了不起的盖茨比英文论文文献综述

探讨盖茨比的成功与失败An Analysis of Gatsby’s Success and FailureAn Analysis of Gatsby’s Success and FailureSummary: Why Gatsby failed to achieve Daisy? To some extent, it may be a tragedy of society and Jay Gatsby’s fault. He was born and grew up in an era of decayed social and moral value. Further more, he can’t know himself and others distinctlyJay Gatsby was born in rural north Dakota and spent his childhood there. Because he grew up in the rural area,as usual he could bear trouble and difficulty in his life. But he was not of that kind of poor children. From his early youth, Gatsby despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication. He dropped out of St.olaf College after two weeks, Because he couldn’t bear the tiring and difficult job with which he was paying his tuition. He was hunger for wealth ,but he just had the desire which didn’t work.The year after he dropped out, he worked on Lake Superior fishing for salmon and digging for clams. One day, he saw a yacht owned by Dan Cody who was a wealthy copper mogul and rowed out to warn him about a coming storm. The grateful Cody took young Gtz, who gave his name as Jay Gatsby. On board, Gatsby worked as Cody’s personal assistant. Traveling with Cody to the Barbary Coast and the West. At that time ,Gatsby fell love with wealth and luxury. When Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000. But Cody’s mistress prevented him from claiming his inheritance. Gatsby then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man. At the same time ,he had gained the skills of making money which was vital to his success, However, his poor background and exorbitant desire for wealth and success were obstacles to him.After World War I ,the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned, as the brutal carnage that had just faced made the Victorian social morality of early-twentieth-century America like stuffy. The dizzying rise of the social market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained increase in the national wealth and a newfound materialism, as people began to spend and consume at unprecedented levels. A person from any social background could, Potentially, make a fortune, but the American aristocracy-families with old wealth-scorned the newly rich industrialists and speculators. Additionally, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919,which banned the sale of alcohol, created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand of bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike. The ban was both opportunity and challenge to Gatsby, He could make money through illegal way, Of course, he could make money through legal way with his intelligence. Unfortunately, he was influenced by the society, the way he chose was illegal which coursed his failure, because it was impossible for him to step on the ranking society which was what Daisy pursued.At first, he couldn’t know himself completely. He lacked of self-confidence, he changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He held every Saturday night Party to show his wealth, he lied to Daisy about his own background. He didn’t believe in himself. However, he had enough faith in his beautiful dream, which made him seem confident. He was just like a religious man, he believed in future not now and himself. He could make so much money, which proved that he is a man of great ability and capacity, he could be an successful man and achieve Daisy’s love, because he is great. But he did realize this. He also didn’t know Daisy well, Daisy is a beautiful young woman from Louisville , Kentucky. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby, but in 1919 she chose instead to marry Tom Buchanan ,a young man from a solid , aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle and who had the support of her parents, from the novel , Daisy was a woman who couldn’t bear lonesome and loneness. She betrayed Gatsby, the love between Gatsby and Daisy couldn’t be tested by time.To Gatsby, Daisy represents the paragon of perfection –she has the aura of charm, wealth, so sophistication, grace, and aristocracy that he longed for as a child in North Dakota and that attracted him to her. In reality, She is beautiful and charming , but also fickle, shallow, bored, and sardonic. She was even indifferent to her own infant daughter. She said “I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” Daisy wasn’t worthwhile to love, Gatsby didn’t know what Daisy wanted most, Daisy wanted social position which wealthy Gatsby couldn’t offer.Giving up is a kind of beauty and happiness which Gatsby couldn’t understand, he just look at one goal firmly ignoring too many beauties, he didn’t know the value of life, What he wanted might destroy the family of Tom and Daisy, which is not fair to Daisy’s daughter.Through Gatsby’s experience, Gatsby is a successful man. In the end, he is a failure. We had some idea on how to achieve success. There is a Chinese motto that to know yourself and your enemy is the key success. Maybe this is the best conclusion and for Gatsby’s tragedy.

