盖茨比美国梦的幻灭—透视现实生活中的爱情

Abstract

The great Gatsby lived in the period of the First World War, when people were suspicious about the traditional notions and intended to break out them. In the novel, Daisy is a woman who was born in a rich family, and she always lives a luxuriant life of the upper class. Obviously, the person who wants to get her love must have enough money to offer her a luxuriant life. In order to make his American Dream come true, which is to win Daisy, Gatsby tries every possible means including illegal trade of alcohol to make a fortune. However, when Gatsby helps Daisy to escape from the accident successfully, and mistakenly be murdered by the husband of Tom’s mistress, his American Dream is broken. There is nothing left to him after his death, his wealth no longer means anything, and Daisy does not come back to him, either.

Key Words

The American Dream; love; money; disillusionment

摘 要

了不起的盖茨比生活在一战期间，这时候人民对传统观念持怀疑态度并且在渐渐的打破这些观念，传统意义上的美国梦也被歪曲了。在小说中，戴西是个出身富裕家庭，从小过着舒适的生活的女人,要想获得她的爱情，就必须有足够的金钱为她提供一个美好的生活。为了实现自己的美国梦，赢得戴西，盖茨比通过各种手段赚钱，包括在禁酒期间非法运酒。但是，当盖茨比帮助戴西成功逃脱那场车祸，并被误认为是凶手被杀害的时候，他的美国梦破灭了。在他死后，没有任何东西是属于他的，他所有的财富对他来说已经没有任何意义，而戴西也没有回到他身边。从盖茨比美国梦的幻灭，可以得出一个结论，他们的爱情和金钱是密切联系着的。

关键词

美国梦，爱情，金钱，破灭

Introduction

The First World War influenced the American Dream which was handed down from the older generations, and people were suspicious about the traditional notions and started breaking out them. At that time, nihilism① and hedonism② were formed, and the pursuit of material-luxury made people feel alien and cool. Youthful generation who lived in that period looked forward to a kind of luxuriant life; therefore, they bought cost things, took part in extravagant parties, and looked down upon others who were poor and so on.

The Great Gatsby is a love story written by F. Fitzgerald about the life which the youth lead at that time, and it mainly describes Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan, which is the symbol of his American Dream. In the novel, the character Gatsby is overwhelmed by only one thing that he does not possess, that is to be loved. Gatsby’s love for Daisy is real and strong, and he can do everything to win Daisy. The Great Gatsby is a realistic demonstration of the ruin of the American Dream, because Gatsby’s American Dream is to have more money than Tom——Daisy’s husband who is so rich that he can do everything he likes and he can also offer Daisy a better life, and finally wins Daisy’s love. The reason that Gatsby can not make his American Dream come true is not because that he doesn’t do his best, but the American Dream he pursues is the love of Daisy, who was born in a rich family and always lives a luxuriant life from the time she was born. However, Gatsby comes from an unfortunate farm family in North Dakota, and it is not easy for him to live a higher standard life, not mention to afford the extravagant life of Daisy.

When Gatsby becomes a millionaire and he has the financial ability to give Daisy a better life, Daisy takes much notice of him indeed and she really has the thought to be in love with him again. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s American Dream is broken quickly when he is dead and Daisy, does not feel any sadness but only happiness, leaves for another city with his husband. There is something separates them from each other, and it is wealth and social status. If Gatsby has much money in the very beginning, they may have been together and lives happily ever after. According to the break of Gatsby’s American Dream, there is a truth in reality that love and money have a close relationship.

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I. Introduction to Fitzgerald

Almost every one of American writers has touched on the theme of American dream, but as far as the breadth and depth, no one is equal to F. S. Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is the model of American dream in the history of American literature.

II. Analysis of Gatsby’s American Dream

In different social and historical backgrounds, the concepts of American Dream are different, and for different people, they have different understandings of American Dream and the ways to pursue their American Dream are also various. As for Gatsby, the symbol of his final American Dream is to win the love of Daisy. However, owing to the fact that Gatsby is subject to their different social status and life styles, his American Dream is doomed to be a failure.

