A Study Of The Causes Of Gatsby's Tragedy

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the leader and poet laureate of the Jazz Age, is now firmly regarded as one of the best American writers of the twentieth century. He wrote the novels of the Jazz Age. Among American writers who exiled themselves to Paris to escape the hypocrisy of the American sociey during the 1920s, Fitzgerald was crowned with the most creditable achievement in the United States.The Great Gatsby is Fitzgerald's masterpiece and conjures up the images of the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age. The novel is considered to be his best novel and has received much adorable concern from writers and critics. The Great Gatsby relates irony and pathos of the legendary of the American Dream represented by the protagonist Jay Gatsby. Gatsby dreamed of being a noble and successful man from his boyhood and disciplined himself with a schedule of a Franklin version to improve himself. But as a result Gatsby failed and had a tragic fate in the end. Many causes lead to his tragedy.This thesis attempts to analyze the causes of Gatsby's tragedy. It consists of three chapters.Chapter One analyzes the cause of the tragedy from the perspective of the rigid society hierarchy. This chapter consists of two divisions: one is the horrifying disparity between the rich and the poor and the other is the conflict between the old money and new Money.Chapter Two explores the cause from the perpective of the Jazz Age. The Jazz Age labels Gatsby's tragic fate. In this chapter, two divisions are involved : one is a deformed time of money worship and spiritual emptiness and the other is a time of disillusion and depression for dreamers.Chapter Three analyzes the cause of the tragedy from the perspective of Gatsby's personal defects. These defects include his stubbornness and blindness and his corrupted values in love, life and success. Gatsby was stubborn and blind to what he was in pursuit of and thought wealth would get him his past innocent love, a decent life and much-acknowledged success by other people.So based upon the three chapters above the conclusion is naturally reached in the following: on one hand, Jay Gatsby's tragedy is ascribed to the harsh reality of American society during the Jazz Age. It is the society and the era that bring the tragedy. On the other hand, his tragedy lies in his personal defects.