作文思路：描述了主人公的实际经历，介绍了盖茨比从海外回国，为了爱情艰苦创业，但最终也没能获得真爱的过程。叙述者尼克由此看透了上层社会有钱人的冷酷残忍和居心险恶。

主人公詹姆斯·卡兹本是北达科他州的一个贫穷的农家子弟，自幼梦想做个出人头地的大人物。

The protagonist James katsben is a poor farmer's son in North Dakota. He dreamed of becoming a great man when he was young.

经过一番努力，他终于步步高升，并更名为杰伊·盖茨比。他在一个军训营里任中尉时，爱上了南方的大家闺秀黛茜·费。

After some hard work, he was promoted step by step and changed his name to Jay Gatsby. When he was a lieutenant in a military training camp, he fell in love with Daisy fee, a girl from the south.

可是当他戴着军功勋章在战争结束后从海外归来时，黛茜已嫁给一位来自芝加哥的富有但举止粗鲁的纨绔子弟，

But when he returned from abroad after the war, wearing a military medal, Daisy had married a rich but rude dandy from Chicago,

沉醉于爱情梦幻中的盖茨比艰苦创业，由一个贫穷的军官奋斗成为百万富翁。

Gatsby, who is addicted to the dream of love, works hard to become a millionaire from a poor officer.

他在长岛西端买下了一幢豪华别墅，与住在东端的布坎农夫妇隔海湾相望。

He bought a luxury villa at the west end of Long Island, facing Buchan farmer's wife at the east end across the bay.

他的府第每晚灯火通明，成群的宾客饮酒纵乐。他唯一的愿望是希望看到分别了五年的情人黛茜，

Every night his house was ablaze with lights, and groups of guests drank and enjoyed themselves. His only wish was to see his lover Daisy, who had been separated for five years,

当他们重逢时，盖茨比以为时光可以倒流，重温旧梦，但久而久之，他发现黛茜远不像他梦想的人，

When they meet again, Gatsby thinks that time can be turned back and the old dream can be revisited, but over time, he finds that Daisy is far from the person he dreams of,

可是这种醒悟还没多久，黛茜开车碾死了丈夫的情妇，汤姆嫁祸于盖茨比，盖茨比终于被害。

But not long after this awakening, Daisy ran over her husband's mistress and Tom blamed Gatsby. Gatsby was finally killed.

黛茜居然没来送葬：叙述者尼克由此看透了上层社会有钱人的冷酷残忍和居心险恶，离开纽约，回到了中西部的故乡。

Daisy didn't come to the funeral: Nick, the narrator, saw through the cruelty and sinister intentions of the rich in the upper class, left New York and returned to his hometown in the Midwest.

