2023年全国1月高等教育外国文学作品选自考试题28636.docx

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1、本科生毕业论文论菲茨杰拉德在了不起的盖茨比中的道德观外国语学院 英语（教育方向）06教本2李宁生姓名联系方式指导教师赵佳 职称：讲师20 2 3年4月Intro d uctio nF. Scott Fitzg e ral d is wide 1 y k n o wn asthe sp o ke s m a nof Amer ican J az z Age, a n ag e when e n d 1 ess part ies, ale o h oli c o b sess i o nand feverish pur s uit of mo n ey ar e symbols of i ts c

2、arefre e m a dness. Howe v e r , the r e cog n i t i o n o f Fit z gera 1 d hasun der g o ne a h a rdp roc ess. H edi d n o t a t tract m u ch att e n tion dur i nghi s life t ime, andwas co n ti nu ou sly criticiz e d b y h i s con temp o rary criti c s as a d e cad e nt and vulgar w r i ter wi t h

3、 decre a sing f am e . His 1i t e r a rytalents and value wer edoubt e d, even by H. L. Mencken,one o f th e 1eadi n g literar ycrit i cs of the1920s. F itzg e raid Rena i s s ance begin s wit h the publicati o n of his uncomplet e d no v el The L a st Ty coon a nd his a u t o b iog r aphi c al wor

4、k s The Cra c k- up, compiled by one o f h isfri en d s Edmund Wilson.Fr o m then on, his reputat i o n roars amon gther e aders, sch o lars an d c ri tics a long wit h t h e sa 1 es v olumeo fh i s best nove Th e Gre a t Gatsby. Now,Fitzge r a Id is one of t h emost signifi c a n tw r i t ers favor

5、 e d am o ng acade micc ri t i c s and h i s n o ve 1 san d s t o riescon tinue to a ttr a ct a wi d ea u dienc e . His The G r ea tGat sb y is r eg a rded a s the most widelytaug htand w id e 1 y r e ad American li t e r ary cl a ss i c.But what h as mad e this nove 1 so fa mo u s t hat it r e ce i

6、 v es wide popul a r i ty from generatio n s of both aca d emicia n s and general r eade r s? Most criti c s and s c ho 1 ars foe u s their atten t ion o n Fitzg e r aids s o cial- h is t orica 1c ritic i sm of Ame r ica in the nov e 1 a n d on his spec tacu 1 ar a r tis t ic ach i evement s such as

7、 sym b olism and n a r ration. However, F i tzg e r aid is more th a n t h e s e m e n tioned a bove. No t 1 ong after The Great G a tsby was publish e d, Fit z g e r a 1 d compla i n e d in hisle t te rs tobo t h Edm u nd W i Is o n a nd J oh nPe ale Bishop, s a yi n g that o f allthe re views, e v

8、en th e mos t enthusias t ic, noone has the slight e st ide aw h atthe book is a b out (Hen Dan Pipe r , 1 970) . Many Fitzgerald critics v iew him as a social o b serv e r of h i s t imes. They n e gle c t the fa c t tha t he i s often c o nnect e d wi t h the inv i s ible and spiritu a 1 dimension

9、 o f 1 if e , t h a t is, he i s am o ral and evena religions w r ite r. F itzge r aid int egr a t e sh i sstrong mor al s ense and h i s cone e r na b out h um a nityinto his wr itingof Th e G reat Gatsby9(Yang, 2023) . I n h i s N o vembe r 4, 19391 et t er toh i s da ug h t e r ,commen ting o nm

10、u sic a 1-comed ywr i t er sCol ePor t er,Ric h ard Rod ger s , a n dLorenz Hart, Fitz geralda dmit t ed that he ise s s en t ial 1 y a mora 1 is t . 66 S o metim e s I wish I had g one a 1 ong w i th t h a t ga n g , bu t I g u ess I am to o muc h a m o r alist at h eart an d rea 1 ly w a nt to pre

11、 ach at p e op 1 e in someacceptable formr a th e r t ha n toenterta i nthem” (Karl A. N, 1999:47 48).Just a sNick Carrawa y , Fitzge r aidsmora 1 spokesman inthe n o ve 1,comment sat t he very beginning o f the nove 1 , “ W h en I came b a ck from the Ea s t last a u tumn I felt t h a 11 w anted th

12、e w o r 1 d to b e in u niform and at a sort o f moral a t t e ntio n f or e v e r (F. Sco t t F itzgera 1 d , 1993: 3 ).T o my regret, I find that pe o p 1 e, esp e ci a lly res e ar c her s and critics i n China, seldom a t tac h ed i m p o r tan c e to F i tzg erald,s moral i t y . I n thi s thes

