Research Of The Flapper's Image In Fitzgerald's Work

Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the famous American novelists in the twentieth century, who is honored as"the spokesman of the Jazz Age","the excellent chronicler", or the typical writer of the"lost generation". His unique perspective and exquisite art create a group of the Flapper and add special landscape to gallery in the world.Taking the part of feminism, we will examine the Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night. Having carefully analyzed the images of the Flapper in them, we will find out the decline of modern patriarchal culture as well as the rise of woman's culture. The thesis consists of six parts: the introduction, four chapters and the conclusion. The first part is a brief introduction of the author, his works and his contribution in American literature. It also illustrates the current critics about Fitzgerald's works. Chapter One introduces the origin and meaning of the Flapper and several theories related .Chapter Two discusses how the Flapper in Fitzgerald's works are influenced by social cultural background and personal life experience.Chapter Three is composed of two sections, analyzing the Flapper respectively from his two most mature works during the decade, The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night. In The Great Gatsby, he tells us a touching story about a group of lappers, who struggle to survive but are still dependent on men under the influence and penetration of patriarchal culture. Those flappers presented by the author in Tender Is the Night, however, become mature and self-reliant gradually.Chapter Four analyzes that difference between the Flapper of Fitzgerald's works and the female's image of Hemingway and Lawrence's works, and explores the particularity and limitations of the Flapper.Fitzgerald fixes distorted images of women in male text in patriarchal culture gradually, and shapes the new Flapper who follows the trend of the times.