论文英语论了不起的盖茨比中美国梦的破灭.docx
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论文英语论了不起的盖茨比中美国梦的破灭.docx
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论文英语论了不起的盖茨比中美国梦的破灭
摘要
美国是一个以梦想而自豪的国家,美国梦算得上美国文明的一大特产。
所谓美国梦,广义上是指美国的平等、自由和民主,狭义上是指一种相信只要在美国经过不懈的奋斗便能获得更好生活的理想,也就是人们必须通过自己的勤奋、勇气、创意和决心迈向繁荣。
长期以来,美国梦激励着一代又一代的美国人。
菲茨杰拉德的《了不起的盖茨比》,一部仅五万余言,却能列入二十世纪美国最佳的十二部小说之一,以一个青年人对财富地位与爱情追求的失败来解构美国梦的由来、演变及破灭的原因,同时生动地再现了美国二十世纪“爵士乐时代”的社会风貌和时代精神。
关键词:
美国梦,破灭,爵士乐时代
Abstract
AmericandreamisaculturalessenceoftheUnitedStatesanditstimulatesAmericansonegenerationafteranother.Itreferstotheequality,freedomanddemocracyofAmericainabroadsense.ItistheidealthataslongassomeoneworkhardandpaymoreeffortsinAmerica,hewillsucceedandhaveabetterlife.Fitzgerald’sTheGreatGatsby,asthemostimportantworkofhim,isthemirroroftheJazzAge.Onthesurface,itisthecorruptionofayoungman’sdreamofchasingwealthandlove.Beyondthesurfaceconcerns,thenoveldealssymbolicallywiththefailureofAmericandreamatthattime.ThenovelreflectsthesocialrealityandrevealsthedisillusionofAmericandream.InJazzAge,peopleregardthepursuitofdreamequalingtothepursuitofmaterialism,whichisboundtofail.ThecorruptionofGatsby’sAmericandreamindicatingthedisillusionofthewholeAmericandream.
KEYWORDS:
AmericanDream,JazzAge,disillusion
Contents
Introduction4
ChapterOneTheMeaningofAmericanDream6
1.1ThedifferentembodimentofAmericandreamindifferenttimes6
1.1.1Americandreaminthe18thand19thcentury6
1.1.2Americandreamafterindustrialization6
1.1.3Americandreaminthe21stcentury7
1.2JazzAgeandAmericanDream8
ChapterTwoTheDisillusionofJayGatsby’sAmericanDream9
2.1ElementsofGatsby’sAmericanDream9
2.1.1Thedreamofbecomingausefulmaninchildhood9
2.1.2Thedreamofbecomingarichandupper-classperson10
2.1.3Thedreamoflovingacharmingwoman10
2.2ReasonsforthedisillusionofGatsby’sAmericanDream11
2.2.1Theobjectivefactors11
2.2.2Thesubjectivefactors13
ChapterthreeTheDisillusionofNick’sandMyrtle’sAmericanDream15
3.1ContentsofNick’sAmericandream15
3.1.1Thedreamoftheupperclass15
3.1.2TheadmirationofGatsby15
3.2CorruptionofNick’sAmericandream15
3.2.1IntermsofTomandDaisy15
3.2.2IntermsofGatsby16
3.3Myrtle’sAmericanDream16
Conclusion18
Acknowledgements19
Bibliography20
Introduction
F.ScottFitzgeraldisthemostrepresentativenovelistofthe1920sintheUnitedStates.Hiswork,TheGreatGatsbyisthemirrorofthetime,theJazzAge.AnditisconsideredasF.ScottFitzgerald’smostimportantbook,whichenjoyedworldwideprestigeandcompliment.Thenovelreceivedfavorablecommentsfromallovertheworld.Thefamouswriterandcritic,T.S.Eliot,whoisneverahastyorextravagantcritic,praisedthenovelas“thefirststepthatAmericanfictionhastakensinceHenryJames.”(1984:
52).ThenovelisthetypicalworkthatreflectsAmericanDream,whichistheoften-toldtopicinAmerica.Asthetypicalworkof1920s,itreflectsthedisillusionofAmericanDreaminJazzAge.ThenovelendsinthetragedyofGatsbyanddisclosesthebefuddled,luxurious,meaninglessandhopelesslifeofJazzAge.ItcrucifiestheillusoryandunrealityofAmericanDream.
ManywritersandliteraturecriticsalwaysrefertoitwhentheytalkaboutAmericanDream.WilliamFaulkner,thegreatwriterinAmerica,oncesaidthatTheGreatGatsbywasthemosttypicalworkthatrecurredthesocialrealityinJazzAgeanddisclosedthetemptationanddisillusionofAmericanDream.In2013,TheGreatGatsbywasadaptedintofilmagain.Thedirectorofthisfilm,BazLuhrmann(2013)answeredwhenhewasinterviewed,“F.ScottFitzgeralddescribedthesorrowofLostGenerationbecauseofthedisillusionoftheirAmericanDreaminaplaintivetoneandIhopethisfilmcouldshowthesameeffect.”Besides,Chineseactress,ZhangZiyi(2013)saidthatshewasverysadafterwatchingthemovieandshethoughtthatGatsby’slovedreamwasdestroyedbyfameandwealth.