13、 i s , I will tr y my best to cal 1 peop 1 e9satt ent ion to his rede e min g s ide o f bei n g a mor a list w r iter, which needs mu c h mo r e n oti c e than it used t o hav e re c e ived. T he thesis begi n s wit h the s u mmar y o f t he general academi c a chi e vements made by form e r s chol

14、arsandresear c h ers, i n a n a t t emp t to b a se t h e st u d y a nd e xp 1 or a t i on o f my subjec t on a r e search b ackground. Th e n, the focus i s o n the histori c a 1 a nd t heoreti c a 1 backgro u n d for Fitzg e raids mor a lity. Afte r that, d etailed and spe c i fic an a lyses are m

15、 a de of t he re 1 a tion s hip b e tween the writers morali ty and his so cia 1 -hi s torica 1 c riticism, andits e mbodiment in the novel, sin c eth e two arec lo sel y i n t e rre 1 a ted.Fit zg erald hoi d sthe v i ewt hat themor a Is o f hi s c on t e mpor a r ies are greatly infl u en c e d b

16、y the Americ a n Dre am. Based o nth e abo v e analyses ,t he ways to preach his m orality i n the n ovel wi 11 be i llustr a te d .Inmyo pinion, t hew r it e rp re a che s h is m o r a lity i n the n ovel b y the moral s p okesman Nick Carraw ay-C hapter One Backgrou n d for Fitzgerald5 s M o ra 1

17、it y1.1 Socia 1 hist o ric a 1 Bac k gr o undT h e Gr e a t Gat s by c an be lookedon as a p iece o fs oci a 1 s a tir e, m aki n g c omme n t ont h e c a r ele s s gaiety a nd mora 1decad e nee o fthe JazzAge. TheJazzAge, the perio d imme d i at e1y foil o wi n gt h eF i rstW orldWa r ,re f er s to

18、 the1 9 20 s in Amer i ca.One of the ob v io u s featu r esof theperiodisth eeconomicboom. F irst 1 y, Am eric a make s alargeamount ofmone yin t he war,an d thus, with th ea p p 1 ic a t ionofa s s em b ly1 ines and other te chniq u es, the 1abor efficiency inAm e ric a n so c ietyhad been grea t l

19、yimprove d . As a result,e ndles s consumer goods ha dbeen man uf a ctured t h r ou g h ass em b 1 y 1 ine s a n d de 1 ivered to th e marke t s, w h ere the c o mmodi t ie s were s uff i c ien t and the consump t ion was acti v e. Meanwhile, Am eri c an peo p 1 es income and li v ing standar d were

20、 a Iso e n ormously impr o ve d . All t hese il 1 u s trated a v i t al, w e al t h y and pros perous sc e n e of Am e rican s oci e ty. The 1 92 0 s witne s se d Ame r ica str ans for matio n from pro due t ion society to consum e r soc i e t y . Worl d War Ide stro y ed n o t on 1 y the old wo r I

21、d order, b u t th e trad i t ional m o rals a nd social cus toms. G r o w i ng up under the shado w o f w a r 9 t he yo u ng Americans n o 1onger belie v ed the lie o f“ t he war t o e nd all wars”.Asthe warended, they surpr isingly f ound all Go ds dead, a 11wars fo u ght, all faith s in man shak e

22、 n”. Wi t h out fa i th, p eople found themselves living i n a s pirit u a 1 wast e land where li f e w asm e a nin g 1 e s s, re st 1 essan ddevoido f p urp o s e.T hey di d not, as theel d e r ge n eratio nsdi d , ab idebythe re g u 1 ations o f tr a di t ional Puri t a n i s m. I n s t ead, they

23、a dvocated freedo m an d inde p endence, cone e r n ed the e x pre s sio n o f un i qu e p e rson a lity9 and p u rc h ased h ed o nism and mate r iali s m. In Th e Great Gatsby, Gatsb ys flash y cars, his 1 avish p a rties and t he rec k les s c o nduct of the p a rty goers are all part of this a t

24、 m o sp h ere of w i 1 d enjoy m e nt an d merrym a king.Seco n dly,ac co mp anied wi t h the atmos p he r eof wiId merrymaki n g is th e em e rgen c eo fcrime sand ille g ala c t i v i t ies, which 1 eads to wi dely sprea d corru p t i on. D uring t he decade, th e s o c ial wo r Id expe r i e nc e