<辛酸的浪漫,无法企及的永恒——试论盖茨比的悲剧性>【摘要】菲茨杰拉德的小说《了不起的盖茨比》是一部现代成长悲剧，描述了一个满怀憧憬的现代青年如何跨越到没有奇迹的成人世界的成长失败；同时也是一部浪漫主义的悲剧：浪漫的想象既不能创造真实，也无法代替价值，一切浪漫最终都将归于失败，富于想象的心灵也归于尘土，永远沉寂。文章通过对盖茨比的浪漫梦想和对现实的回避的分析揭示了其悲剧的根源。 【关键词】浪漫；永恒；盖茨比；悲剧一、《了不起的盖茨比》内容简介 故事借尼克的回忆讲述了主人公盖茨比（以下称盖）一生追求梦想的经历。穷小子盖爱上了富家女黛西（黛），但黛嫁给了一个名叫汤姆的富翁。盖不甘心自己的失败，并认定是金钱夺走了黛的爱情，决心赢回所爱。富有之后的盖在黛府邸对面建了一幢大厦,每个周末都在自己的豪宅里举办舞会，彻夜笙歌，挥金如土，对黛发出了无声的召唤。后来，他如愿以偿地见到了黛并企图与之再续前缘。紧接着黛在一次车祸中把汤姆的情妇茉特尔撞死，竟伙同汤姆将此嫁祸于盖，直接导致了盖的死亡。 二、辛酸的浪漫 畅通论文 盖的一生是追梦的一生。有人说黛是盖美国梦中的一个重要组成部分，其实她是他梦想的全部。为了积累财富，他放弃了少时的信念，甚至不择手段；有了钱以后他惊人地奢华糜费。这一切都是出于一个单纯的目的——赢回黛。所以，盖所追求的只是一个浪漫的爱情梦。他努力地坚持自己理想和真爱，他漠然地注视着舞会上的乌合之众，彻夜遥望着照亮其梦想的希望之灯，痛苦地、不可救药地爱着黛，尽管她拜金、浅薄、自私。自始至终他都在竭力编织着爱情美梦，陷入其中不能自拔。黛轻而易举地玩弄了他，嫁祸与他，撕扯着他的梦，撕碎了他的身心，而他到死都还沉浸在自己一厢情愿的的浪漫里。 盖茨比情愿把自己的全部身心奉献给对黛的爱，盖的爱是真实的，当他试图依靠高超的想象达到真与美的完美结合时，新的现实无情地将其挫败了。有人把菲茨杰拉德称为“最后一个浪漫主义战士”，那么他笔下的盖无疑便是最后一个浪漫主义者了。他守护着那朵月光下开放的的虚幻之花付出了年轻的生命，这种浪漫最终枯萎凋零于理想的废墟，耐人寻味的是其中无尽的辛酸。 三、无法企及的永恒 他把自己的爱情视为最高的价值，这就是他的永恒，同时也是他活着的全部价值和意义。对他来说，时间已经不再是标志和衡量现实和梦想的的标准。深受浪漫主义影响的菲茨杰拉德让盖茨比成了一个“出身于他自己的柏拉图式观念”的浪漫主义者。在盖眼里，时间只有一种样式，那就是永恒。对盖来说，他和黛的爱好像永远没有改变过，他忘记了区分过去、现在、未来，在他那里，过去、现在、未来融为一体，于是，他在不知不觉中超越了时间的界限。他一直在朝着接近黛的目标努力，他一步一步地做着，积累金钱、修建豪宅、举行宴会，他知道他和黛已经有5年没见面了，但5年对他而言只是一个过程，而不是将过去与现在分开的漫长的时间界限。当然，他始终沉醉在那样的眩晕状态之中，沉醉于与黛的爱情中，所以当尼克清醒地向他质疑道， “你不能重温旧梦的。 ” “不能重温旧梦？” 他大不以为然地喊道，“哪儿的话，我当然能够!” 他发狂地东张西望，仿佛他的旧梦就隐藏在这里，他的房子的阴影里，几乎一伸手就可以抓到的。 “旧梦”对尼克来说就是往事，是一个人经历过的过去，除了心里的回忆，它已经和现在无关。但盖并不这样看，“旧梦”只不过是不得不借用的一个词汇，它代表不了过去，它就是现在，和现在丝丝入扣，声息相通。盖专注于每一个现在，他当然在意识里无数遍重温过他与黛在一起的时光，但对他来而言，那不是感伤的回忆，而是他的现在，和他的现在在一起供他行动的心理动力。 盖执着于一个永远不变的目标，他超越了人为的时间界限。但是这种时间上的“非分割性”、“非断裂性”只存在于他自己。在黛那儿，过去就是过去，现在就是现在，将来就是将来。在这样的现实铺垫下，盖时间的超越就成了一个人的事，然而，爱情的梦想是需要两个人来完成的。如果盖要实现“重温旧梦”的爱情理想，他需要黛和他一起分享这没有时间界限的小快乐。可是黛像她所属的那个阶层所有的人一样最缺乏的就是现在和行动，他们生活在怠惰的回忆和期待中。他们对现在最无能为力，他们即使身在现在，都已经处于过去与未来之中了。因为从本质上讲，他们不具有真正意义上的现在。盖最擅长的就是把握现在，他要用现在来抓住过去，或者说他试图通过不对时间进行划分而抹去其间的5年。