【正文】 his works is the work always closely contacts with his own experience, and the characters in the novel can almost find the model from his surrounding, sometimes, even himself. Contacting the characters with his experience is meaningful. It can help the readers have further understanding and analysis of his works. 17 . Gatsby and Fitzgerald In the novel, Jay Gatsby is the epitome of the “self made man,” in which he dedicates his entire life to climbing the social ladder in order to gain wealth, to ultimately win the love of a woman. As it turns out, Gatsby?s excessive extravagance and love of money, together with his obsession for a woman?s love, are actually the autobiographical portrayal of Fitzgerald. When Gatsby, like Fitzgerald, is training to be an officer to join in the World War I, he falls in love with a beautiful girl, Daisy. However, he is very surprised to realize, despite her sexual responsiveness, that Daisy will not marry him before he had achieved financial success. To Fitzgerald, this is the same reason that Zelda rejected him before he became an extremely wealthy man. Both Gatsby and Fitzgerald are fascinated by money and power, and impressed by glamour and beauty. However, they both know that they can never fully belong to this prosperous and secure world, and that the goal of joining this careless class was an illusion. They still try their best to achieve the goal and have the same experience to earn money although they use the different ways to succeed. After acquiring the success, Fitzgerald found himself in an era of unrestrained materialism with the tone of society as well as Gatsby, particularly in the large cities of the East. But, gradually, Fitzgerald was aware of that wealth destroyed his life, rather than helped him achieve the dream. He died from the irregular life and the alcoholism. So does Gatsby. After a long wait, Gatsby is killed by Gee?s gun. Gatsby bees lovestricken. He devotes his entire life to winning the elusive love, despite realizing at the end that reaching his goal was unachievable. Fitzgerald had the same dream as Gatsby, and also yearned to join the ranks of the upperclass and accordingly obtain the love that had escaped him. Unfortunately, they have the hopelessness and despair oute. Obviously, Gatsby represents one part of Fitzgerald?s personality: the flashy
。 for instance, he?d brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest” (Fitzgerald 20xx: 8) His selfconfidence and utter belief in his superiority are an example of how he thinks about himself in relation to all other people, especially to the lowclass man, Wilson. He uses his social status and physical strength to dominate those around him. For example, he subtly taunts Wilson 9 while having an affair with his wife, experiences on guilt for his immoral behavior, and does not hesitate to lash out violently in order to preserve his authority over Myrtle in Chapter 2. He is so desperately an empty man that he consider himself as exterior belongings. He is trying to find his identity by looking for happiness in nice cars (it is a ridiculous yellow luxury vehicle), money and a good woman. Tom?s dream of power and superiority leads to his moral decline by ruining his marriage with Daisy and ultimately her wishes of having a truly happy marriage. Not only does his lack of morals affect Daisy and her happiness, it also fosters the situation of Gatsby?s and Gee?s death. “?I told him the truth, ?he said. ?He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave, ? He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn?t told him who owned the car.? ? He broke off defiantly. ?What if I did tell him? That fellow had it ing to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy?s, but he was a tough one. ? ?.” (Fitzgerald 20xx: 239) Tom is the ultimate example of how the effect of the American dream caused the society to change their morals and exhibit action that is detrimental to society in general. 3. Fitzgerald’s American Dream “American Dream” is the most mon but important concept in America, related to the early history of this country. But time has endowed the conception with dramatically different meaning. Originally, people in America upheld a thought of American Dream to strive for a peaceful and abundant country which can offer its people the basic needs of life, nevertheless, that?s not the case in 1920s. First thirty years of 19th century witnessed a significant and dramatic change in Western world, impacting on the whole society, bringing people with pain, alienation and puzzles. 10 Meanwhile, a newly emerged musical form derived from the slave songs and their spirituals. Due to the widely spreading and appeal, the 1920s was also called the Jazz Age. No longer representing a traditional merit of their ancestors? hardness and diligence, the American Dream then was deformed into greedy for money because of the World War and Great Depression, depriving mon people of their sense of security and beliefs. Influenced by such a fast changing world, Americans were more practical and material than ever. The old American Dream had long gone and Fitzgerald was one of the victims. It was during this period Fitzgerald experienced his pattern of life: from a beautiful dream to the cruel disenchantment and finally to a state of thorough failure as well as despair. . Fitzgerald’s Pursuit for Love and Wealth Similar to Gatsby in the book, Fitzgerald had been enlisted to the army during the World War One, during which one of the most major events was his meeting with a beautiful society girl Zelda Sayre. Born in a judge?s home in Montgomery Alabama, Zelda was alw