清教主义还是消费主义-论《了不起的盖茨比》中的人物形象_英语论文

Puritanism or Mass Consumerism: On the Impact on the Characters in The Great Gatsby

摘要

弗兰西斯·菲茨杰拉德，美国“迷惘的一代”的代表作家，他被认为是二十世纪最具有影响力的美国作家之一。他的《了不起的盖茨比》更是美国现代史上最优秀的作品之一。它呈现了一个消费主义盛行的爵士时代，并讲述了盖茨比从发迹到毁灭的人生轨迹。

本文先对清教主义进行了分析，从文化、民主、使命意识、民族性格等角度介绍了清教主义对美国社会产生的深远影响；然后分析了在消费主义影响下的主要人物的消费现象及其人物命运,并与早期美国清教主义形成对比，强调不能盲目追寻消费主义，而应树立正确的消费观和价值观。

关键词：菲茨杰拉德；了不起的盖茨比；消费主义；清教主义

Abstract

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, one of the representative authors of American “Lost Generation”, was also recognized as one of the most influential American authors in the 20th century. And his

The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest novels in Modern American literature. It represents the Jazz Age when consumerism prevailed and tells the story of Gatsby from his success to the disillusion. 

The thesis first introduces the concept of puritanism and analyzes its profound impact on American society in the term of culture, democracy, mission consciousness and so on, then analyzes main characters’ consumption phenomenon and their fate under the influence of consumerism and compares consumerism with puritanism, in order to advocate people to avoid the trap of consumerism and establish appropriate values towards consumption and life.

Key words: Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; consumerism; puritanism

Content

Introduction 1

1 Author and the Novel 2

1.1 Fitzgerald: Life Experience and Writing 3

1.2 The Great Gatsby: Background and Main idea 3

2 Puritanism and Its Impact on American Society 4

2.1 Puritanism and American Culture 5

2.2 Puritanism and American’s Democracy 5

2.3 Puritanism and American’s Mission Consciousness 6

2.4 Puritanism and American’s National Character 7

2.5 Puritanism and American’s Education 8

2.6 Puritanism and American’s Pioneering Spirit 8

3 The rise of Consumerism in American Society 9

3.1 Consumerism: Brief Introduction 9

3.2 Consumerism: Background 9

3.3 Consumerism: Features 10

4 Manifestation of Consumerism on Main characters 11

4.1 Blind Dreamers of Consumerism 11

4.1.1 Case-study of Gatsby 11

4.1.2 Case-study of Daisy 13

4.1.3 Case-study of Tom 14

Conclusion 15

References 16