatsby showed Daisy throwing them, one by one, before Daisy, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk covered the table in many colored disarray, Daisy began to cry stormily and said she never saw these beautiful shirts. ―For Daisy felling itself was not a true thing but just a ‗pose‘.‖(王晓环) As the words said by Gatsby that Daisy‘s voice was filled with money.Daisy‘s spirit was blank and empty, she when Gatsby first came tolives according to a certain social code.‖(Bruccoli, p70) He belonged to the and to what . Tom was a playboy who traveled with a waitress of a dated Myrtle in New York. ―He was foolish, selfish, arrogant and supercilious.‖(苗永敏) He could . ―She knew before we were married –God knows where!‖(Fitzgerald, p120) ―Tom was evidently perturbed at Daisy‘s running around alone, for on the following Saturday night Tom was in New Haven Carraway came to New York with Tom Tom and and Mrs Wilson discussing in impassioned voices, standing face to face. Tom beat Myrtle and broke she said Daisy‘s name. Tom was so crude that even , and Gatsby went to city by driving car. On the way to New York, -Myrtle would leave another car in order to avoid the sensibilities of those East Eggers who might be on the train. After Daisy killed of the folliesIn Gatsby‘s splendid party, all the guests were not invited by Gatsby except a few of them. They got into automobiles which took them to Gatsby‘s amusement park. They came to Gatsby‘s the party, there were some celebrities, rich men, businessmen, who came from both East and West Egg. They did not know about Gatsby, so they guessed that Gatsby was killed a man once or Gatsby was a German spy. What they could guess the role Gatsby was bad. They came for enjoying their emotion. They danced on the canvas in Gatsby‘s garden; old men pushing young girls backwards in eternal graceless circles, superior couples the corner, many young girls dancing individually or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps. With the dancing continuing, theGatsby died no one came to see Gatsby; instead, they stayed away from Gatsby. When Carraway called them to take part in Gatsby‘s funeral, they all said they Carraway phoned Gatsby‘s friends to come to Gatsby‘s funeral day and they said deliberately that they would do their best to get away and attend Gatsby‘s funeral. Even when Carraway went to New York to invite Mr. Wolfshiem to attend Gatsby‘s funeral, Wolfshiem did not see Carraway at first and after seeing Carraway . On that day it was rain as if God sympathized with which Tom and Daisy lived.6 ConclusionIn the years when people desired material enjoyment, Gatsby‘s naïve and mirage ―dream‖ doomed to fail. During those years, people did not care about other‘s feeling, even if the one was the novel Fitzgerald vividly described the relation between people and people and this relationship was the reflection and refraction of the roaring twenties‘ life. Because there were Tom and Daisy who stood for the upper class, Gatsby‘s would not success for the upper class was cold and cruel. Gatsby was the incarnation of Dream‖ and contradiction that was the contradiction between ideal and reality. Gatsby and Tom stood for the two main powers-one was the idealism which broke away from the reality, the other was extremely crude pragmatism.‖(娜仁花)It showed Gatsby‘s greatness by describing Tom‘s meanness. Even if Gatsby and Classics, 1930[2] Fitzgerald F.Scott, The Crack Up [M], Wilson, Edmund New Directions, 1945[3] Fitzgerald F.Scott, The Great Gatsby [M], Peking: Foreign Language Press, 2007[4] Bruccoli, Mattew, New Essays on The Gatsby [M], Peking: Peking University Press, 2007[5] Bruccoli, Mattew, ed.F.Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters, New York: Simon & Schuster Inc, 1995[6] 苗永敏．了不起的盖茨比与20世纪20年代的美国[J],扬州教育学院学报，2005年第3卷第一期[7] 娜仁花.了不起的盖茨比与美国梦的破灭[J],语文学刊-外语教育教学，2009年第二期[8] 吴建国.菲茨杰拉德研究[M],上海：外语教育出版社，2002[9] 王晓环.美丽的幻想与无情的冷漠[J],佳木斯大学社会科学学报，2000年第三期[10] 肖东波，唐骏.了不起的盖茨比-美国梦的破灭[J]，湖北成人教育学院学报，2009年5月第五卷第三期[11] 杨师淮.美国梦的破灭[J]，消费导刊-文化研究，2007年11月[12] 张福勇.杰伊盖茨比的了不起之处[J],烟台师范学院学报（哲学社会科学版），2001年09第十八卷第三期Acknowledgements: In writing my paper, my teachers and classmates give me a lot of peihong, my supervisor, for , this thesis could not for their kind help.致谢：在写这篇论文的过程中，我的同学和老师给了我极大的帮助。

Part One Introduction1.1 Research Background and SignificanceAs “the spokesman of a crucial and revealing period in the culturalfield of his country”,(Wang Weiping, 2004:57) Fitzgerald knows the societyclearly due to his rich personal experience and creates many characterslike Gatsby out of the American life. These novels describe the disillusionment of the American dream in the Jazz Age. And the reason isalways that the transformations of the values of traditional morality makepeople not believe in any hero but pursue individual consumption andenjoyment. Fitzgerald deeply feels the spiritual emptiness and moraldecadence under the superficial splendor and prosperity in that age, sohe is called the spokesman of the Jazz Age. Most of his works describe theexpectation, dissatisfaction and disappointment of the American younggeneration in the 1920s. One distinguishing feature of his works is thatthe close relationship between his personal experiences and works. Nearlyall the characters