25、 d a 1 o t of chang e , and peoples mo r a Is seen t o b e sharply looser and lower t han before. I tisan er a o f d isor d e r and cha os.The r e is a g r e atp opular c o nt e m p tf orand defianceof la w. T h eb oot1e g gi n g bu s i ness b ecomes very popula r . Girl s and y o u ng women st a rt

26、 we a r i n g more mak e -u p an d shorte r skir t s w h ic h onl ya few y e a rs agowa s wornon 1y b y w o meno f ill r e pute. Manyp e oplebe g in to g o to part y and d rink aIcohol more. An ot her i n di c at o r o fthi s ch a n ge in mo r ality wasthat pe ople s h ow sa much op e n e ra ttit u

27、de t owa r ds s e x ualrelationship.Evens ports b ecome occa s io n s for bri b e ry a nd cheati n g .In th e Great Ga t sby, Fi t zgera 1 d presents a harsh p ic t ureofthesoc iet y,whi c h heads fo r d i sa s t e r. T he ch a rac t ers a nd the s ce ne sin theno ve1 are a truthful r ep r e s entat

28、io n and viv i d descrip t ionoft heinnate lycorrupted an d m o ra 1 ly ban k r u ptJazzage. O n one hand, F itzger a 1 d poin t s out th a t his c o n t emp o rarie s er r one o usl y p lace th e ir f ait h in supe r f i cial ext e rna 1means such as money andh edonis m, w hi leoverlooking th e cul

29、t i va t i o nof c o mpassio n and sensiti v it yt h a t,i nf act ,s epara t e h u mans f r om anim a Is. On t he o t h er han d , the wri t ers c once r n is with th e c o rr u p t ion of v a lues and the deci i ne o f spiritu a 1 li f e a n d m o ral s t an d ard* Li k e Nick Carraway, Fi t zge r

30、a Idis b o thanou tside r an d an i nsider ofthe world. He is passionatelyat t ra c t e d to its glamorous surf a ce whilebeing d e eply co n scious o f the ugl i ness and suf f ering t hat u nd e rl i e i t s t i n sei, with his str o ng m o ra 1 sense pr o v i di n g him with a n i nsight into its

31、 inner n at u re and potential di s a s t e r . Wh e ther on E asto r W e st Egg, we witness d i ssipated li v e s gov ern e d s o lely by in s t i net and d e s p er a te p leasure seekin g , andc o mmo n norm s an d soci a 1con sc i ence are 1 ack i ngther e.Obviously, Th e Gre at G a t sb ycannot

32、 b e u nder stood to b ea n e ff ort at an objec t i v e d epi c tio nof t he real i ty of Ame r i ca i nthe t wenti e s.As a mat ter of f a ct, th e w riter dr aw s upon his ow n experience, his va 1 ues, and h i s se n se of t h e dir e c tio n of Ame r ica in the writi n g o f the n o vel.1.2 The

33、 oretical Ba c k g roun dIn the c ontempor a ry his t o r y of the n o v el, F i t z g e r aid is a writer o f st r ong moral sense. A deep att i t u d e of morality u n d e r lie s h i s storie s . The Great Gat s by is, in par t 9 a n e xpre s sio n of Fitzge r a 1 d7 s do u bt s a bo u t A merica

34、!smo r ald i rection, and throug ht h isno v el,Fit z ge r a 1d is u rgi n ga r eco nsid era t i on o fwher e t hes oci et y i sand wh e r ei t i s going.S k 1 ar, o n e o f the crit i cs of F i t zger aid, and a c co r di n g to him, F i t zg e r aidn everremai n s con tent wi t hh is ac c o m p li

35、shed ar t istr y, i n stead,h e s truggles all t h e tim ein h i s succes s ive nov e Istoward s afirming anddeeper un d erstan ding of m o ral q ualit i e s and v al u e s he dr a ma t izes i n t h e c onflict of h isnovels. S kl a r holds t he vi e wtha t F i t zgeral d take s seriously hi s1 egac

36、 y of th e Pu r it a n trad i ti o n, whi ch i nvolves s uc h qu alit i es as c h iva 1 ryan d d ece n cy, and mor eo v er, he d evo t es h i s1ife ar t i s t i ca 1 ly to the search fora wayto mak et h is1 e gacymorally defensi b 1 e in a mod e r n wor 1 d wh eret h erea reso many c haHenge s to th

37、i s t raditionwit h al 1 g o ds d ead, al1 warsf oug ht,a n d allfai t h s i n man sh aken.F or that, F i tzgerald ere a tes in hisn ovels some mode r nh ero e s whostillreta i n t heir r e s p e ctive aspe c t so f the t r a dition, andJay Ga t s by, Nick C arraway, and D i ck D i ver ar e t he t y