A. American Dream in Different Social and Historical Backgrounds

The American Dream arose in the colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century, based on the assumption of each person, no matter what his origin was, could succeed in changing their social positions and making their dreams come true through their own efforts, and getting new, free and better life. This is what often called "American dream".（Zhao Hongwei,2003,6:2）American dream is a popular belief that hard work will bring forth America's bounty in the form of material well-being, a counter culture that rejects traditional thinking while promoting their own causes, information explosion, reverse discrimination----in the workplace because so many employers are hiring women and minorities. It’s the idea that the American way of life offers the equal possibility of unlimited economic, social, etc. One can always work their way up from the rags to riches just like Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the US.

In brief, the main content of American culture was emphasis on individuals' value, optimistic, pursuing of democracy and freedom, the promotion of deportation and competition and the need of realism and practicality.

The World War I cast the young men into an age of alienation and dissentient. They entered the War with naive and blind patriotism and under the slogan of World peace and democracy. Returning from the war, these idealized intellectuals felt separated by their war experience from conventional ideals and values of their homes. The economic bloom has deception affluence on the promising young men, not only destroyed their lives, but also destroyed their early innocent believes. Many excellent young men found it’s difficult to adapt to the after-war overflow of materialism. Scientific advances caused increase in industry, which brought vast changes to the character of American society. Millions of Americans were no longer content to follow former patterns and there was a rebellion against the falseness of society as represented by Victorian generation.

To many people, World War I was a tragic failure of old values, of old politics, of old ideas. The social mood was often one of confusion and despair. Yet, Americans entered a decade of proprietary and exhibitionism that prohibit the legal ban against alcoholic beverages, did more to encourage than to curb. Fashions were extravagant; more and more automobiles crowed the roads, advertising flourished; and nearly every American home had a radio in it. Roads swept the nation, people danced the Charleston, and they sat upon the flagpoles. The only thing for the youth who lived in that period to pursue was material wealth, and luxuriant life.

In order to show off the wealth, many people in upper class also held big parties in weekends. In those parties, there were every kind of people who were also famous or rich, and such kind of party were so extravagant that the reason people took part in it was to know more rich people and indulged them in luxuriant life. They were looking forward to having more money and then lived a better life, which was much more extravagant. In such a special period, there was a fact that the person who had more money and lived a more extravagant life would be respected much more and have more friends. On the other hand, the person, who neither had money nor fame, would be looked down upon by others, not mention to live a better life or have a true love from another. Whatever their American Dream was, the only way and first thing they should do was to earn enough money. Without money, there was no achievement, including love.

Self-made and self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby who lived in the period of the First World War embodies some of Fitzgerald's, and his countries, most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed and the promise of new beginnings. At that time, almost every one of the youth had an American Dream for themselves. And all the people including immigration and poor people had a desire and regard for a perfect life. Such a perfect life should be full of big house, much money, delicious food, cost cars, as well as freedom. Everyone had a different idea for his or her American Dream; everyone’s American Dream may be totally different from each other; that is what makes them all individuals. The dream may differ in that some people wanted to work hard and had financial success, or others might just want to have enough food and income to survive, and made their life simple, healthy and happy.（邓年刚，潭素钦, 1997, 1: 1）

However, there was a common truth that everyone who lived in that period actually had an American Dream and eager to achieve it and everyone has an American Dream which is to have a good opportunity to realize personal dream.

B. Gatsby’s Pursuit of American Dream

From the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a knowledge that Gatsby’s American Dream is to win daisy’s love, and everything he spares no effort to do is to regain the love of Daisy. In order to make his American Dream come true, Gatsby not only gets money from illegal trade of alcohol, and he also does everything Daisy asks him to do including scarify his precious life.

1. Gatsby’s American Dream

As for the great Gatsby, his American Dream is to have much money and then win Daisy, who is in love with Gatsby five years ago but now is the wife of rich Tom. Gatsby thinks that only if he has much money, at least has more money than Tom, should he win Daisy’s love. So it is reasonable for him to pursue material wealth in order to win the love of Daisy.（克罗蒂亚•罗思•皮埃罗庞, 2004, 7: 2）

Gatsby is a young millionaire, but he has an unsavory reputation of the past and he is much suspicious by many people who have enjoyed in his parties about his wealth. Gatsby has little connection with the social stratum which he contacts, and nobody knows the ways he gets so much money. Some say he did illegal trade, some say he had killed someone, or he is the nephew of William Second. However, he is always a lonely person, although he has extravagant parties frequently and there are so many rich and famous people from all around the world come to take part in his parties and even they are proud of having seen him once. But the only thing he really wants to achieve is to regain the past when he is in love with Daisy, and this is the symbol of his American Dream, too. （Zheng Chenggong, 2002,3: 5）