in his novel can find the original shapes in realitysometimes even himself, especially in The Great Gatsby.1.2 Motivation and ObjectiveConsidering disillusion of the American dream, different people havedifferent understandings. “In its board sense, it refers to the ideal ofa nation such as democracy, equality and freedom. While in its narrow sense,it refers to the pursuit of obtaining success of life”. (Wang Weiping,2004:57) Essentially, the American dream is a confident desire forperfection by means of progress. But the history and reality of Americanhave proved that “the American dream” is, to some extent, a kind ofillusion.The great Gatsby is one of the representative works that reflects theillusory nature of the American dream.Part Two Gatsby’s American Dream Gatsby is the representative figure of a self-made man in the twenties. He is born in a poor family in the west of America, and his parents are shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. He comes to the big city—New York where the young men are inspired to make the most of their opportunities to get the key to be successful. They believe that they can be successful men in history, just like Benjamin Franklin, who has been ma n “of humble origin, narrow fortune, small advantages, and self-taught.”(Chen Qing, 2006:18) The poor boy is inspired to do the great deeds by the example of Franklin, like Gatsby. So in the end, Gatsby gets wealth and fame by industry. Some people may think that Gatsby has fulfilled his dream; it is obvious that Gatsby’s dream is a symbol of the American dream for wealth and youth. However, Gatsby’s real dream is to win back his first love Daisy but not to get the money only. Gatsby genuinely has a belief that money can buy anything, innocently thinking that his wealth can erase the last five years of his and daisy’s l ove and reunite them at the original point of 1917. He falls in love with the beautiful and wealthy girl of the upper class and he wants to enter into the upper class through his efforts. Although he devotes his whole life to win the wealth and position, he fails totally at last. Why does he fail? In the thesis the reasons for his failure would be discussed.Part Three Reasons for the Disillusion3.1Gatsby’s Dream is out of Connection with the RealityGay Gatsby is a great young man who has many superficial characters. He tries his best to realize his dreams, but he fails at last. The reason is that he is completely an American dreamer, a man of great imagination and extraordinary hope. He is willing to do anything to gain the social status he thinks necessary to win back Daisy who i s the “golden girl”in his dream. His relentless quest for Daisy demonstrates that Gatsby has an outstanding ability to transform his dreams into reality. But actually, his great dream is swallowed up by the meanness of the upper class and his “golden girl”—Daisy, which are the superficial reasons for his failure. And the deep reason is that his dream is out of connection with the reality. In fact, the people in the twenties do n’t believe in the values of traditional morality any longer and they have their philosophy of life—to “seize every day” and “enjoy every moment”.(Chen Qing, 2006:1) The differences in the understanding between Daisy and Gatsby narrates the distance between the dream and reality; while competition between Gatsby and Tom expresses the strange points of the material wealth and how fragile of the pursuit of the spirit. And the difference between Gatsby and upper class people reflects the downfall of the American society. All these contradictions and conflicts make people realize the fragile of the idealism when the dream confronts the reality. The pursuit of the spiritual life can not realize in the society which only pays a great attention to the material life.3.2 Gatsby’s Love for Daisy is IdealisticAt the last of the novel, he expresses himself “I love only one girl forever”, (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:143) which represents a kind of idealism. But this kind of idealistic love can not be realized, because the girl whom he loves is just a superficial and vulgar woman in reality. For Daisy, love should be built on the wealth and high position and she has accustomed to this sense of security, which can make her live happily. But Gatsby who is born into a poor family gains his wealth and position criminally; he can not give Daisy the security which she has accustomed to. And Daisy will not love anyone who can not give her this kind of security. So in front of Daisy, Gatsby’s real love is an idealistic dream, and this dream can not be realized forever.Just as Americans have endued America with meaning through their dreamsfor their own lives, Gatsby instills Daisy with a sort of idealized perfection that she neither deserves nor possesses. Just as the American dream in the roaring twenties is ruined by the unworthiness of its goal, money and pleasure, Gatsby’s dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its goal, Daisy. “He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a ‘nice’ girl could be.”