商务英语 《了不起的盖茨比》中的消费主义.doc

北京理工大学珠海学院2020届本科生毕业论文Consumerism as Reflected in The Great Gatsby学 院： 外国语学院专 业：姓 名：指导老师：商务英语古嘉琪学 号：职 称：161005103920薛琴讲 师中国·珠海二二 年 五 月毕业论文诚信承诺书本人郑重承诺：我所呈交的毕业论文Consumerism as Reflected in The Great Gatsby 是在指导教师的指导下，独立开展研究或调查所取得的成果，文中引用他人的观点和材料，均在文后按顺序列出其参考文献，文中所使用的数据真实可靠。承诺人签名： 日期： 年 月 日Consumerism as Reflected in The Great GatsbyAbstractThe Great Gatsby, issued in 1925, is an eminent novel in American which was written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. The novel replicates the money-oriented society of the Jazz age and is a true portrayal of the "lost generation" in America. The novel is set on New York City and Long Island in the 1920s. Through the dual narrative perspective, the novels character Nick presents a dazzling but vain world to the reader. Romantic love in the novel was the product of consumerism at the jazz era, so it is destined to be a tragedy. Profligate consumerism has gradually degraded peoples spiritual world. Blind pursuit of material wealth has eventually resulted in the destruction of the American dream.This paper analyzes the connotation of consumerism comprehensively, explores the association between consumerism and the characters in the novel, and investigates the impact of consumerism on society in order to find out the causes of American dream's disillusionment at a deeper level.Exorbitant material consumption makes people lost, and the American dream is gradually materialized. Therefore, China should take it as a warning and not let consumerism overturn the foundation of the Chinese dream.Keywords: consumerism, The Great Gatsby, American dream 了不起的盖茨比中的消费主义摘 要了不起的盖茨比出版于1925年，是美国作家弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德创作的一部中篇小说，极富盛名。该小说真实地再现了当时金钱至上的社会，是美国“迷惘一代”的真实写照。小说以20世纪20年代的美国纽约市及长岛为背景，通过双重叙事视角的方式，由小说人物尼克向读者呈现一个璀璨但虚无的世界。小说中的浪漫爱情是爵士时代下消费主义的产物，所以它注定是一场悲剧。挥霍性消费主义使人们的精神世界逐渐堕落，盲目追求物质最终导致美国梦的破灭。本文通过全面分析消费主义的含义，探究消费主义与小说人物的关系，研究消费主义对社会的影响，从更深的层面探寻美国梦破灭的原因。过度的物质消费使人迷失，美国梦逐渐被物质化。对于此，我国应该引以为戒，勿让消费主义倾覆中国梦之根本。 关键词：消费主义；了不起的盖茨比；美国梦IIContentsAbstract摘 要Introduction11 The Formation of Consumerism in America 2 1.1 The Economic Prosperity after World War I2 1.2 The Enhancement of Technological Revolution22 The Connotation and Characteristics of Consumerism4 2.1 The Connotation of Consumerism4 2.2 The Basic Characteristics of Consumerism in the Jazz Age5 2.2.1 Hedonism5 2.2.2 The Rise of Symbolic Consumption63 The Embodiment of Consumerism in The Great Gatsby8 3.1 The Extravagant Consumption of Gatsby8 3.2 The Hedonism of Daisy9 3.2.1 Daisys Material Enjoyment9 3.2.2 Daisys Pursuit of Fame10 3.3 The Tragic Love between Gatsby and Daisy114 The Reflection on Consumerism12Conclusion14References15Acknowledgments16 IntroductionWhen it comes to the literary classics of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby is a household fiction. The publication of this novel established Fitzgerald s literary status. He was not only the spokesman for the Jazz age but also the writers on behalf of the “lost generation”. At the end of the 20th century, the American academic authority selected one hundred best novels in English literature. The Great Gatsby ranked second and proudly ranked among the contemporary classics.Scholars at home and abroad have made significant research on this novel, such as studying the themes, writing techniques and the imagery of the novel. This paper is an analysis of consumerism reflected in the novel, and explores the root causes of the disillusionment of American Dream. The Great Gatsby described Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy in a gorgeous way, showing the reader a grand love tragedy. In fact, it is tantamount to exposing readers to the most profound social problems of the society at that time. People in the Jazz Age constantly pursued the supremacy of material well-being which put the material pursuit prior to morality. Therefore, the American dream has been on the way out. This paper consists of four parts. The first part primarily introduces the background of the 1920s to find out what caused consumerism to prevail, and the second part will interpret the meaning and characteristics of consumerism in detail. The third part will summarize the manifestations of consumerism in the Jazz Age as embodied by the characters in the novel. The fourth part will concentrate on the consequences caused by this consumerism and the reflection on consumerism. The final is the summary of the whole paper.1 The Formation of Consumerism in America1.1 The Economic Prosperity after World War IIn the initial stage of World War I, the United States took advantage of its "neutral" position because of the massive demand for military supplies from the warring parties. America became the arsenal on both sides and rapidly expanded military production and heavy industry production. In