Gatsby’s attempt to achieve his American Dream which is to recapture the love of Daisy Buchanan whom he had known five years before the action of the novel begins, when he is a young and poor officer in the United States army and Daisy is a young unmarried woman, who used to live a luxuriant life with much money and great fame. And the only way should Gatsby make his American Dream come true is to get a lot of money which is much difficulty for a normal soldier to earn. He does all the things Daisy asks him to do. And nobody can do this out of reason. In order to win Daisy, Gatsby dare to have illegal trade of alcohol to make a fortune, because he clearly knows that he must offer Daisy a better life which is luxuriant if he wants to win Daisy. Through his great effort, he gets much money authentically although it is from illegal business.

Gatsby's success in fortune is great, his strong will of love and achieving life goal is also great; he becomes the big name of the society, and becomes the upper class's deputy. Everyone is glad to come to his party, everyone admires his property, and everyone wants to be his friend, even Daisy has taken much notice of him and falls in love with him again. Gatsby is also great when he loses his life in order to protect Daisy from the accident.

However, the falling of his American Dream, that Daisy goes together with her husband to another city happily while Gatsby is murdered mistakenly, improves that all his great characterizes means nothing. In other words, Gatsby’s final American Dream, which is to win Daisy, is totally a failure.（杨慧群, 2002, 5: 3）

Furthermore, when Gatsby died, no one turns up for his funeral, though hundreds of people have eaten at his place. It is a sad comment on human nature that when a man dies, he is alone, absolutely alone. The only things that accompany him are his good deeds especially those done spontaneously and without expectations. And the saddest thing is that Daisy, doesn’t feel any regret or sorrow for Gatsby’s death, has gone traveling with his husband Tom. There is nothing left for Gatsby. All the things of his life have gone with his death, including his wealth and love.

From the above analysis of Gatsby’s American Dream, there is a conclusion that whatever it is broken or not, Gatsby’s American Dream is to get as much money as he can even through every illegal means, and then he can have the economical strength to achieve his final goal——win the love of Daisy.

2. Gatsby’s Efforts in Achieving his American Dream

Gatsby was born in a poor family in the Middle West, but when he is a boy he has an ambition to win wealth and position depending on his intelligence and diligence. During the time of serving in the army, Gatsby is in love with Daisy who is in a big and rich family. And in his eyes, Daisy’s living style and her beauty are the very ideal incarnation③ that Gatsby is dreaming of. But the relationship between them are not possible, because he doesn’t have enough money to afford Daisy a luxuriant life, and later on Daisy gets married with the rich and influential Tom Buchanan. Gatsby believes that it is money which makes her leave him, so he determines to be rich. After several years’ self-imposed hardships, Gatsby become wealthy and successful by illegal operations, and his faithful belief in ideal love which is the symbol his American Dream.

When he could get the admission with the help of money, he buys a villa standing for wealth and in the opposite site of Daisy's mansion; also it's a kind of silence call of Daisy. He holds grand banquet in his villa day and night to attract Daisy to come and intends to regain their past loving days, and succeeds in retrieving Daisy's love again. From the luxuriant ball, people could see the luxury and squander of Gatsby's life. People from all around the world come to his house. They are drinking, singing and dancing, and they come for fun, for enjoyment. But most of them don't know why the party is held; some of them even don't know who the host is. And Gatsby is a mystery. However, Daisy in his heart is only an illusion and is as superficial as others in her ranking and she will never give up her simple-minded but elegant, and settled life for the ideal love.

For such an American Dream, Gatsby spares no effort in achieving it. He not only tries every possible means including illegal trade of alcohol to make a fortune, but also catches every chance to meet with Daisy, speaks out his feeling to her, tries his best to make Daisy believe in his love for her and gives Daisy everything he can. But while Gatsby, Tom, Daisy and a friend of Daisy have a talk in the hotel of London, and Daisy, who drives Gatsby's car, encounters a car accident and kills Tom's lover----Myrtle, Gatsby’s American Dream begins to fall down. After the accident, Daisy and Tom travels abroad for shelter. Myrtle's husband learns that the car belongs to Gatsby, and then he murders Gatsby. Then the story comes to an end with Gatsby's death. Gatsby has done a great effort for his love, but all his efforts turn out to be a failure.

C. Disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream

As Fitzgeraldpoints out many obvious human traits----snobbery, excessive romanticism, carelessness of others' feelings, betrayal, and the shallow curiosity of other people's dramas, as well as the social discrepancies between the rich and the poor scornfully and with distaste. Different social statuses have different styles of life.（陈可, 2000, 2: 2）

Gatsby's spends his whole life in attaining money and status so that he can reach a certain position in life and then he can win Daisy back. That is what motivates him to move to West Egg, and makes money by any means necessary, holds extravagant parties in every weekend, does everything what Daisy requires him to do and so on. There is a position in life that he yearns for and will do all that it takes to achieve it, and the final goal for his American Dream is to get Daisy’s love.

Daisy and Tom on the other hand show how people can use their position to look down on others and live their life carelessly. As the narrator of The Great Gatsby Nick says about Daisy, "in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged". (Fitzgerald,1998,1:83) It is this superior mind set that allows Tom to cheat on his wife and allows him and Daisy to run away from the death of Myrtle. They don’t need to worry about such things because they are too good for it. And Nick sees it as a kind of carelessness. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy----they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…… they can use their wealth and position to escape whatever they choose.” （Fitzgerald,1998,1:163 ）

By comparison, Gatsby and Daisy belong to different kinds of people, they have different backgrounds and life styles, and their social statuses are not the same at all. It is doomed to be a failure if Gatsby wants to be in love with Daisy, and live with her forever.

III. Analysis of Relationship Between Love and Money in Gatsby’s American Dream

In the novel The Great Gatsby, in order to make his American Dream come true, Gatsby tries every possible means to make a fortune because he knows clearly that only if he has much money, at least more than Tom, he can win Daisy’s love. However, Gatsby’s American Dream is broken as a result although he has taken great pains to achieve it. And the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream is greatly due to the relationship between love and money.

A. Relationship Between Love and Money in the Novel

After having taken great pains to get money, Gatsby not only has so much money although it is from illegal business, he also becomes a famous man that many other rich people from all around the world have the wish to take part in his parties and make friend with him. In this case, Gatsby has had the economic strength to win Daisy’s love, and Daisy actually takes much notice of him, even fall in love with him again.

In a common sense, they should be together and live a better life which consists of love and money ever after.

However, things come to a break while Daisy and Tom drop a hint to the husband of Myter---Mr. Wellson, that the yellow car belongs to Gatsby after Gatsby has protected Daisy from the accident successfully, and in the early morning, Gatsby is murdered by Mr. Wellson mistakenly. In such a case, Daisy doesn’t feel any regret or sadness; instead she leaves for another city to have her honey month with his husband Tom. In Daisy’s eyes, the only thing she can see is money, the person who has more money will win her love easier. But Gatsby’s American Dream and all the things he takes great pains to achieve is to win Daisy’s love, so it is doomed to be a failure the time when his property doesn’t mean anything to Daisy.

According to the love between Gatsby and Daisy, it is easy to claim that wealth is the basis of love, and without money, there is no love.

B. Connection Between love and Money in Reality

Money is a kind of currency and a tool for exchange. The period without goods exchange is not long in the history, and such a period is just the most immature, and which develops very slowly. And the pace of development becomes much faster after the appearance of currency and exchange. It is reasonable to claim that money is the basis of the human development, and love in reality is only a small part of human society, and it is closely connected with money, too.

The story means that many people attach more importance to money than to love. It is his brother he does like that, not mention his lover, who is not his kin and knows each other not so well at all. As for Gatsby’s love for Daisy, it is obviously based on the wealth of the family which Daisy was born. From Chapter Six of the novel The Great Gatsby, we know “he knew women early…since they spoiled him, he became contemptuous of them, of young virgins because they were ignorant, of others because they were hysterical about things”. In fact, the real reason that Gatsby doesn’t fall in love with any one of them is that they were not born in a rich family and have to work hard all day only to maintain their livelihood. On the contrary, Daisy belongs to the upper class, and she always lives a life with enough luxuriant materials. If Gatsby chooses the former, he may spend all his life time in hard work, but if he chooses the rich girl Daisy, he will live a better life as Daisy lives. Every human being has an eager to live a better life, and Gatsby is also an ordinary people, there is no reason for him to give up a better life but live a hard life with the poor girl.