(Chen Qing, 2006:25) In Gatsby’s eyes, Daisy is a noble fairy, but she is a superficial and vulgar woman in reality.Gatsby’s love and the American dream connect closely because his first love Daisy is the embodiment of his dream. Daisy is the symbol of wealth and position, and marrying Daisy means entering into the upper class, so he devotes his whole life to win her back. But he fails at last, that is because he can not recognize Daisy clearly and his blindness leads to his death in the end.3.2.1Daisy in RealityDaisy is born into the upper class and grows up in wealthy conditions, so she depends on wealth from her birth and only responds to surface. When Gatsby shows her around his splendid house, she admires what she sees. Later, Gatsby takes out a pile of shirts and throws them one by one before her. She likes these beautiful shirts so much that she even cries out, “They’re such beautiful shirts”, “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before”. (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:124) “Daisy has n’t any practical value. The people whom Daisy likes are also beautiful without any true value.”(Chen Qing, 2006:15) When she takes part in Gatsby’s party, she s ees many super stars that can only be seen on TV, which makes her very interested and excited. “Perhaps you k now that lady”, (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:140) Gatsby indicates a gorgeous woman who sits in state under a white-plum tree. Daisy stares and says“She’s lovely”，“I’ve never met so many celebri ties, I like that man—what was his name?”.( F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:141)“Daisy likes to arrest men’s attention and to get men’s compliments in order that she can depend on them. Maybe it is because s he couldn’t make a living independently, so she has to attach herself to a man, which is her way to live in this world.”(Chen Qing, 2006:15) Daisy marries Tom because of his large wealth and high social position. When Gatsby leaves her, she is very sad and even wants to kill herself. But with the arrival of Tom, her life changes immediately, and then she decides to forget Gatsby, and marries with Tom who has great wealth and high social position.From this aspect we can see that, for Daisy, love is just an interesting game, whereas money and position are the most important things in it. For money and position, she forgets Gatsby quickly, and devotes herself to another wealthy man no matter she loves him or not. But in fact, she will “love” Gatsby if he can make her believe that she can live a wealthy and safe life together with him. Because they have such two different kinds of disillusions towards each other, Daisy can never understand Gatsby’s love for her and thus is not worthy of being loved by Gatsby.After the marriage, the husband Tom treats Daisy badly. Daisy knows that Tom B doesn’t care about her and ha s a mistress outside, so she needs a chance to complain her unfortunate life. Therefore, when Nike visits them, she complains about her misfortune to him. Nick feels very uncomfortable when he hears the complaint from Daisy because he can not understand Daisy. He says “It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms—but apparently there were no such intentions in her head.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:27) Actually, Daisy can do nothing, she will not leave Tom. Without Tom she can not enjoy the wealthy life any longer. But she cannot control her fate and she feels sad for herself. So she wants to change her fate with someone’s help. Just at this very time, his first love Gatsby appears as a wealthy man and calls her back. It seems to be a good chance for her to make a decision to leave her bad husband. But instead she refused him, just because Gatsby’s background makes herlack of safety. She destroys Gatsby’s dream totally and goes away with Tom in a hurry. Daisy has to go on living with Tom, which is her fate, so in reality she is also an unfortunate woman. To this point, we can say that at this time, she still doesn’t deserve the love of Gatsby.3.2.2 Daisy in Gatsby’s DreamNo matter how other people may think about Daisy, in the mind of great Gatsby, she should be cherished forever. Although Gatsby and Daisy have departed for five years, Daisy is a lways living in Gatsby’s memory and she has turned into an perfect fairy as time passes by. For Gatsby, if he can marry with Daisy, he can enter into the upper class naturally and gain the identity in the upper class. Maybe it is because in Gatsby’s mind, Daisy has been endowed with a kind of special value. For this special vale, Gatsby would rather devote his whole life to winning her back. At this time, Daisy in reality is not important for him. Because Daisy has become the noble embodiment of the upper class in Gatsby’s dream.Gatsby always thinks the reason why Daisy leaves him is that he is poor and has a low social position when he is young, and he totally believes that he can win Daisy back if he can gain the wealth and high social position. With this faith in his mind, Gatsby determines to win Daisy back, making her the single goal of all his dreams and the symbol of everything he desired. So he earns large wealth by efforts and then buys a splendid house across the bay of Daisy’s and g ives parties day and night on every weekend just want to arrest her coming.Actually, Five years later when Gatsby sees Daisy