论文部分内容阅读
【摘 要】小说《了不起的盖茨比》出自美国爵士时代代言人费兹杰拉德之笔，自二十世纪二十年代出版之日起便倍受关注。本文用弗洛伊德精神分析批评方法解读该小说中的三个主要人物：主人公盖茨比是一个充满激情的幻想家，本文通过对盖茨比强烈的爱欲、压抑在潜意识里的欲望，向讀者呈现了盖茨比这一传奇形象；小说的叙述者尼克充当道德评判者的角色，他强烈的超我以及对盖茨比的互补性认同感是解读盖茨比这个人物的核心；女主人公黛西作为旧贵族的典型，被冠以“拜金女郎”的称号，本文深刻剖析了她丑恶的本我以及深藏在潜意识里的空虚。
【关键词】《了不起的盖茨比》；弗洛伊德精神分析批评；人格结构理论
【中图分类号】I106.4 【文献标识码】A
【文章编号】2095-3089（2019）05-0005-02
【Abstract】
The Great Gatsby was written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald， the representative of the Jazz Age in America， and has drawn much attention since its publication in 1920s. The thesis analyzes the three main characters in this novel from the perspective of Freudian psychoanalytic criticism： the protagonist Gatsby is a passionate illusionist. Through interpretations of Gatsby’s intense Eros， the suppressed desires in his unconscious， the thesis presents the legendary image of Gatsby to all readers； the narrator in this novel， Nick， assumes the role of a moral judge， whose strong superego and identification to the protagonist Gatsby form the essence of this character； the heroine Daisy is the representative of old aristocrats， who is labeled as “the golden girl”， and the thesis analyzes her lusty id and the hollowness hidden in her unconscious deeply.
【Key Words】The Great Gatsby；Freudian psychoanalytic criticism； Personality structure theory
一、Introduction
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald， one of the most famous American writers in the 20th century and the author of the Great Gatsby， was born in 1896 in St. Paul， Minnesota. Twenties was Fitzgerald’s exclusive decade， as his works swept across America and Europe. His masterpiece， the Great Gatsby， was published in 1925， when America’s economy was booming in this decade， with crime， alcohol and fast cars on rise. It was an era of chaos and ceaseless jazz music， which was called “Jazz Age” by Fitzgerald. The story in the Great Gatsby was set in this historical background.
This thesis is an exploration of main characters in the Great Gatsby based on the established Freudian psychoanalytic criticism. The employment of Freud’s psychoanalytic criticism essential when composing this thesis， especially when analyzing the three main characters，Gatsby， Nick， and Daisy， under the influence of the division of id， ego， and superego.
二、Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Criticism
Sigmund Freud （1856-1939） is an Austrian physician and the founder of psychoanalysis.The publication of Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 first made him well-known around the world and his discovery of the unconscious was epochal， which revolutionized the way people reexamine themselves.In 1905， his hypothesis that all human activities were driven by sexual desires shocked the whole society in the West， which revolutionized people’s thoughts once again. Freud proposed that the human psyche could be divided into three parts： Id， Ego and Superego. Id is the reservoir of desires， impetus required for survival， which is totally driven by unconscious. Ego is that part of human psyche which acts and responds to the surrounding world in a way as “self” or “I”， whose goal is to repress the undesirable instinctual impulses and try to be moral， ensuring that most desires or needs are met in accordance with the reality principle. The last part of human psyche is superego， which is driven by people’s conscience， following the rules and standards for good behaviors. According to Freud’s theory， superego opposes the id and desires which are originated from it by enforcing moral restrictions and trying to reach the goal of achieving ideal perfection.
三、Jay Gatsby： The Passionate Illusionist
Gatsby， legally James Gatz， was born in a peasant family in the middle-west. When Gatsby served in World War I， he became a lieutenant and fell in love with Daisy， who came from an upper-class family and later deserted him because of his shabby social status and then married a wealthy man Tom. All this provoked Gatsby’s determination to become rich.Through bootlegging he realized his dream， bought a mansion on West Egg， throwing extravagant party every night only to attract Daisy’s attention from across the bay.
1.Gatsby’s Intense Eros.
One of Freud’s important theories deals with the relationship between the id and libido. The id is the only reservoir of libido， which is also called sexual instinct triggered by Eros. In the case of Gatsby’s libido， which was suppressed by the fact that he couldn’t get Daisy， it was relieved in various means， such as relentless pursuing for money， reputation， and social status， together with his lavish parties which help him won people’s admiration and jealousy.
Gatsby left readers with an impression of being persistent and passionate， as Eros has the capability to encourage people to fight for themselves and meet the needs of the id， through the exploration of Gatsby’s rising from scratch， his persistence and passion for his future glory was definitely derived from his Eros.
After Daisy attended Gatsby’s party for the first time， as the representative of the old aristocrats， she threw her contempt and disregards on the newly-rich group. Even Gatsby sensed the unwillingness of Daisy to leave Tom， he was obstinate that he could alter the fact and change Daisy’s decision. In a word， Gatsby’s Eros in this story was vibrant and persistent， which spurred him to achieve his goal and satisfy his id to the most extent. 2.Suppressed Desires in Unconscious.
