淺析《偉大的蓋茨比》中金錢對主要人物的多重影響

Abstract： The Great Gatsby is considered as a modern classic in American literature. Many critical essays concerning this novel deal with it from the aspect of either writing craftsmanship， or its unique vision of the American dream， its hope and disenchantment. However， this thesis will look at the novel from the perspective of money and discuss how money affects the main characters in their life.

[Key Words] money worship； love； dream，； carelessness，； vanity

1. The Corrupted “material girl”—Daisy

1.1 A “hollow ”Daisy Living in Money

Daisy is a typical “hollow man” full of straw in her head .The birth of her little daughter is itself an “irony” for Daisy. The kid for Daisy is only a little “doll” in her life， a doll she could leave to her maid whenever it bothers her.

Daisy is a representative of the old aristocracy， which possesses grace， taste， subtlety and elegance. Daisy knew only about enjoying life. Money gave her a sense of security. Because of money， she chose Tom not Gatsby； she even could tolerate her husband’s disloyalty. Daisy has not only a hollow mind， but lives a hollow life.

1.2 An Indifferent and Selfish Daisy under the Capture of Money

Money or the longing for a stable and wealthy life turned Daisy an indifferent and selfish creature. She loves no man. She comes in contact with them only to satisfy her vanity. For her， marrying to a rich man is a good way to find a haven. Therefore， when Gatsby came back with a “golden” image， she seized the chance immediately.

However， when Gatsby’s illegal bootlegging was revealed by her husband， she left Gatsby calmly and cruelly but went back to Tom’ arm again. Daisy lost her mind killed Tom’s lover. When poor Gatsby was planning to help her under her window， Daisy chose to keep silent when she knew that Gatsby was made a scapegoat by her husband. She wanted to protect herself and a stable and wealthy life. There is not any morality， responsibility but only money in Daisy’s world.

2. Money ---The Original Motive of Gatsby’s Love towards Daisy

It seems that Gatsby’s story is a romantic love tragedy： a romantic and persistent young man devoted all his love to a beautiful lady who wad corrupted by money. Supposed that Gatsby has never met Daisy， could his tragedy be avoided？ It is money that pushed Gatsby to love Daisy and to love her persistently at all costs. The author didn’t give many words to the love affairs between Gatsby and the women around him， but we can see Gatsby’s flirtatious attitude towards love.

Daisy is the first “nice” girl coming from a wealthy family

that Gatsby has never been in contact with. It is wealth that attracts Gatsby most. In his heart， only those associated with wealth are lovely and deserve his love. Wealth is the prerequisite of love. Thus， Daisy becomes an embodiment of Gatsby’s dream and the love becomes a way of satisfying his vanity and his strong desire for money.

Gatsby is a little monster whose heart was captured by money. All his motives and behaviors are related to money. His “American dream” is twisted by money， and its failure is of course inevitable.

3. Money that Makes Nick Carraway Saw through Life

Unsatisfying with the wealth given by his grandfather， Nick不Carraway went to the East. Undoubtedly， Nick also cherishes an “American dream”， but he is the one who saw the inevitable failure of “American dream”， through his contacts with Daisy， Tom， and Gatsby. He， as a calm and reasonable observer saw the truth under the vanity. The narrator， Nick is the spokesman for Fitzgerald to some extent.

Nick’s moral attention sees the tone of the novel. Nick’s morality extends much more widely to the society. Nick returns to the west at the end， feeling very disappointed. His final rejection to the East represents a rejection of its standards， its superficial， amoral material life.

4. Conclusion

In The Great Gatsby， we could see money， love， vanity， indifference and carelessness. We see how people struggled desperately under the capture of money and how money corrupted people. Besides the pursuit of material enjoyments and comforts， people should also have some spiritual aspiration. In a sense， The Great Gatsby is just like an alarming bell warning people of the serious consequences of money worship. This thesis serves to throw a new light on the research of the fiction， which I hope， can provide some inspirations and sources for others’ study of the novel

Works Cited

[1] Barney， Daniel. The Great Gatsby. Beijing：Hang Kong industry publishing house， 2008.

[2] Phillips， B. Guide to The Great Gatsby. Harvard： Spark Note， 2002.

[3] Fitzgerald， Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 1998.

[4] Brinkley， A. American History： A Survey. New York： McGraw-Hill Inc.， 1991.

作者簡介：許雯雯（1986.12），女，漢族，山東煙臺人，上海大學外國語學院碩士研究生，從事跨文化交際研究。