Gateby’s Dream And Causes Of His Tragedy In The Great Catsby

Francis Scott Fitzgerald is a versatile modern American writer. He is inclined to depict American people’s life of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby is commonly regarded as one of the classics of American literature. It vividly presents the meaningless and disillusioned life of the Jazz Age. It is a novel about self without an object, ideal separated from reality. Gatsby is such a hero who lives between a dead past and a hopeless future. However, he represents much more than the last of the romantics. His tragedy reveals profoundly vices in society and weaknesses in man.This thesis applies the approach of Cultural Studies to the exploration of Gatsby’s tragedy and its causes with the method of close reading. It is divided into six parts. The introduction gives a literature review and discusses the purpose of the thesis. It also introduces briefly the methods, basic views, and content of the thesis. Chapter One presents the social background, especially of the Jazz Age, and the tradition of the American Dream, which set a social and cultural context for the following discussion of Gatsby’s dream and tragedy. Chapter Two discusses the formation and the pursuit of Gatsby’s dream. He struggles for material wealth and social status to win back Daisy’s love. Chapter Three analyzes Gatsby’s tragedy from his corruption, his disillusionment of love, his tragic death and funeral. Chapter Four explores causes of his tragedy, both personal and social. The thesis concludes with an emphasis on the meaning of Gatsby’s tragedy and the significance of this study.In this thesis, the author looks into the personal, cultural, and social causes of Gatsby’s failure, disillusionment and tragedy. It shows that blind worship of the American Dream is extremely dangerous, meaningless, and destructive. It corrupts people like Gatsby and leads them to tragedy.