Although Gatsby started from scratch and he realized his American dream， underneath the facade of wealth and power， Gatsby was definitely a negative byproduct of American dream. All along Gatsby’s life journey， he experienced breakthroughs as well as struggles. Thankfully， he didn’t give in and eventually he was but one short step to his dream. In this process of struggling， Gatsby repressed most of his desires preserved in his unconscious. All of his desires and conflicts are below the level of conscious as his lust and aggression surfaced from unconscious， therefore at this critical moment， his id was the determining factor to his behaviors. For instance， in spite of bootlegging was illegal and banned by explicit order in 1920s， Gatsby still risked reaping huge profits to meet these needs of the id which were used to be unrealistic even impossible to him.In a word， the lust and aggression deep in his id drove him to do what he had never done only in order to win over the beauty’s heart.
四、Nick Carraway： The Honest Moralist
As the narrator of this novel， Nick Carraway was equipped with the ability to survey all characters involved and document their experiences in the summer of 1922. When it comes to Nick’s omniscience， his special relations with other characters are necessary to be mentioned here first.
1.Nick’s Strong Superego.
In the whole story， Nick was equipped with the right to judge all characters’ behavior， not only owning to his special relationship with all others， but also his strong superego， which guided him to judge fairly and disdain the fickleness of the world. Nick’s father once told him that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that he has had. Obviously， Fitzgerald attached a sense of moral superiority on Nick， endowing Nick to play the special role of a judge and moralist.
The most distinct disdain and disgust that Nick had toward the crowd of old aristocracy was his contempt for Tom and Daisy. Although Nick was once attracted by the gay and prominent life in New York City and strived for his American dream， after witnessing what happened to people around， he decided to flinch.The withdrawal of Nick when facing the prosperity of metropolitan life implied his consciousness of his surroundings and his moral clarity after experiencing much in this dirty and foul society.The ideal that Fitzgerald wanted to achieve was a character， Nick， who possessed strong superego in the author’s literary work and did what he hadn’t done in real life. 2.Identification to Gatsby.
Identification， from the perspective of psychoanalysis， is the process in which the ego tries to emulate another.For example， if a boy identifies himself with his father， he wants to be like his father.
Nick’s attitude toward Gatsby wasn’t identification from the very beginning， as his comment on Gatsby at first was“Gatsby represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn （6）”. However， in the last chapter， when Nick left Gatsby’s mansion and he found himself being responsible to tell his true feelings toward Gatsby， which was transformed to “They’re a rotten crowd… You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together （150）”. Then Nick’s attitude toward Gatsby completed its transformation from disdain to identification.
In this novel Nick is the witness of Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and his desolate funeral， which makes the relationship between them quite subtle. They had much in common when it comes to their encounters.The loyalty and unconditional help that Nick provided to Gatsby serves as a proof of his identification to Gatsby. Nick regarded Gatsby as another half， which helps him to reach a psychological satisfaction and balance.
五、Daisy Buchanan： “The Golden Girl”
Daisy Buchanan played an important role in causing Gatsby’s tragedy， and she embodied the features of hedonism of America in 1920s， which was named as the Jazz Age by Fitzgerald. Hedonism seeks for infinite pleasure and enjoyment， which matches with the principle of human’s id， the pleasure principle.
1.Daisy’s Lusty Id.
As other young girls， Daisy sought for romantic love； however， what she asked for extra was that the romance needed to be built on wealth and high social status. In one of the conversations between Nick and Gatsby， where they were commenting on Daisy， Nick thought Daisy got an indiscreet voice and Gatsby added that her voice was full of money， who talked to the point of this discourse. Daisy’s criterion for love was shallow and snobbish， which was mainly guided by her id， as she made decisions of her life solely based on the pleasure principle.
At the climax in this novel， Daisy rode in Gatsby’s car and ran Myrtle over in panic. She didn’t intend to confess the guilty and conspired with Tom to run away， leaving Gatsby to be in danger and then get killed by Myrtle’s husband. Their ruthlessness and indifference in the novel showed the characteristics of the group of upper-class people who were represented by Tom and Daisy， which was also criticized and despised by the author in the real life. 2.Hollowness Hidden in Unconscious.
In this novel， Fitzgerald paid special attention not only to Daisy’s diction but also the adjectives to describe her. The most frequently used adjective to describe Daisy was “white”， for instance， she wore in white， rode in white and lived in a white palace. Generally speaking， the adjective “white” is used to describe someone pure and graceful， however， in my perspective， the author meant to show the hollowness and emptiness hidden in Daisy’s unconscious.
To explore deeply into Daisy’s words， her psychological status and hollowness hidden in unconscious surfaced from her discourses. In the hottest day in the summer of 1922， all major characters gathered in Daisy’s house. Then Daisy said，“What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon？ And the day after that， and the next thirty years？ （116）”these three questions in arow constitute to Daisy’s bewilderment and fickleness. As they had no worries about money， all they had to worry about was how to kill time while others struggled in the abyss of suffering.
