Abstract

The Great Gatsby is a brilliant work in American literature. It earns F. Scott Fitzgerald an unshakable position in the history of American literature. Meanwhile, it makes Fitzgerald the spokesman of “The Lost Generation” and “Jazz Age”. The Great Gatsby depicts Gatsby, pursuer of the American dream, his experiences from dream pursuance to disillusionment, which exposes the nihility hidden behind the sumptuous American dream. It also reveals that American dream is doomed to be shattered.

The Great Gatsby is not only the representative of Fitzgerald’s literary work, but also the representation of America during the whole 1920s. Once published, the book aroused great sensation, attracting countless attention. Thus, the thorough study on this book has never been scarce since its publication. Until now, scholars at home and abroad have worked on this book from various perspectives. This paper prefers to analyze this book from the perspective of characters’ class. Through the reflection on class, in-depth analysis of the main characters and the contrast of their fates, this paper uncovers the phenomenon that class determines fate in 1920s American society and explores the reason behind it. Meanwhile, this paper also points out that the relation between class and fate has changed with time.

Key words: The Great Gatsby class fate

Content

摘要：

Abstract:

Introduction-1

Chapter One  The Difference in Class-3

1.1.-Two traditional theories of Class-3

1.2 The Classification of Main Characters’ Class-4

Chapter Two  The Sketch of Main Characters’ Relation-6

2.1 The Interrelation of the Main Characters-6

2.2 The Interaction of the Main Characters-8

Chapter Three  Class Determines Fate-12

3.1 Class Determines Different Fates-12

3.2 Why Class Determines Fate-15

3.3 Changing Relation between Class and Fate in Present America-17

Conclusion-19

Bibliography-20

Acknowledgements-21