addition, the United States lent money to Britain and France during the war and expanded the scale of industrial and agricultural production while the European belligerents became less competitive in the world market. Thus, the United States profited handsomely from the war and opened the world market.At the end of the war, the United States had changed from a capital importing country to a capital-exporting country before the war and from a debtor country to a creditor country. By 1924, the total amount of gold held by America had reached the half of the world's gold reserves, controlling the international financial market, and the financial center of the post-war capitalist world was moved from Britain to the United States. This greatly strengthened the position of the United States in the capitalist world, which provided strong funds for updating production equipment and expanded production scale. Therefore, World War I laid the foundation for Americas economic prosperityWhen US economy was booming, the government believed that excessive market intervention was not conducive to economic evolution, so a policy of hands-off was advocated to push the economy at that time. The real estate trading and stock industry were more than active in this policy. Many speculators relied on stocks to get wealthy overnight. Society has formed a default rule that wealth was the standard for measuring individuals. Individuals no longer worked hard and just wanted to make quick money. In order to live a wealthy life and meet their own material needs, they began to indulge in consumption and even began to consume ahead of time to enjoy a life of luxury. The prosperity brought about by the war and laissez-faire economic policies promoted the formation of consumerism.1.2 The Enhancement of Technological Revolution In the course of World War I, the United States vigorously produced military supplies. After the war, the obsolete military equipment was no longer useful. The United States began a technological revolution to update production equipment and expand production scale. In the 1920s, the automobile industry grew into the largest manufacturing industry and the largest industrial sector in the United States, and the development of the automobile industry has promoted the development of a series of industrial sectors such as steel, petroleum, chemical, and road construction. The electrical industry also developed rapidly in the 1920s, which also promoted the economic prosperity of the United States during this period. In the meantime, capitalism had a mass production trend. In order to promote consumption, the working class was engaged in the mass production to create a better environment for the rich to buy and consume. The emergence of capitalist monopolies rapidly widened the gap of wealth. As a result, the fair social mechanism no longer existed. The traditional thought during the Puritan period had fallen apart. It believes that personal efforts in this society have no meaning. Individuals begin to aim at overnight wealth through speculation so as not to be crushed into the bottom of capitalism. The substantial increase in social production has enriched the types of consumption, and the continuous production has stimulated consumption to a great extent. Individuals have begun to join the army of consumption when they knew that consumption can greatly satisfy their spiritual world. Since then, consumerism has opened a door in the Jazz era. Individuals have begun to pursue material supremacy.2 The Connotation and Characteristics of Consumerism2.1 The Connotation of ConsumerismThe Great Gatsby is showing readers what consumerism is. Consumerism is a tendency of consumption that emerged in the western countries in the 20th century. It strives for conspicuous and extravagant consumption and the pursuit of unrestrained material enjoyment as the purpose and value of life.Consumerism is a social phenomenon prevalent in the Jazz era, which dominated people's consumption patterns. The consumption policy derived from this consumption mode furthered the formation of capitalism. Consumerism became an important part of capitalist morality at that time, which embodied the logic of capitalist existence. In the 1920s, the standard of capitalist production was to satisfy the desires of consumers. This was no longer a straightforward commodity transaction relationship; production is mainly to meet the consumer demand. The prevalence of consumerism promotes capitalist monopoly, and the young generation who pursue the American dream are in an unfair competitive environment. In this system, the rich always have power and reputation. The circle of the rich people forms the upper class. There is no doubt that the upper class has absolute opportunities, while the poor people can only exist humbly. Therefore, quite a few