An Analysis of American Dream in The Great Gatsby From the Establishment to the Disillusionment 浅谈《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦——由建立到破灭.doc

本科毕业论文 An Analysis of American Dream in The Great Gatsby: From the Establishment to the Disillusionment 浅谈《了不起的盖茨比》中的美国梦——由建立到破灭 院系名称 外国语学院 专业名称 英语语言文学 年级 2009级 学生姓名 指导老师 2013年4月20日 中 文 摘 要 美国著名作家菲兹杰拉德被称为“美国梦的代言人”，在他的小说中，我们难以区分是他的生活如一部小说，还是他的小说就是他的一段真实的生活的写照，因为他已完全融入其中。尤其是其代表作《了不起的盖茨比》，文中主人公盖茨比是为追求美国梦而最终牺牲了自己的典例，他渴望以自己的信念和勇气来获取物质以及爱情上的收获，然而由于他的梦想是一种对虚幻的渴望，而不是建立在现实的基础之上的追求，最终导致了他美国梦的破灭，本论文通过对美国梦和小说创作历史背景的研究向我们阐述了这一梦想破灭的各种原因，从而展现作品中体现的社会意义。 关键词：美国梦；了不起的盖茨比；破灭；原因 ABSTRACT F. Scott Fitzgerald is the literary spokesman of the “American Dream”. His novels include many aspects of his unique experiences in that period. It is not easy to distinguish his novels with his real life, because his works have already involved himself physically and mentally. Especially in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby, the hero reveals a typical example of those who were eager to achieve the American Dream but finally sacrificed themselves. Although Gatsby dreams of achieving material wealth and love through his courage and hard work, all kinds of external and internal factors lead to the disillusionment of his hope. Through the analysis of American Dream and the historical background of the novel, this thesis elaborates a vivid picture of the reasons leading to the disillusionment of American Dream in order to show the social significance of this work. Key words: American dream; The Great Gatsby; disillusionment; reason Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter Ⅰ BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2 1.1 Fitzgerald and His Literary Works 2 1.2 Lost Generation and the Jazz Age 2 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 Dream of Love 7 2.2 The Disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream 7 Chapter Ⅲ THE REASONS FOR THE DISILLUSIONME