ManypeoplehaveanalyzedthedisillusionofAmericanDreaminthenovelTheGreatGatsby.TheiranalysisoftenputemphasisonthedisillusionofGatsby’sAmericanDream.ThedissertationwillbedifferentfromothersanditwillfocusonAmericanDreamtoillustrateitfromitsorigintoitsdevelopmentandcorruptionofdifferentcharactersbesidesGatsby.Itisdividedintothreechapters.ThefirstchapterdescribesthemeaningofAmericanDream,especiallythedifferentmeaningsandembodimentsofAmericanDreamindifferenttimes;whatisthemostimportantistheembodimentofAmericanDreaminJazzAge.Thesecondchaptermainlytalksaboutthemaincharacter,Gatsby’sAmericanDream,includingtheelementsofhisAmericanDream-hispursuitofwealthandloveandthereasonsforthecollapseofhisAmericanDream,whichincludeobjectivefactorsandsubjectivefactors.ThelastchapteranalyzestheAmericanDreamofNickandMyrtle,includingthecontentoftheirAmericanDreamanddisillusionoftheirAmericanDream.Inawhole,fromthethreechapters,readerswillhaveabetterunderstandingofAmericanDreamandgettoknowwhat’sthesimilaritiesanddifferenceofthecontentsAmericanDreamcollapseoftheirAmericanDreamamongthethreecharacters.InJazzAge,peopleregardthepursuitofdreamsasequalasthepursuitofpossessionandposition,whichisdoomedtofail.
ChapterOneTheMeaningofAmericanDream
1.1ThedifferentembodimentofAmericanDreamindifferenttimes
ItisuniversallyacknowledgedthatAmericansareproudofdreams.AmericanDreamisaveryimportantculturalessenceforAmerica.AndAmericanDreamhasdifferentmeaningsandembodimentsindifferenttimes.
1.1.1AmericanDreaminthe18thand19thcentury
Intheearlyyears,theAmericanDreamwasthePuritan’sdesireforthefreedominreligionandcreation.ManyEuropeanpeoplecametoAmericaatthattimeandmostofthemwereBritishPuritansandfarmerswhowerelikelytogotobankrupt.Attheendof18thcenturyandthebeginningof19thcentury,peoplefoundrichdepositsofgold.Therewasa“GoldRush”inAmerica.TheyconsideredAmericaasthecountrythatwasfilledwithmilkandhoney.
Besides,ThomasJefferson’sDeclarationofIndependencestatedthatallmenwereborntobeequalandtheywereendowedbytheircreatorwithcertainunalienablerights,thatamongthesewerelife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.What’smore,thereweremanypeoplewhohadnothingatfirstbutmadeagreatfortunethroughtheirownefforts,whichencouragedpeopletoholdtheirAmericanDream.Thus,peoplebelievethataslongastheyworkedhard,theywouldrealizetheirdreams.
Therefore,theuniquenaturalresourcesandpoliticalequalityattractedmoreandmorepeopletocometoAmerica.Thenewsettlershopedthattheycouldmadegreatfortuneinthenewland.Theywantedtobeluckyenoughtoberichovernightinthe“GoldRush”.TheearlyAmericanDreamhadthecolorof“gold”.
1.1.2AmericanDreamafterindustrialization
Afterthecivilwar,Americabegantheprocessofindustrialization.TheEuropeansettlersmovedtothewestgradually,suchasNewYorkandChicago.Alongwiththeexpansiontothewest,theAmericanDreamdevelopedintothepursuitofhappiness,especiallythepursuitofsuccess,includingcareer,loveandwealth.TheAmericanDreambecamemoreandmorepopularandconcrete.Itmadepeoplebelievethateveryonewasequal,andaslongasheworkedhard,apoorboycouldbecomeamillionaireonthiswonderfullandwhichwasfullofopportunities.Atthistime,thereweremanysuccessfulexamples:
Edison,theworld-famousinventorwhoinventedthousandsofnewthings;Ford,thefounderoftheFordMotorCompany,andsoon.Theyhadthesimilarexperiencethattheymadegreatsuccessbytheirowndiligenceandwisdomalthoughtheydidn’thaveaveryrichfamilybackground.Withthedevelopmentofindustrializationandundertheinfluenceofthesesuccessfulpeople,theeconomyofAmericawasblooming.MoreandmorepeoplewereeagertoseektheirAmericanDreamwithdeterminations.
However,gradually,people’sAmericanDreamchangedthepositivemeaning.Theyturnedtopursuewealthatanycostandthenindulgedthemselvesinenjoyingpleasuresoflife.Theybecamemoney-worshipedandmademoneybyallmeans.However,theyconsideredthepursuitofdreamequalingtothepursuitofwealth,whichwasboundtobecorrupted.
1.1.3AmericanDreaminthe21stcentury
Withthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,the21stcenturywitnessesagreatchangeofpeople’slife.Atthistime,AmericanDreamalsohasdifferentmeanings,bothpositiveandnegative.
Ontheonehand,theformerCEOoftheMicrosoftCompany,madebillionsofdollarsbyhiswisdomwhenhewasataveryyoungage.Itmakespeoplebelievethataslongasheisagenius,hecansucceedinAmerica.Ontheotherhand,intheearlyyears,Americansadvocatedmakingfortunethroughhonestyanddiligence,whiletodayAmericansareenthusiasticaboutmakingmoneyquickly.Thus,manypeoplegotogambleinLasVegasorplaythelotteryinhopethattheycanbecomeamillionaireinashorttime.TheearlyEuropeansettlerscametoAmericabecauseoftheequalrightofpolitics,however,inthe21stcentury,thepoliticsofAmerica,especiallytheelectionofthepresident,isthegameofmoney.ThesearethenegativeaspectsofAmericanDreaminthe21stcentury.
What’smore,nowadays,AmericanDreamisalsothedreamofthewholeworld.TheUnitedStatesisthemostdevelopedcountryintheworld.Americatakestheleadingpositionovermostcountriesinmanyaspects,suchaseconomy,scienceandtechnology.Thus,manypeoplefromallovertheworldprefertoimmigrateintoAmerica.Theythinktheycanhaveabetterlife
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- 关 键 词:
- 论文 英语 了不起 盖茨 美国 破灭
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