现在就意味着全心全意地沉醉在实践中，沉醉在每一个虚晃一招之中。与盖竭力超越相反，黛永远选择逃避。在等待盖的焦躁中，她躲进了汤姆给予的稳定而麻木的婚姻生活中；在芝加哥引起麻烦后，他们迁徙到纽约，他们不断的迁徙正是他们不断要的躲避的一个外在表现，这表明了他们的麻木不仁，“他们砸碎了东西，毁灭了人，然后就退缩到自己的金钱或者麻木不仁或者不管什么使他们留在一起的东西之中……”。 盖与黛5年后的第一次相聚就点明了他们之间的时间差异，预示了小说的一种悲剧结局。盖带黛参观他的房子，同时叫克利普斯普林格(寄居盖茨比家的一个食客)为他们弹奏钢琴，其歌词是这样的: “每天早上， 每天晚上， 玩得欢畅…… 在这同时， 在这期间……” “在这同时，在这期间”点明了全书的时间主题，即，小说有两个时间维度:“在这同时”，“在这期间”。一个是进行时，一个则标明过去与现在的界限。两个时间维度相碰撞时，“时间的空洞”就显现出来，可以把这个“空洞”视为盖在执着实践中匆匆溜过的5年时光。盖倾近于“在这同时”，希望能在这样的进行状态中将时间的界限抹去:可在黛那里，她更倾近于“在这期间”，在这期间发生的事已经不可更改，这个过去不在进行之中，它已经凝固，是一种近似于物的存在。这个夏天盖带给了黛一种令人昏眩的力量，使黛仿佛觉得她的感情是一直和盖在一起的，然而事实总是事实，在她和盖分手的5年里，盖不过是一个故人的名字而已，所以在汤姆的逼问下，黛崩溃了。她发现，尽管她和汤姆的婚姻充满种种失望，但她曾爱过汤姆却是不可否认的事实。 畅通论文 “啊，你要求的太过分了!”她对盖喊道，“我现在爱你难道这还不够吗?过去的事我没法挽回。”她无可奈何地抽抽噎噎哭了起来,“我一度爱过他……但是我也爱过你。” 盖想要回到绝对的过去，这个过去于他仅是一个5年的真空，5年的美梦。尽管他在这5年中从一个穷小子变成了大富翁，但他心灵的追求、他人生的意义却仍和5年前的岁月紧密相连，其间没有断裂。然而，黛在这5年里，却爱过了别人，结过了婚，养育了孩子，她的生活和5年前完全断裂。这5年来盖在做梦，但黛却身处现实。盖想要证明他和黛一直在相爱，黛却说，不，5年前我爱着你，这5年我爱着别人，现在我又开始爱你。“一直”被分割了。对盖而言，这是残酷的分割、滑稽的嘲讽，因为他的情感丧失了对象。他5年的精心努力，他5年艰苦卓越的浪漫爱情完全是自作多情，他的言谈、他的举止、他的一切都失去了根基。他彻底失败了。 四、结语 盖的一生是浪漫的一生，执着地追求着自己的梦想，所有的浪漫不过增添了悲剧的辛酸：盖和黛见面前的坐卧不安是悲声的序幕；见面后被黛迷得六神无主透射出爱的悲凉——她的不解，她的嗓音里金钱的响声分明是悲剧的预言；财富和身份被质疑时的窘迫是迷失自我的悲哀；彻夜守侯心上人却不知自己正要成为她的牺牲品——一厢情愿的心，无怨无悔的爱，总是透射出被践踏的悲哀和辛酸。 时间本应该带来意义，但在盖那里，它因染上永恒的浓重色彩，成为一个极其抽象的概念。这个概念由于缺少真实经验的支持，结果显得空洞。5年的分离，至少标明5年经验的缺乏。如果盖要让他的爱依然如旧，他惟一能做的便是固执地信奉永恒，视爱情为追求中的不变目标，而不是相爱双方的真实要求。这样，盖的爱就不是生命之中的合理爱情，他对爱的追求也不具有传统的爱恋欲求。对他说来，爱情是他的整个灵魂，他无限地醉心于这一灵魂。尽管普遍意义上的永恒己经丧失，但盖仍然可以为他自己找到一种。盖的永恒爱情揭示了一种现代性的狂醉：一个人义无返顾地选择自己的生活，即使这种生活缺乏实际内容，没有任何人的支持，他也该永远追求下去。这就是盖选择的永恒样式，也正是他悲剧的根源。 【参考文献】 [1]弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德．了不起的盖茨比[M]．上海：上海译文出版社，2006． [2]Fitzgerald，F. Scott. The Great Gatsby [M]．Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1992. 【作者简介】赵金凤（1974-），女（满族），辽宁抚顺人，河南科技大学外国语学院教师，研究方向：英语语言文学。

