A Study On The Aestheticism In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby,a novel by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald,has been studied in detail from various perspectives,including new historicism,feminism,racism,structuralism,psychoanalysis and so on.Few scholars have found the obvious dandyism of Fitzgerald and the aestheticism reflected in his work.In view of this,this thesis examines the aestheticism in The Great Gatsby.This thesis analyzes the historical materials of Fitzgerald to derive the connotation of his dandy image and aestheticism,and explores the representation of his dandy image and aestheticism in The Great Gatsby,as well as the redemption of aestheticism on Fitzgerald himself.First,this thesis analyzes the modernity of dandyism and aestheticism,probing the historical reasons for the formation of Fitzgerald’s dandyism and aestheticism in the context of the historical development of modernity.It analyzes Fitzgerald’s personal upbringing and education to reveal the influence from European dandyism and aestheticism.It expounds Fitzgerald’s biographies and letters and arrives at the conclusion that Fitzgerald’s aestheticism is tinged with decadence and romance.Second,through analyzing the dominant elements in The Great Gatsby,such as money and alcohol symbolizing decadence and love representing romance,this thesis discusses the representation of decadence and romance in Fitzgerald’s aestheticism in The Great Gatsby.Finally,a comparative analysis of the identities of the narrator Nick Carraway,protagonist Jay Gatsby,and author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald yields Fitzgerald’s splitting of self-identity.Fitzgerald fulfills identity reconstruction through Nick and Gatsby and realizes self-redemption in love,money,and art through pursuing “beauty.”By analyzing the redemption purpose of aestheticism in the novel,this thesis finds the“greatness” of The Great Gatsby.