It is quite appropriate to declare that money is the foundation of love. As a matter of fact, money is the safeguard of love. The time when one has love, he may not want money, and even has a thought that there is nothing more important than love, including money. But such a sort of feeling will just keep for a short time because in everyone’s life there are a plenty of things need to be done and almost all the things must be achieved with the help of money. If two people have gotten married, while they don’t have the money which is necessary to support a family, how about their love? They must have the material condition to survive, they will have baby in the future, and then how can they give their child a normal life? How can they give the money the child needs in school? Meanwhile, they must give some money to their parents, who are too old to work, to support their life. If they don’t have enough money, how can they do all the things, which are the basis for living? And how can they give their lover a better life?

Without money, there is no possibility for anyone to support a family, not mention to be in love with someone for a long time. Two people, falling in love with each other, whatever they intend to marry or not, must do something to keep their love. They may go to the cinema together, go traveling abroad for a holiday, buy each other a gift occasionally, etc. And after they have gotten marred, they must not only cost money for their love, but also spend a large amount of money to have a normal family life. In this case, money is the most important thing in one’s life, and love is based on money inevitably. For every one of human beings, only if one wants to survive one more day, he must have much more money. As Kludia points out that living cannot be separated from money, and love is connected with money closely because love is only a component of one’s life. (克罗蒂亚•罗思•皮埃罗庞, 2004,7: 3)

The love between Gatsby and Daisy in the novel has a close relationship with money inevitably. If Daisy was not born in a rich family, it is impossible for Gatsby to fall in love with her. On the other hand, if Gatsby doesn’t lie to Daisy that he is rich enough to support her an extravagant life, Daisy would not have fallen in love with him, either. While Gatsby have much money from illegal trades, and he can give Daisy a better life easily, Daisy falls in love with him again. Actually, the real thing Daisy love is the wealth Gatsby now has and the luxuriant life he can offer. And Daisy will not fall in love with Gatsby if Gatsby now is a poor soldier as before.

In sum, their love is based on money, and material needs are the premise of their love. It is the truth that it needs money for everyone to have daily life, and if one wants to live a better life, it needs more money. In reality, nobody can live without money, and everyone must have more money to get the love from another. In other words, money cannot buy true love, but there is no love without enough wealth

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Conclusion

It is believed that everybody wishes to get money so that he can maintain his livelihood. In other words, money is so useful that it is impossible for mankind to live a single day without money. So, it is reasonable to claim that there is a close relationship between love and money while love is only a component of life.

This thesis chooses the novel The Great Gatsby as the main material. It aims at analyzing the relationship between love and money in reality according to the break of Gatsby’s American Dream. In the previous chapters, we first have an overview of the writer Fitzgerald and the background he lived. Then by the comparison of the American Dream in different social and historical backgrounds, we have a general knowledge of American Dream in the special period that Gatsby lives. Thus comes to the conclusion that love in reality is closely connected with money through the analysis of Gatsby’s American Dream and the reason it breaks.

In the novel, if Daisy was not born in a rich family, it is impossible for Gatsby to fall in love with her. On the other hand, if Gatsby doesn’t lie to Daisy that he is rich enough to afford her a better life, Daisy would not have been in love with him, either. Through illegal trade of alcohol, Gatsby becomes a millionaire and he can give Daisy an extravagant life easily. And Daisy falls in love with him again. However, the time Gatsby is murdered mistakenly, and all his wealth doesn’t mean anything to Daisy ever after, Daisy, with her husband, goes traveling happily. As Yu Dan points out, it means that Gatsby’s American Dream is broken. (Yu Dan, 2006, 4:3)There is nothing left to him, and he doesn’t win Daisy’s love till the end of his life.

Zhang Tianjing points out that the reason for the fall of Gatsby’s American Dream is that their love is based money, and material needs are the premise of their love. (Zhang Tianjing, 2004, 3:2)It is the money Gatsby has that Daisy really loves. Actually, it is the truth that money is necessary to the life of every human being; without money, no one can live a normal life any one day, and it needs more money to live a better life.

Therefore, based on the analysis above we can reach at a conclusion that love and money in reality has a close relationship.

Notes

① nihilism: Total rejection of all religious and moral beliefs. 虚无主义 。

② hedonism: Belief that pleasure should be the main aim in life. 享乐主义。

③ incarnation: Person that prominently displays a particular quality. 化身。

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