Nick came to New York from his Midwest homeland, next to his residence is the luxury house of Gatsby, the protagonist of the book.

A grand banquet is held every night. When Nick and Gatsby met, the story began.

Nick's interest in exploring Gatsby. The result of the inquiry is: Nick realized that Gatsby had a deep feeling in his heart.

Gatsby was not rich when he was young. He was a major officer. He fell in love with a girl named Daisy, and Daisy also had a feeling for him.

After the outbreak of World War I, Gatsby was transferred to Europe. As if by chance, but also by necessity, Daisy broke up with him and married Tom, a son of a wealthy family.

Daisy's life after marriage was not happy, because Tom had another mistress.

Materialistic satisfaction does not fill Daisy's spiritual emptiness. Gatsby was in great pain.

He firmly believed that money had betrayed Daisy's chastity of heart, so he was determined to become a rich man. A few years later, Gatsby finally succeeded.

He built a building opposite the daisy residence. Gatsby spent all his money in the night, trying to get Daisy's attention to save her lost love.

Moved by Gatsby's infatuation, Nick visited Daisy, his long-unconnected cousin, and conveyed Gatsby's thoughts to her.

Daisy always made fun of her meeting with Gatsby. Gatsby was dazed and listened to her at random, and naively assumed that the ending was not the end.

However, the real tragedy is quietly starting at this time.

Daisy was no longer the old lady daisy. Daisy, however, regarded her ambiguous relationship as a stimulus.

Nick finally realized that it was too late. Once Daisy was driving in a state of distraction, she ran over her husband's mistress.

Gatsby took responsibility for protecting Daisy, but Daisy had made up his mind to abandon Gatsby.

Under the provocation of Tom, the husband of his mistress shot Gatsby. Gatsby finally became a victim.

Gatsby did not find the smile on the face of Daisy's face until she died. Gatsby's tragedy is that he devotes everything to his beautiful dream, while Daisy, as the embodiment of his ideal, has only a beautiful body.

Despite Daisy's long-standing love affair, although he clearly heard that "her voice is full of money", he remained unchanged and stubbornly pursued the revival of her old dream.

Daisy and her husband were on the way to Europe when they were holding a funeral for Gatsby. Finally, there is no end.

Nick witnessed the unreasonable feelings of human reality and was deeply disgusted, so with a tragic mood, he left the noisy, indifferent, empty and false metropolis and returned to his homeland in dismay.

中文版：

尼克从中西部故乡来到纽约，在他住所旁边正是本书主人公盖茨比的豪华宅第。这里每晚都在举行盛大的宴会。尼克和盖茨比相识，故事就这样开始了。

尼克对盖茨比充满探究的兴趣。探究的结果是：尼克了解到盖茨比内心深处有一段不了之情。年轻时的盖茨比并不富有，他是一个少校军官。他爱上了一位叫黛茜的姑娘，黛茜对他也情有所钟。后来第一次世界大战爆发，盖茨比被调往欧洲。

似是偶然却也是必然，黛茜因此和他分手，转而与一个出身于富豪家庭的纨绔子弟汤姆结了婚。黛茜婚后的生活并不幸福，因为汤姆另有情妇。物欲的满足并不能填补黛茜精神上的空虚。盖茨比痛苦万分，他坚信是金钱让黛茜背叛了心灵的贞洁，于是立志要成为富翁。

几年以后，盖茨比终于成功了。他在黛茜府邸的对面建造起了一幢大厦。盖茨比挥金如土，彻夜笙箫，一心想引起黛茜的注意，以挽回失去的爱情。尼克为盖茨比的痴情所感动，便去拜访久不联系的远房表妹黛茜，并向她转达盖茨比的心意。

黛茜在与盖茨比相会中时时有意挑逗。盖茨比昏昏然听她随意摆布，并且天真地以为那段不了情有了如愿的结局。然而真正的悲剧却在此时悄悄启幕。黛茜早已不是旧日的黛茜。黛茜不过将她俩的暖昧关系，当做一种刺激。

