Gatsby’s Greatness and American Dream： A Reflection on the Theme Presentation of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby （1925）， one of the most renowned novels of F·Scott Fitzgerald， is hailed as the sparkling representative work of “Lost Generation” writers and a mirror of the serious social sicknesses in the United States in the 1920s. As a chronicler of an era that he dubbed “The Jazz Age”， Fitzgerald managed to epitomize the experiences and perceptions of people at that time， with the successful portrayal of a tragic Platonic character—Jay Gatsby. As is indicated in the novel， his unremitting pursuit of dreams leads to fame and fortune， but meanwhile， death and destruction. The essay aims at probing into the theme of The Great Gatsby， by the discussion of the greatness of Gatsby and the reflection of American Dream.

Excessively idealistic and impractical though Gatsby in some sense may be， it turns out that he is undoubtedly great， or rather， particularly great in that fixed setting. Three reasons will suffice to make him tower over his counterparts of the generation. First and foremost， the persevering fulfillment of dream is likely to be the biggest shining trait of the hero， and he who strives to acquire what he wants by painstaking efforts does merit respect. Moreover， Jay Gatsby is characterized by the courage to swim against the tide–his invariable split with the American upper class in East Egg， his low-profile as an invisible magnate and his pink suit， all being the disdain and challenge to secular realities. Adding to his greatness may be also the tolerance and generosity in the face of the mortal trouble cast from his beloved. However， shall we consider him as a genuinely great man？ The answer remains to be seen. The novel says that the yearning for enormous wealth and ideal love is the cradle of Gatsbys dream， which triggers him to engage in illegal business and sink into illusion. On the negative side， what it （the dream） leads to is his naivety and resignation and degeneration and death. I have a sneaking suspicion that Gatsbys greatness is a unique product of the era， against the backdrop of a money-oriented， ruthless， hypocritical and impetuous society.

Gatsbys dream is a small unit of American dream， which serves as a thread to run through the whole story. Strikingly， the American dream reflected in this novel， fails to be a sincere and inspiring belief. Its woefully degenerated by the flourishing capitalism and interpreted as follows： （1） a vulgar dream of wealth. Born-the-poor Gatsby held the illusion that his lover Daisy Buchanan， a girl with blue blood， would come back sooner or later if he had made a fortune. Thus， he built wealth overnight by illegal means including alcohol-bootlegging and gambling. The unscrupulous pursuit of a huge fortune is not only the primary impetus for Gatsby， but also a reflection of degenerate American dream； （2） an illusory and fruitless dream of love. As for Gatsby， Daisy was the “green light” which brought him brightness， warmth and hope， so that he took it for granted that her mind would agree with her appearance–she definitely would love someone as firmly as he did. He was bound to win Daisy back as a man of wealth and privilege. Yet the fact that his beloved was acquisitive， epicurean， superficial， heartless and irresponsible did shatter his dream.

If we ponder on the relationship between the two dreams above， it might dawn on us that the former lays foundations for the latter. Without a great fortune， Gatsby wouldnt have gained Daisys attention， let alone her love. On the other hand， the innocence to pursue love was gradually vulgarized by the baseness to hanker after wealth. Eventually， both of them came to an end when Gatsby died as a victim of American dream in that era. In my opinion， his dream or the degenerate American dream， lack of the subjective and objective conditions for the realization， is doomed from the very beginning. From the subjective aspect， Gatsby merely staked his dream on the return of Daisy， and lost. Thats because materialistic love turns out to be unrealistic and unreliable， which makes Gatsby always at a loss and steeped in the past. From the objective aspect， the Jazz Age is a denounced time when money speaks louder than affection， industry and morality， so its next to impossible for Gatsby to achieve his dream.

“The green light eludes people to beat on， boat against the current， borne back ceaselessly into the past”， pace Fitzgerald， we should turn our critical eyes on the wealth and culture of capitalism. After all， great Gatsby died， American dream faded.

【作者簡介】陈泽南（1996.7- ），男，浙江东阳人，浙江师范大学外国语学院，本科，研究方向：英语。