Abstract

The Great Gatsby is the representative work of Fitzgerald. Many critics think Daisy is the responsible one for Gatsby’s death. However, Daisy is a tragic character because she is commodified.
This essay attempts to analyze the reason why Daisy is commodified through the analysis of social and ethical background of America in1920’s, the author’s own experiences and Daisy’s characteristics in this novel. Much importance is attached with the external reasons.
In 1920’s, with the popularity of the pragmatic ethics, many open-up minds broke away the hedge of convention. The First World War not only brought about increasing development of American economy but also made Americans full of courage and morale seek for their fortune so as to realize American dreams. But in this material word, American dream seemed to be pursuing social status. To men, getting money and women is the symbol of their success in achieving higher social status. Besides Fitzgerald’s life experiences gives him the inspiration of creating this commodified character Daisy, especially his wife’s influence on him. As to the novel itself, the characteristics of Daisy and the environment she lives determines her tragic story. To some extent, she is commodified by herself too.

Key Words: The Great Gatsby; Daisy; commodified; reasons; 1920’s; Fitzgerald; ethics

摘要

《了不起的盖茨比》是菲茨杰拉德的代表作。很多评论家觉得黛西是盖茨比悲剧的罪魁祸首。但是，其实黛西也是一位受害者，她也是一位悲剧角色因为她被物化了。
本文试图通过分析19世纪20年代美国的社会背景，结合当时兴起的伦理学哲学，并结合作者的生平经历和小说中黛西形象等多个角度来解释黛西物化的原因，着重在于分析黛西物化的外因。
在19世纪20年代，随着实用主义伦理学的兴起，人们打破传统观念的束缚，个性得到解放。第一次世界大战不仅给美国带来了丰厚的经济利益，使美国由债务国变成债权国，而且也给美国人带来了勇气和士气。很多人开始尽全力去实现美国梦。但是在这个物欲横飞的社会，美国梦似乎成了争取社会地位的代名词。特别是对于男人们来说，金钱和女人变成了衡量一个人社会地位高低的标志。除此之外，菲茨杰拉德自身的经历也给了他很多灵感来创作这个被物化的黛西形象。而大部分他创作的女性形象都是受她妻子塞尔达个性的影响。就这部作品本身而言，文中黛西的形象以及小说所描述的环境决定了黛西的悲剧。黛西是“汤姆所控制的物质世界的牺牲品”，她失去了自己发自内心去选择的能力。所以，从某些角度讲，黛西自己的个性也是造成其被物化的原因。

关键词：《了不起的盖茨比》，黛西，物化，原因，20年代，菲茨杰拉德，伦理学