38、 p i c a 1 o n es.In a mater i alistic soci e ty, in w h ic h h i s c o ntem p orari e s are infat u a t e dwith mater i al i sm a nd h edonism an d s h ow d i sregard to t heir moral impr o v emen t and inner perfection, he adhere s to hi s simple an d plai n mo r a 1 id e al, mixed w i th N e w E

39、n gland Hum a nism, M i d west e r n Ega 1 i tarian i sm, and Southern G entili t y. Ho w ev e r, wha t h e preaches and a d v o cates most is his Puritan b elief, e s pecial th ewell known th i r teen virtues of order,i n d ustr y, f r ugalit y , t e m p era n ce andsoon, wh ich a r e t a ken ou t

40、f r om Purita n dogmasb y Benj a minFranklin. S u sanRe s n e ck Parr rea d sGats b y a s Fitz gerald9s rat h erpur i ta n c o mme ntary on the c on d iti o nalo f perso nal respons i b ili t y i n Am erica ”(M c Adams,Tony, 1993).Chapte r T wo The Cau s e of Moral Deg ener a t ion i n Mo d er n So

41、c iety 1 Ameri c an D re a mTh e t e rm the A merican d re a m was f ir s t i n t rod uced in t o contem p or a ry s o ci a 1 an a lysi s i n 1931 b y James Tr u slow Adams, th e Am e rica n h i s t o ri a n and qu i ck 1 y a c ce p t e d b y the America n p u blic. “In i ts br o ad sen s e Am e r i

42、 c a n dream i s r e ferred t o a b road cul t u r a 1 et h o s that entails a commitm e nt to goal of material sue cess”(T a n, 1 997). I n i ts orig i nal se n s e , the Amer i c a n dre a m i s th e ideal of o p p o rt u n i ty for all, o f adva n cement in a career o r so c i e t y wit h ou t re

43、gar d t o ones or i gin. I n i t s most p o pul a r s e n se, th e Am e r i ca n dream is the s e arch fo r ma t erialis t ic succ ess.In the earlydeve1 opment o f th e Un i ted Sta t es, th ere are twot ra di t i ons w hi ch play an importa n t part o n th e format io nof66 Am e r ic anDre a m”, on

44、eb e in g th e s a cred t r a di t ion, th e others ecular t r adit ion.Pur i tans be 1 ie vedin or i g i n a 1 sinan d they believed thatind i vid u a 1s9 fate s we r e s c al e d f r om t he moment they were born. The y felt that one c o uld be sav e d onl y b y faith in God, w h ich w oul d 1 ead

45、 t o hi s gift of g ra c e a n d sal v ation. T h ey we r e taught t h a t i n additi o n to s erving Christ, wh i ch was m a ns ge n eral cal 1 ing, a 1 1 me n were oblig e d to s uc c ee d in som e u se f u 1 secul are mp 1 oyme nt, i n order to w i n salva t i o n i n h i s 1 ife as wel 1 a s in

46、t h e n e xt. T hu s they t hou g h t that such peop 1 e w o u Id ten d t o be h ar d worki n g, th r ifty and su c ce s sf u 1.Then t h e re i s another Americ a n t r adition-th e secular tradit i on. This tradi t ion saw the world differently from the way the pilgrims a nd pu r itan s d id.Th e y

47、 beli e ve that, i n the 1 a nd ofopport unit y and gr e a t pos s ib i 1 ity, every m a n is e qual and is e n titl e d t o the p u rs u i t o f hi s ha p p i nessand se 1 f-ful f i 11me nt.In t hi s way, The American D r e a m ca naIsob e und e rs t oo da s an a 11 itude o f hope and fa i th that

48、pursue sfor the fulfi 1 Im ent of human wi s he s a nd desires.1 .2 Cor rupt i on of t h e American Dr e a m i n the Modern S o cietyA s a n impo r ta n t part o f Ameri c an val u e syst e m, the American d r eam“ is adm i red b y most Ame r ic a n pe o p 1 e. It makes them believ e th a t i nthe U

49、 n ite dStates,peo p 1 e share the same opp o rtu n itie sa nd th ey w illsu c c e e do n ly if the y work h ard. Its s p e c i fi c contenth as ch a nged g r e atly w i th the dev e lo p ment o f Am e r ican h i s tory. At first, i t w a sthe dr e amfor freebe 1 ief an d f r eecrea t io n . Th e n i td eve 1 o p edto the pursuance for hap p ines s andsue cess. Afte r th eCivilWar, it was s p e