【正文】 ’s novel represented his own experience and thought and it was personal experiential creation in The Essence of F. Scott Fitzgerald.① At the same time, it also reflected overall, general experience and ideas of a young generation, so it was popular creation. Stephen L. Tanner in Fitzgerald’s Lost City②expounded figures’ lostness in the novel. Mitchell Breitwieser emphasized strong power of reappearing social situation in Jazz Fractures: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Epochal Representation.③Beyond that, Lewis A. Turlish pointed that there was feature of spacetime in his novel by historical relativity theory. Furthermore, Roger L. Pearson deeply analyzed the results of disillusioned American dream in Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream.④ Although This Side of Paradise was not the most successful works of Fitzgerald, and his writing style was fully showed in The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, it was only this novel that entirely reflected young people’s experience in the process of growing up, regarding campus life as its material. All in all, This Side of Paradise was so important that it had great influence in literature. Chapter II. The Causes of People’s Lostness The lostness of characters in the novel has its special background. In the Jazz Age, people in the upper class were fond of spending money, and they lacked belief after the First World War in 1920s. They tried to break down traditional moral value, but the new belief did not take shape. Fitzgerald’s novel was just in blurry cultural background. Those young people not only longed for romantic American dream, but also were crazy about money and love as social trend. They struggled for American dream and during that time, they underwent strong contradiction between ideal and reality. Therefore, they got confused about life. At last, as American dream turns out to be disillusioned, they also could not escape from the terrible fate. A certain culture is the mirror of certain social politics and economy. Great changes had taken place in American society after the First World War in the 1920s. All American society appeared a scene of vitality and verdant beauty. As well, Fitzgerald accurately seized the flavor and life sentiments of the age. To a certain extent, his novel reflected that young people favored money, social status, success and luxury. They were frantically working, desperately made money and wasted money extravagantly. Therefore, young people felt their spirit vacant, dirty, selfish and cruel in the world in which money was everything. Fitzgerald intituled this period as the most extravagant and gorgeous Jazz Age in American history. A. The Disillusion of American Dream The young people in Fitzgerald’s novel are influenced by the value of money and material desires when they initially ford the society. They yearn for success by their own hard work. They pursue fame, wealth and beautiful girls and see it as a measure of weighing the American dream. As Fitzgerald’s wellknown novel, This Side of Paradise reflects mental development of American young people. The young hero Amory Blaine are spoiled by his mother from his childhood, sentimental and full of exuberant fancy. He wants to gain considerable fame, to marry the most beautiful girl, to climb to the top of the social ladder and to bee a big man. In the novel, there is the socalled the philosophy of the slicker theory, which profoundly influences his life. Amory promotes the theory, the philosophy of the slicker in a long chat with his friend before he graduates from middle school. As a matter of fact, the theory is not his origin, and it is only one of popular values in the school. However, the interesting name the philosophy of the slicker is intitled by Amory. The slicker refers to those whose hair is slicked. They are goodlooking, especially keen to take part in such activities as they can shine in and dress well. Compared with their peers, they are more intelligent, sharpminded and control some student organizations on campus. The philosophy f the slicker is one of popular cultural values in the school, while the school in fact is a miniature of the society. The campus not only provides the important place in which young people can get knowledge, but it also paves the way for them to go out into the world. Thus, the values in the school life are often the imitation of social values off campus. Actually, the philosophy of the slicker that Amory takes delight in is just young people’s version of American dream. Amory and those who are educated and romantic egotists act as the leading roles of life like American dream. They have no qualms about pursuing wealth, social position and expect to marry the most beautiful girl or the most powerful man. They lead a bohemian life, go their own way, spend time and money on fashion and fame. However, instead of satisfaction, Amory’s fancy and confidence lead to great disappointment. In Princeton University, he flunks in his examination, which almost results in his leaving school. In addition, the First World War breaks out and he has to go to the battlefield. During the period, he loses his mother and his classmate dies in the war. When the war ends, he goes back to New York and begins to invest, but it turns out to be a failure. Hence, he bees as poor as a church mouse. Above that, the spiritual teacher Darcy that he admires for many years dies of illness. After he attends the funeral of the priest, he is extremely disgusted with life. At first, he has the ambition of charming all beautiful girls, but now he falls in love four times, and as a consequence, he did not make it. He hates the world so much that he is sincerely full of emotion when he es back to Princeton. He thinks that they will find all gods do not exist, they do not believe in gods and they are in the age when wars happen frequently and people’s faith is shaken. The romance Amory looking for strongly conflicts