people started to gain wealth without any means to get the chance to enter the upper class. Gatsby is a typical example. He tried his best to earn wealth and squeezed into the high society, so he can get rid of the poor class.Consumerism forms a cultural consciousness in society. That is, the group with economic ability will implement consumerist values through consumption behavior. Additionally, consumer consciousness of those who have no economic ability also has a certain consumerism tendency. The cultural consciousness exerts a subtle influence on people's consumption concept, especially young Americans after World War I. After the war, they lost their original beliefs which began to pursue freedom and independence. Hedonism and profligate consumption are in vogue. People have not been complied with traditional puritanism like before, the American Dream is no longer their belief. To show off their wealth and status is one of the most essential things in that era. People no longer think that hard work can lead to success, but intend to get rich overnight by any means and enjoy the fun brought by wealth. As a result, people gradually lose their spiritual motivation to realize their American dream. Consumerism is a negative consumer culture, which disrupts the development of the individual and the entire American society.2.2 The Basic Characteristics of Consumerism in the Jazz Age 2.2.1 Hedonism Hedonism was an important feature of American consumerism in the 1920s. The American economy prospered in the 1920s, and people's living standards were effectively improved. Changes in lifestyles and consumer attitudes have made hedonism prevail. Hedonism refers to the enjoyment of fun as the fundamental desire and pursuit of life, and it can be realized and possessed by any means. (Long & Jing, 2014) People through consumption to satisfy their material desire in the jazz era. In order to gratify their multiple material desires, most people in the jazz era obtain wealth by all means, because hedonism was regarded as the goal of life. During this process, excessive pursuit of hedonism boosted the prevalence of consumerism. The novel also describes much about hedonism, such as high society dignitaries who attended parties at the Gatsby mansion every night, they indulged in singing and dancing, and drank themselves into a stupor at the party. The heroine Daisy is the representative of hedonism. She pursues expensive and beautiful clothes, likes luxury jewelry, and lives in a castle-like mansion. She is a typical hedonist.Moreover the promulgation of the prohibition of alcohol in the American Jazz era has brought hedonism to a climax. According to the provisions of the prohibition of alcohol, it is illegal to make and sell alcoholic beverages, and it is not permitted to drink with friends or hold a banquet. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States is due to drink is contrary to the traditional ideas advocated by the Puritans. They believed that drinking alcohol will harm people's physical and mental health, and prohibit alcohol can purify the moral sentiment of Americans. Nevertheless, in the 1920s, the prohibition of alcoholism had become a decoration. Its useless. The law didnt permit the existence of alcohol. In order to seek spiritual indulgence, America youth continues holding banquets and binge drink to against the prohibition. The ban on alcohol has achieved the adverse effect and brought about severe social issues. To satisfy the desire and demand for drinking, people began to buy and sell alcoholic products through improper means. As a result, the underground black market has developed rapidly, and the huge profits brought by the smuggling of alcoholic products have attracted more liquor dealers, who used improper ways to trade. Gatsby is one of them. He became wealthy by smuggling alcohol and successfully joined the rank of the upper class. Consumption activities are associated with the development and the order of society. The flourishing of the economy has facilitated the development of hedonism. This consumption ethos is under the circumstance of restriction. When the restriction is more strict, hedonism is more common which formed a variety of consumption. People usually achieve spiritual pursuit through material pursuit, and this consumption method accords with social reality. People's material desires will never be satisfied, and can only be achieved through continuous consumption. Thus, hedonism forms a deformed consumerism.2.2.2 The Rise of Symbolic ConsumptionThe rise of symbolic consumption in the jazz age is the main embodiment of consumerism. When the value of the commodity itself is more than the value of consumption, it has symbolic value. Symbolic value means that a different definition is given to goods, which is consumed as a symbol. Then the value