Romance and Reality

Contradiction between romance and reality is an eternal theme of literature. No matter what time a story takes place， men and women often alienate each other mutually in front of the material value. In The Great Gatsby， Gatsby and Daisy， the star-crossed lovers， were not exempt.

So far， critics， with striking similar negative views， have already identified Daisy as a typical bad girl. Marius Bewley， for example， refers to Daisys “vicious emptiness” and her “monstrous moral indifference.” No doubt that every relationship Daisy involved in had something to do with money， even Gatsby， the man who loved her most， admitted that her voice was full of money. However， if we pay take the historical background into consideration， whether such easy polarization and belittle of Daisy are proper deserves pondering about.

According to Henry F. May， before the war， the three main backbones of the American culture had already been corrupted by the radical social changes. Under the great impact of the the Great War， the American culture and belief easily collapsed. Gatsby fought for his country bravely for five years， but war brought nothing to him. Instead the illegal bootlegging earned him fame and wealth； Daisy and Tom both apparently they did not have the least intention to hide their affairs from others. Shocked by the cruelty of the war and confused by the reorganization of the society， people began to question and rebel the moral system they beheld and indulged themselves to cover their idleness， mental hollowness and scary of the future.

Daisys growing up was exactly the typical process of womens corruption at that time. Suffering from the idleness and empty mind， she became more and more uncertain about her hopeless future. On the other hand， according to Charlotte Perkins Gilman， though the feminist movement progressed a little in the 1920s， women were still in a subordinate statue. In the patriarchal society， Daisy was firstly forced by her family to finish the prearranged marriage despite the letter from Gatsby. After getting married， she was gradually depersonalized by Tom. When she was under such big pressure， Gatsby resurfaced. So the reunion did not seem that simple. No wonder she regarded Gatsby as an opportunity to revenge， a cool rich man on the advertisement totally different from boorish Tom to admire， a savior to help her escape from the temporal world. He is her dream about escaping， about saving， even if love had already been exhausted.

Gatsby was no doubt a perfect example for chasing after the American Dream. Though his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people， in his own Platonic conception of himself， he was the son of God， an individual “Manifest Destiny”. Thats the principle motive that support him to grasp every opportunity to fill the vague contour of Jay Gatsby to the substantiality of man.

Trace the American history， Gatsby is not unprecedented. As Benjamin Franklin mentioned in his autobiography， his “little book” also “contained the following scheme of employment for the twenty-four hours of a natural day”. In the novel， Gatsby is exactly counterpart of Benjamin Franklin in the 1920s American. However， in the Roaring Age， the American Dream which used to encourage people with different social backgrounds to achieve their dreams through their own efforts was alienated. With the rapid economic development and the mental destruction after the Great War， the American Dream was finally transferred into morbid pursuit of money and extravagant life of higher class. The instinct towards future glory fueled Gatsbys adding to the pattern of his fancies night by night， his sensitiveness about opportunity when he met Cody， and the deep understand of his fate when he met Daisy， the first girl Gatsby met who symbolizing everything he was dying for. She was the the great incarnation in the mansion he entered accidentally， the last piece of his American Dream puzzle and anything but a accessible lover.

To sum up， neither love nor literature can not be discussed without focusing on the real world. The romance in the surface and the connotative reflection of the reality of the American society formed a sharp contrast， which greatly added to the tension of this novel， the complex characterisation and the sharp insight of humanity and society make The Great Gatsby a novel not only deeply rooted in its time， but also looks forward far beyond its time.

References：

[1]Marius Bewley.Scott Fitzgeralds Criticism of America， in Twentieth Century Inter- pi etations of The Great Gatsby，ed[J].Ernest Lockridge（Englewood Cliffs， N.J.，1968：44，45.

[2]劉佳.爵士時代的浮華與幻滅——精神生態批評視域下的《了不起的蓋茨比》[J].文化學刊，2017（8）：52-56.

[3]趙一凡.迷茫一代的文化背景透視[J].美國研究，1987（2）：129-131.

[4]Leland.S.Person.JR.“Herstory” and Daisy Buchanan[J].American Literature，1987（Vol.50， No.2）：250-257.

[5]Benjamin Franklin.The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin[M]. 北京：經濟科學出版社，2016，6：145-151.

【作者簡介】白月，華東師范大學。