尼克终于有所察觉，但为时已晚。一次黛茜在心绪烦乱的状态下开车，偏偏轧死了丈夫的情妇。盖茨比为保护黛茜，承担了开车责任，但黛茜已打定主意抛弃盖茨比。在汤姆的挑拨下，致使其情妇的丈夫开枪打死了盖茨比。盖茨比最终彻底成为了牺牲品。

盖茨比至死都没有发现黛茜脸上嘲弄的微笑。盖茨比的悲剧在于他把一切都献给了自己编织的美丽梦想，而黛茜作为他理想的化身，却只徒有美丽的躯壳。尽管黛茜早已移情别恋,尽管他清楚地听出“她的声音充满了金钱”,却仍不改初衷,固执地追求重温旧梦。

人们在为盖茨比举行葬礼，黛茜和她丈夫此时却早已在欧洲旅行的路上。不了情终于有了了结。尼克目睹了人类现实的虚情寡义，深感厌恶，于是怀着一种悲剧的心情，远离喧嚣、冷漠、空洞、虚假的大都市，黯然回到故乡。

扩展资料：

菲茨杰拉德是美国20年代"爵士时代"的发言人和"迷惘的一代"的代表作家之一。而《了不起的盖茨比》是奠定菲茨杰拉德在现代美国文学史上的地位的作品。

二十世纪末，美国学术界权威在百年英语文学长河中选出了一百部最优秀的小说，其中，《了不起的盖茨比》高居第二位。

在当时的美国社会，或许每一个想要实现梦想，实现价值的美国公民，都受到一些盲目的消费观的影响来纵情享乐；用消费来炫耀自己的地位和财富。

用一些不择手段的消费来达到自己某种目的，而作为对比，出身卑微的盖茨比，有着不同常人的梦想和他自己想要追寻的那盏“绿灯”。

他为了他梦想中那个完美的女孩黛西，努力跻身于上流社会，却依然保持着他自己珍贵的梦想，彬彬有礼的姿态和他绅士的作风，他努力想要活得和梦想中的自己一样。

这部作品刚问世时并没有引起巨大反响，但随着时间的推移，它的文学价值和思想内涵越来越受世人瞩目。

参考资料来源：百度百科-了不起的盖茨比

The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby was published in 1922 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. At first glance, the novel appears to be a simple love story, but further examination reveals Fitzgerald's masterful scrutiny of American society during the 1920s and the corruption of the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1926) is, at first sight, a novel about love, idealism and disillusionment. However, it soon reveals its hidden depths and enigmas. What is the significance of the strange "waste land" between West Egg and New York, where Myrtle Wilson meets her death, an alien landscape presided over by the eyes of T J Eckleburg whose eyes, like God's, "see everything"? And what are we to make of the novel's unobtrusive symbolism (the green light, the colour of American dollar bills, which burns at the end of Daisy's dock, the references to the elements - land, sea and earth - over which Gatby claims mastery, the contrast between "East" and "West"), or its subtle use of the personalised first narrator, the unassuming Nick Carraway? It is a novel which has intrigued and fascinated readers. Clearly, as a self-proclaimed "tale of the West", it is exploring questions about America and what it means to be American. In this sense Gatsby is perhaps that legendary opus, the "Great American Novel", following in the footsteps of works such as Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn. We will return to this aspect of the novel in more detail later on. However, we also need to be aware that it is a novel which has much to be say about more abstract questions to do with faith, belief and illusion. Although rooted in the "Jazz Age" which Fitzgerald is so often credited with naming, it is also a novel which should be considered alongside works like The Waste Land, exploring that "hollowness at the heart of things" which lies just below the surface of modern life. Eliot himself remarked that the novel "interested and excited me more than any new novel I have seen, either English or American, for a number of years". Viewed from more distant perspectives it is possible to see Gatsby as an archetypally tragic figure, the epitome of idealism and innocence which strives for order, purpose and meaning in a chaotic and hostile world. In this sense Gatsby contains religious and metaphysical dimensions: the young man who shapes a "Platonic vision of himself" and who endows the worthless figure of Daisy with religious essence, eventually passes away into nothingness, with few at the funeral to lament the passing of his romantic dream. This article is about the novel. For the film, TV and opera adaptations, see The Great Gatsby (disambiguation).The Great Gatsby Cover of the first edition, 1925. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald Country United States Language English Genre(s) Novel Publisher Charles Scribner's Sons Publication date April 10, 1925 Media type print (hardback & paperback) ISBN NA & reissue ISBN 0-7432-7356-7 (2004 paperback edition) The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922.The novel chronicles an era that Fitzgerald himself dubbed the "Jazz Age." Following the shock and chaos of World War I, American society enjoyed unprecedented levels of prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared. At the same time, Prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers and led to an increase in organized crime. Although Fitzgerald, like Nick Carraway in his novel, idolized the riches and glamor of the age, he was uncomfortable with the unrestrained materialism and the lack of morality that went with it.