again, he feels that she is different from the Daisy he dreams of day and night. In reality, Daisy has already lost her magical power and becomes a common woman. Later, Gatsby invites Daisy to take part in his party. And after she leaves, Gatsby feels very disappointed because he thinks that Daisy can’t really understand him any longer. It seems that Gatsby is so disappointed that he will not love her any longer. But Gatsby is really a great dreamer. Hejust pursues every thing in his dream and because Daisy in his dream has turned into a perfect fairy, so Daisy in reality is not so important for him; he would rather believe that Daisy still loves him.In fact, Daisy doesn’t really love anyone else. But Gatsby does not think so. He loves Daisy and he also believes that Daisy also loves him. So people think that Gatsby is a son of God. “He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about his F ather’s business, the of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:131) From this sentence, we can know that he makes Daisy as an embodiment of his dream, without thinking what Daisy is in reality. Actually, Both Nick and Gatsby notice her special voice, and are d escribed as “full of money” and even a “deathless song”.(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:59) Her voice is seemed to jingle with a sound of wealth to Gatsby. For Daisy, it seems that wealth is more important than love itself. So Gatsby can’t get true love from her no matter he is poor or wealthy. This indicates that Gatsby’s dream for Daisy will be inevitable destructed.3.3 Gatsby’s Dream for the Upper Class is IdealisticFitzgerald deeply feels the transformations of the values o f traditional morality and people will not admire any self-made hero longer and they only care about individual enjoyment. So in a society with spiritual emptiness and moral decadence, Gatsby with much imagination is doomed to fail.Compared with the wealthy people, Gatsby is different in nature. He has dreams and ambitions, and tries his best to realize them. But he can not see the upper class clearly. The upper class in Gatsby’s dream is different from the one in reality.And his dream can not be realized in this kind of upper class nowadays.3.3.1 The Upper Class People in Gatsby’s MindIn Gatsby’s mind, if he has money, he can get into the upper classnaturally, and being an upper class member, he should be a moral person who has many virtues. So he stresses himself with the self-improvement and hard work; it can be proved easily in Gatsby’s schedule: No wasting timeNo more smoking or chewingBath every other dayRead one improving book or magazine per weekSave$5.00[crossed out] $3.00 per weekBe better to parents (F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:231)Gatsby’s li st of self-improving resolves is similar with Benjamin Franklin’s rules for self-improvement on eighteenth-century. Gatsby learns to him, and decides to be a decent person like him. In Nick’s eyes, “he was a handsome young man about thirty years old and dressed very well. He spoke very politely and it is a little funny to me. Most men in his age were not so polite. He spoke as if he is carefully choosing his words.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:42) He does his best to be the same hero as Benjamin Franklin, believing that he can also be successful if he sets strict demands on himself.3.3.2 The Upper Class People in RealityBut in fact, people in that age do not believe in any hero of the American dream. They only care about themselves and enjoy themselves without considering the feelings of other people. They just like to pursue the enjoyment. And they have their philosophy of life—to “seize every day”and “enjoy every moment”. (Chen Qing, 2006:1) That can be proved easily in the novel of The Great Gatsby.In the party of the upper class, everyone needn’t know the name of anyone else and talks friendly as if they have known each other well for a long time. P eople taking part in Gatsby’s parties don’t know h im at all and even don’t see him before. They will not appreciate Gatsby who holds party for them, but making the rumors for him. In their eyes, Gatsbyis just a subordinate. Maybe, some of them do not care about who he is. They come here just because they want to enjoy themselves, and they need these big parties to prove their positions, while Gatsby also need them to raise his social position. They have mutual needs, so the parties can be held on every weekend. But nobody will remember him after they go away from his big parties. “A ll over the party, people were laughing, talking and drinking. But all the happiness seemed so empty.