Abstract:Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the great American writers of the twentieth century. His works are the epitome of miserable fate of the post-war “Lost Generation” which vividly depicts the all-round view of the Jazz Age. As his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby is a marvelous elegy of the Jazz Age which has a far-reaching impact on contemporary American literature.The novel tells a tragic love story of a young man named Gay Gatsby, who gives his whole life into reliving American dream but finally fails. It describes a general picture of social life of American people, exposing the popular money worship among people and their selfishness and indifference in that period when America had an unprecedented economic development on the one hand as well as incredible spiritual emptiness on the other. The thesis aims at analyzing different experiences of the four main characters in The Great Gatsby and revealing the underlying reasons of their disillusion of American dream. During his whole life, Fitzgerald commits himself into pursuing American dream. His yearning for American dream is thoroughly reflected in this novel. Dream is the permanent desire for human being, as well as the eternal theme in Fitzgerald’s works.   

Keywords: Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; American dream; disillusion

摘要:菲茨杰拉德是二十世纪二十年代美国文坛的杰出作家。他的作品是美国战后整个“迷惘的一代”悲惨命运的一个缩影，生动地再现了爵士时代的生活气息和社会风貌。《了不起的盖茨比》是菲茨杰拉德最优秀的作品。这是“爵士时代”一阕华丽的挽歌，在美国当代文学史上留下了墨色浓重的印痕。小说生动地讲述了二十世纪二十年代美国青年盖茨比悲惨的的爱情故事，描写了当时整个美国的社会生活和精神面貌，揭示出一战后美国经济繁华时期所流行的拜金主义和人的自私与冷漠，反映了“美国梦”的破灭。本文旨在分析书中的四个主要人物在美国的不同经历和遭遇，挖掘他们“美国梦”破灭的深层原因。菲茨杰拉德一生都在实践着“美国梦”，他对“美国梦”的向往在《了不起的盖茨比》中得到了淋漓尽致的展现。梦想是人类恒久的渴望，也是菲茨杰拉德作品中永恒的主题。

关键词：菲茨杰拉德；《了不起的盖茨比》；美国梦；破灭