来自Wikipedia百科的介绍（书籍简介）：Although it was adapted into both a Broadway play and a Hollywood film within a year of publication, it was not popular upon initial printing, selling fewer than 25,000 copies during the remaining fifteen years of Fitzgerald's life. It was largely forgotten during the Great Depression and World War II. After its republishing in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely regarded as a paragon of the Great American Novel. The Great Gatsby has become a standard text in high school and university courses on American literature in countries around the world, and is ranked second in the Modern Library's list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. Time included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005The Great Gatsby的情节总结（Wikipedia）：The story is presented as a recollection of Nick Carraway, a young man from a patrician Midwestern family. Nick graduated from Yale in 1915; after fighting in World War I and an unsatisfactory postwar return to the Midwest, he moved to New York City to "learn the bond business" in "the spring of twenty-two." Nick declares that, following his father's advice, he avoids judging people: a habit that has caused trouble, exemplified by events concerning a man named Gatsby.Nick explains that in 1922 he was renting an inexpensive bungalow sandwiched between two mansions in West Egg, a seaside community of wealthy parvenus on Long Island Sound. Directly across the bay was East Egg, inhabited by members of the "old aristocracy", including Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is Nick's second cousin once removed; Nick knew of her husband Tom, a celebrated polo player at Yale. Nick describes the Buchanans through a visit to their opulent East Egg mansion: although phenomenally wealthy, Tom's glory days are behind him; he is a brutish, overbearing dilettante and Daisy, although engaging, cheerful, and attractive, is pampered and superficial with a largely ignored three-year-old daughter. Nick detects a strain in the relationship and Daisy's friend Jordan Baker, a well-known lady golfer, tells him that Tom has a mistress in New York City.Tom offers Nick a lift to the city and on the way they stop at a shabby garage owned by George Wilson, where Nick is introduced to the owner's brassy wife, Myrtle Wilson. Her colorless husband George has no suspicion that she is Tom's mistress. Nick passively accompanies the couple to their urban love-nest, where Myrtle presides over a pretentious party that includes her sister Catherine. Catherine approves of the extramarital affair and informs Nick that both lovers cannot stand the people they married and would marry each other if Tom's wife was not a Catholic who "doesn't believe in divorce", something Nick knows to be untrue. Nick finds the evening increasingly unbearable but is unable to leave until Tom breaks Myrtle's nose in a spat. Nick, drunk, leaves with Chester McKee, a would-be artistic photographer. After a very strange night of drunkenness, Nick wakens to blearily go off to his job as a bond salesman.Nick's next-door neighbor is the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby, who every other weekend throws lavish parties hosting hundreds of people. Nick receives a formal invitation from Gatsby's chauffer and attends. The party is wild and fun, but he finds that none of the guests know much about Gatsby and rumors about the man are contradictory. Many have never even met their host, as the parties are open and guests often attend uninvited. Nick runs into Jordan Baker, but they are separated while searching for Gatsby. A man strikes up a conversation with Nick, claiming to recognise him from the US Army's First Division during the Great War. Nick mentions his difficulty in finding their host and the man reveals himself to be Gatsby himself, surprising Nick, who had expected him to be older and not as personable. Gatsby invites Nick to more get-togethers, and an odd 'friendship' begins.One day Gatsby appears in a magnificent yellow roadster and drives Nick to New York City, irritating him with the odd statement that Jordan will be asking Nick for a favor on Gatsby's behalf. Gatsby