Voice: @ Ge Wugang Ge
Text: @ Ge Wugang Ge
Fitzgerald is one of the outstanding writers in the 20th century. Some people call him the spokesman of "Jazz Age" and an important writer of "Lost Generation".
About this book, The New York Times once selected hundreds of English novels in the last century, and The Great Gatsby ranked second.
Even the famous Japanese writer Haruki Murakami gave this book the highest evaluation:
"If I hadn't met The Great Gatsby, my novel would have been completely different from what it is now, or I might not have written anything at all."
Of course, some readers know that this book is a film of the same name shot on 20 13, starring the famous Chinese movie star Xiao (that is, Leonardo).
What is the American Dream?
The term "American Dream" has a long history. At first, it was just the dream and desire of immigrants for free creation and free belief. It has always been believed that in the United States, as long as individuals work hard and are self-disciplined, they can change their social status and live a rich life in the United States. However, in the 1920s, the "American Dream" began to become synonymous with decadence and decay. The original values such as hard work, frugality and temperance have gradually faded, replaced by hedonism and extravagance. It is called "the roaring twenties" because of the rise of jazz.
The "American Dream" originally refers to the double promotion of material and spirit, but in fact, because the material dream can be realized very easily and quickly, it will soon surpass or even drown the original spiritual ideal, so there is a deformed phenomenon of material prosperity and spiritual poverty and emptiness.
Gatsby's American Dream
Gatsby's material pursuit is wealth and status.
Gatsby was born in a poor family since he was a child. In order to change his poverty, he went far away and took part in the war. In order to get rich quickly, he started a dirty trade of smuggling and bootlegging. A few years later, with his own mind and hard work, he finally realized this dream. He has accumulated great wealth and status and has dealt with top celebrities.
Gatsby's spiritual pursuit is goddess and love.
From the moment Gatsby met Daisy, he fell in love with this girl. However, due to family background and war, they finally failed to be together, which also became the driving force for him to become a rich man. To this end, he made every effort for Daisy, including buying a house opposite Daisy and holding a party to attract Daisy's attention. Only having Daisy can make Gatsby feel really happy and happy.
Everything is disillusioned after all.
When we saw Gatsby regain the status of super-rich and Daisy, we thought Gatsby's American dream had come true, but the story took a turn for the better, and all this eventually vanished with an accident. Of course, in fact, even if Gatsby is not dead, his American dream is actually an illusion after all.
Inner inferiority
Inner inferiority is a gap that Gatsby can't cross after all. From the beginning, he tried to conceal his origins, even changed his name and surname, and fabricated a lie that he was an Oxford fan. When all this was finally exposed, his sense of oppression finally broke out. ****
Class inequality
In fact, there are two kinds of rich people described in the book: one is the pearl of hereditary privilege represented by Tom, who is arrogant and domineering, and they are the real "upper class"; The other is the "nouveau riche" represented by Gatsby who makes money by his own efforts. But even if they have wealth, they will still be discriminated against by these special characteristics and think that they cannot be equal to themselves.
Ruthless and indifferent
At the end of the article, we can see that the rich "friends of the upper class" who Gatsby often entertained at his own party finally abandoned him, and no one even came to his funeral. Therefore, we can see that no matter how rich Gatsby was, no matter how luxurious his banquet was, his ending was doomed to be tragic, which was mostly caused by the ruthlessness and indifference among the bourgeoisie.
The irony of love
Although Gatsby has always admired Daisy, he may never understand Daisy's thoughts, her marriage and her dependence on money and status. Although he also heard clearly that "her voice is full of copper smell." The tragedy of Gatsby's love is that he devoted everything to the beautiful dream he weaved for himself. As the embodiment of his ideal, Daisy has only a beautiful body. Sadly, when people were holding a funeral for Gatsby, Daisy and her husband were traveling in Europe.
Reflection on the American Dream
Although Gatsby's story is a tragedy, the author still thinks Gatsby is a great Gatsby. The most important reason is: "Gatsby is different from them."
In such a flashy society at that time, people lived a boring and absurd life and were completely enslaved by material desires, but Gatsby still maintained a pure heart, pure love and kind compassion, which was commendable in the environment at that time. Although his dream is not a real American dream, he represents a group of Americans who still have hope. Gates' belief in equating love with life also represents the initial belief of the "American Dream", that is, the firm belief in success and love and the pursuit of sincerity. I think this may be the meaning of the green light that Steady always mentioned.
I like the last paragraph of the article very much. May be the best interpretation of dreams and hopes.
"When I sit on the beach and think about this ancient and unknown world, I can also realize how surprised Gatsby was when he first recognized the green light of Daisy Pier. He walked a long way to this green lawn, and his dream seemed close at hand. He didn't know that this dream had left him, abandoned in the boundless chaos outside the city, abandoned in the endless black Yuan Ye in the silent night. Gatsby's lifelong belief is pinned on this green light, a happy future that disappears before our eyes year after year. It used to slip away from us, but it doesn't matter-tomorrow we will run faster and stretch our arms farther ... there will always be a beautiful morning-we will struggle forward, and the boat will go upstream and be pushed back by the waves. "
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