Abstract

 “The Great Gatsby”, the masterpiece written by an American modern novelist Fitzgerald, describes an American youth, Gatsby’s experience of chasing his American dream and diluting finally. This paper expounds the disillusionment of Gatsby’s American dream in the novel, which was consequence of the gap between reality and ideal in the American society. In 2012, when president Xi Jinping visited ‘The Road of Revival’ exhibition, the Chinese dream was first proposed, which aroused heated discussion home and abroad. Meanwhile, people’s interest in comparison of the American dream and the Chinese dream gets high. In this paper, the author attempts to analyze the disillusionment of American dream in ‘the Great Gatsby’ and tries to seek significant inspirations for the development and realization of the Chinese dream.

Keywords: the Great Gatsby; American dream; Chinese dream

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-１

2. Literature Review-１

3. The American Dream in ‘the Great Gatsby’-２

3.1 The American dream-２

3.2 The Great Gatsby’s American dreams-４

4. Causes for the Disillusionment of Gatsby’s American Dream-５

4.1 Economic depression-５

4.2 Factors of social environment-６

4.3 Cultural deterioration-６

5、Enlightenment-７

5.1 A comparison between American dream and Chinese dream-７

5.2 Implication-８

6. Conclusion-１１

Works Cited-１２