then presents a clichéd description of his life as a wealthy dilettante and war hero to an incredulous Nick, but the latter is convinced when Gatsby displays a Montenegrin war decoration. Gatsby then introduces a bemused Nick to underworld figure Meyer Wolfsheim. Nick then sees Tom and tries to introduce Gatsby, but Gatsby disappears.Jordan reveals to Nick that Gatsby fell in love with Daisy before the war and hosts parties in the hope that she will visit. Gatsby has asked Jordan to ask Nick to get him a meeting with Daisy. Nick agrees: the reunion is initially awkward, but Gatsby and Daisy begin a love affair. An affair also begins for Nick and Jordan, but Nick knows of Jordan's shortcomings and predicts that their relationship will be superficial.Later, Daisy invites Gatsby and Nick over to her mansion and the three, accompanied by Tom and Jordan Baker, depart for a hotel in the city at Tom's suggestion. Tom also insists that he and Gatsby switch cars; he takes advantage of Gatsby's compliance by flaunting Gatsby's roadster to George Wilson. At the hotel, Tom eventually notices Gatsby's love for Daisy and, in front of Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, and Jordan, confronts Gatsby about his affair with Daisy. Gatsby urges Daisy to say that she never loved Tom; Daisy says that although she did love him, she still loved Gatsby as well. Tom mockingly tells Gatsby that nothing can happen between him and Daisy. Gatsby retorts that the only reason Daisy married Tom was because he (Gatsby) was too poor to afford to marry Daisy at the time. Tom is angered and for the second time in the novel he visibly loses his composure. Tom then alleges that Gatsby is a bootlegger and expresses his loathing of him. Gatsby tries to defend himself to Daisy, but Nick and Tom observe that he fails and that Daisy is now beyond his reach. Confident that he has bested Gatsby, Tom tells Daisy to drive off with Gatsby in Gatsby's car, while Tom takes his time getting home in the company of Nick and Jordan.The suspicions of George Wilson, husband of Tom's mistress Myrtle, have also been aroused and he too has been arguing with his wife. Myrtle runs outside only to be struck and killed by Gatsby's car, which is driven by Daisy. Daisy and Gatsby speed away. Later, Tom, Jordan, and Nick notice a commotion by the garage on their way to East Egg and stop. George Wilson, half-crazy with shock, rants about having seen a yellow car and Tom tells Wilson privately that the yellow car was not his (as he said earlier) but was Gatsby's, but Wilson does not seem to listen and Tom, Jordan, and Nick leave. The half-crazed Wilson, however, later makes a mental connection between the driver of the car and Myrtle's lover and resolves to pursue it.The following day Nick learns the truth about the accident while breakfasting with Gatsby by his pool. Gatsby is depressed, unsure of whether Daisy still loves him and hoping for a call from her. Seeing himself as Gatsby's closest friend, Nick advises Gatsby to leave for a week. "They're [Daisy, Tom, Jordan] a rotten crowd," Nick says, "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." Gatsby smiles the irresistible smile that Nick describes as having "faced—or seemed to face—the whole world, then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor".Wilson appears at the Buchanan mansion with a gun, finding Tom packing to escape with Daisy. Tom, unaware of Daisy's culpability, names Gatsby as the driver of the car that killed Myrtle. Wilson finds Gatsby floating in his pool and kills him before committing suicide nearby.Gatsby's funeral devolves upon Nick, whose attempt to find other mourners is virtually fruitless; not even Gatsby's shady business associates will attend. Apart from Gatsby's servants and Nick, the only other mourners are "Owl Eyes" (a Gatsby party guest) and Gatsby's father, Mr. Gatz. Left in the past by his son, he shows Nick a well-worn photograph Gatsby sent him of his mansion and a notebook from Gatsby's youth that he feels illustrates his son's drive and ambition.Nick severs connections with Jordan (who claims to be engaged to another man), and, after a brief run-in with Tom, Nick returns permanently to the Midwest, reflecting on Gatsby's dreams and the sad and cyclical nature of the past.