An Analysis Of The Dramatic Characteristics Reflected In The Great Gatsby

F. S. Fitzgerald, a self-styled spokesman of "the lost generation" and a Jazz Age singer, stands as tall as Earnest Hemingway and William Faulkner in the history of American literature. Based on his love story with his wife Zelda Sayre, his masterpiece The Great Gatsby dramatizes the degradation of the "Jazz Age" and the disillusion of the "American Dream". This article centers on his technique of dramatization in this novel and discusses distinctive characteristics of the setting, plot, characters and language of the novel from this prospective. Hopefully this article will lead to a new understanding of Fitzgerald and his writing.This thesis consists of five parts. Introduction is an interview of related studies and criticism of Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby made by researchers from both China and other countries. Chapter I discusses the dramatic exposition of the natural setting and the social setting for their impact on the major theme. Chapter II focuses on the core dramatic conflict, analyzing the conflicts that exist between money and love and that between dream and reality and the consequent splitting personalities of major characters. Chapter III annotates the dramatization of character shaping and language before the conclusion is drawn.