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:40) In the society which people don’t care about others and just knowing to enjoy them. Gatsby, who does n’t really understand the true value of wealth in real life, can not live longer and his dreams can not be realized.3.4 Destroyer of Gatsby’s Dream—Tom3.4.1 Tom in RealityTom is the representative person in the upper class. In the novel, he is the direct destroyer of Gatsby’s dream. Both Gatsby and Tom possess wealth, but they are very different. Gatsby earns his wealth by diligence and discipline and uses his wealth to realize his great dreams, while Tom do not have any large goals and lives happily on the wealth that his father has created. In the end, Tom wins and goes away with Daisy in a hurry, while Gatsby i s killed by the husband of Tom’s mistress, George Wilson. From this aspect, we can see that Tom is a vicious man in reality. Maybe it is because he is born into a wealthy family and has been spoiled. Tom is a former football player at Yale and enjoys the high status, but he is an arrogant, cruel person who does nothing important everyday, just playing with cars and racing horses. Only in this way can he win his own ego. It is obvious that he does not have any moral standards which he demands for the people around him. He is the representative person of the upper class in reality which has replaced American idealism.Tom is also an immoral person who just knows to ask others to be honest. In order to meet his desire, Tom has an affair with the fleshly woman Myrtleand keeps an apartment in the city for their dating. But he is not upset at all and he even opens their relationship in public. He treats Daisy badly, however, when he knows that Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair. He even becomes outraged and forced them to confront it in the room at the hotel where he irritates Gatsby to win his wife back and thus destroys his rival’s dreams. From this aspect, we can also see that Tom actually is a man of violence, because he tells the group of people that Gatsby’s wealth is criminally obtained and thus he is cheating Daisy all the time. Then he forces Daisy to change the declaration that she has never loved him. To be honest, Daisy does not love Tom, she loves Tom for his wealth and will be reluctant to leave him, for he can provide her with security and the lifestyle to which she is accustomed. The victory of Tom reflects that Gatsby can not really enter into the upper class. For the upper class people like Tom, they will never take Gatsby as their friend but a subordinate.Tom is also a careless person who will not be worried about the sufferings he causes. When problems arise, he will run to his money and safe situation, leaving it to be dealt with by others and will never take the responsibility. After the death of Tom’s mistress Myrtle, Tom tells her husband that Gatsby is the killer and then runs away with Daisy quickly until the affair finishes.3.4.2 The Differences between Gatsby and TomComparing with Tom, Gatsby is really a strange hero of the Jazz Age. Because he creates wealth by diligence and discipline but he doesn’t really understand the true value of wealth in real life, that is, “wealth makes people enjoy life”. (Chen Qing, 2006:16) He does n’t know this point, so he still lives a simple life. “His bedroom was the simplest room of all—except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold.”(F.Scott Fitzgerald, 2004:122)He holds big parties not to enjoy himself, but to arrest his first love Daisy’s coming.“When the party is over and the guests go away, Gatsby soaks in large loneliness” (F.ScottFitzgerald, 2004:78) and at this moment he is himself.Tom is a representative person of the realism, while Gatsby is a representative person of the idealism. Tom is a realist who lives in reality while Gatsby is an idealist who lives in his dreams. Gatsby’s dream is out of connection with the reality, so his dream can not be realized.Part Four ConclusionAlthough Gatsby’s dream fails, his greatness still rests on his dream, which distinguishes him from the other disillusioned people, who have lost the capacity to wonder and to dream. But as time goes by, Gatsby reveals himself to be a man who stakes everything on his dreams, unaware that his dreams are out of connection with the reality and unworthy of him.To sum up, Gatsby’s dream is incompatible with reality. Gatsby is a great dreamer who just lives in his dreams, without considering the changes of the society. In his dream, every thing is beautiful: Daisy is a perfect fairy who can give him hopes; the upper class people are all decent ones who can cooperate with him very well. But in reality, every thing is different: his dreaming girl can not really understand Gatsby’s love for her; while the upper class people are the disillusioned ones who just make Gatsby as a subordinate. Facing the reality, Gatsby does not adjust himself to suit the society, but to pursuit his dreams which are out of connection with the reality. At last, it leads his dream to be a disillusion.Considering ourselves, we are the students who are going to devote ourselves into the society. Some of us may have great dreams and are ambitiously hoping to realize them immediately, just like Gatsby. But we must remind ourselves every moment that we are living in reality but not in our dreams. Dream is always very beautiful while the reality is always impersonal, it can not be changed as what we want to. So we should suit ourselves with the changes of the society and make achievement step by step. If we can persist in the above principle and work hard everyday, I am surewe will succeed and then fulfill our dreams eventually.Bibliography[1] Cheng Qing, The Disillusionment of The American dream in The GreatGatsby and Tender Is The Night [J]. 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