Abstract

F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as the prominent spokesman of the “American Dream”. His novels are related to all kinds of respects of his experiences in that period. It is too hard to separate his novels from his life or consider the novels as a true portrayal of life, because he has been integrated into the novels. Especially in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts one typical class who were eagerly in the pursuit of the American Dream but ultimately at the expense of themselves. Gatsby yearns for material wealth and love by virtue of his firm belief and courage, however, a sense of loss and disillusionment comes over him. This thesis is aimed at the analysis of the characters of Gatsby and the reasons leading to his American Dream’s disenchantment. Through this thesis, the readers can have a thorough knowledge of the close relations between his personal characteristics and the despairing social background. The main body of the thesis consists of three parts. The first part is a brief introduction of the author Fitzgerald, the novel The Great Gatsby and its writing background. It also points out the specific reasons why Gatsby’s life comes to be a pitiful tragedy. The second part states the different aspects of his characters, including his attitudes towards wealth and love. The third part concentrates on the analysis of Gatsby’s American Dream, including the dream of wealth, high social status and love. Then the next part refers to the inevitability of his dream’s disillusionment in that social background. At last, the thesis reaches a conclusion that it is unavoidable to result in Gatsby’s personal destruction.
 
Key words: characters, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream, disillusionment

摘要

美国著名作家菲兹杰拉德被称为“美国梦的代言人”。阅读他的小说，读者往往难以区分究竟他本人的生活就如同一部小说，还是其小说就是他的一段真实生活的写照，因为他的经历已完全融入其中，尤其是其代表作《了不起的盖茨比》。书中主人公盖茨比为了追求美国梦而最终牺牲了自己，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，然而由于其梦想是一种虚幻的渴望，而不是建立在现实基础之上的追求，最终导致了美国梦的破灭。该论文旨在分析盖茨比的性格以及导致他美国梦破灭的原因。通过分析，读者可以整体了解盖茨比的性格特征与令人绝望的社会背景之间的密切关系。本文的主体分为三个部分：第一部分简要介绍作者菲茨杰拉德和小说的写作背景，指出导致盖茨比的生活成为悲剧的具体原因。第二部分介绍他性格的不同方面，包括对待财富和爱情的态度。第三部分重点分析盖茨比的美国梦，包括财富，社会地位和爱这三方面，紧接着阐述了在当时的社会背景下其美国梦幻灭的必然性。最后，本文得出结论，盖茨比的个人毁灭是不可避免的。

关键词: 性格   了不起的盖茨比    美国梦    破灭