六、Conclusion
The thesis attempts to present a detailed study of three main characters in the novel The Great Gatsby in view of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic criticism.
The analysis of characters from the perspective of psychoanalytic criticism reminds us of the importance of personality and psychological condition to people. Psychoanalysis helps us to see the real relationship among people and catch the point in the social intercourse. A quick review of the whole thesis makes us reflect on Gatsby’s tragedy， which was also that era’s tragedy. However， it also gives hope to the reader as people like Nick who insists on his moral standards would judge the society with justice and compassion.
References
[1]陳晨.2009.黛西的矛盾——《了不起的盖茨比》中女主人公形象再析[J].山花 （6）： 139-140.
[2]朱建廷. 2005.《了不起的盖茨比》的“精神分析”阐释 [D].M.A Thesis.保定：华北电力大学.
[3]Fitzgerald， Francis S. 2011.The Great Gatsby[M].Beijing： Foreign Languages Press.
[4]Freud， Sigmund. 1993. Beyond the Pleasure Principle[J].New York： W.W.Norton & Company.
【关键词】《了不起的盖茨比》；弗洛伊德精神分析批评；人格结构理论
【中图分类号】I106.4 【文献标识码】A
【文章编号】2095-3089（2019）05-0005-02
【Abstract】
The Great Gatsby was written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald， the representative of the Jazz Age in America， and has drawn much attention since its publication in 1920s. The thesis analyzes the three main characters in this novel from the perspective of Freudian psychoanalytic criticism： the protagonist Gatsby is a passionate illusionist. Through interpretations of Gatsby’s intense Eros， the suppressed desires in his unconscious， the thesis presents the legendary image of Gatsby to all readers； the narrator in this novel， Nick， assumes the role of a moral judge， whose strong superego and identification to the protagonist Gatsby form the essence of this character； the heroine Daisy is the representative of old aristocrats， who is labeled as “the golden girl”， and the thesis analyzes her lusty id and the hollowness hidden in her unconscious deeply.
【Key Words】The Great Gatsby；Freudian psychoanalytic criticism； Personality structure theory
一、Introduction
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald， one of the most famous American writers in the 20th century and the author of the Great Gatsby， was born in 1896 in St. Paul， Minnesota. Twenties was Fitzgerald’s exclusive decade， as his works swept across America and Europe. His masterpiece， the Great Gatsby， was published in 1925， when America’s economy was booming in this decade， with crime， alcohol and fast cars on rise. It was an era of chaos and ceaseless jazz music， which was called “Jazz Age” by Fitzgerald. The story in the Great Gatsby was set in this historical background.
This thesis is an exploration of main characters in the Great Gatsby based on the established Freudian psychoanalytic criticism. The employment of Freud’s psychoanalytic criticism essential when composing this thesis， especially when analyzing the three main characters，Gatsby， Nick， and Daisy， under the influence of the division of id， ego， and superego.
二、Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Criticism
Sigmund Freud （1856-1939） is an Austrian physician and the founder of psychoanalysis.The publication of Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 first made him well-known around the world and his discovery of the unconscious was epochal， which revolutionized the way people reexamine themselves.In 1905， his hypothesis that all human activities were driven by sexual desires shocked the whole society in the West， which revolutionized people’s thoughts once again. Freud proposed that the human psyche could be divided into three parts： Id， Ego and Superego. Id is the reservoir of desires， impetus required for survival， which is totally driven by unconscious. Ego is that part of human psyche which acts and responds to the surrounding world in a way as “self” or “I”， whose goal is to repress the undesirable instinctual impulses and try to be moral， ensuring that most desires or needs are met in accordance with the reality principle. The last part of human psyche is superego， which is driven by people’s conscience， following the rules and standards for good behaviors. According to Freud’s theory， superego opposes the id and desires which are originated from it by enforcing moral restrictions and trying to reach the goal of achieving ideal perfection.
三、Jay Gatsby： The Passionate Illusionist
Gatsby， legally James Gatz， was born in a peasant family in the middle-west. When Gatsby served in World War I， he became a lieutenant and fell in love with Daisy， who came from an upper-class family and later deserted him because of his shabby social status and then married a wealthy man Tom. All this provoked Gatsby’s determination to become rich.Through bootlegging he realized his dream， bought a mansion on West Egg， throwing extravagant party every night only to attract Daisy’s attention from across the bay.
1.Gatsby’s Intense Eros.
One of Freud’s important theories deals with the relationship between the id and libido. The id is the only reservoir of libido， which is also called sexual instinct triggered by Eros. In the case of Gatsby’s libido， which was suppressed by the fact that he couldn’t get Daisy， it was relieved in various means， such as relentless pursuing for money， reputation， and social status， together with his lavish parties which help him won people’s admiration and jealousy.
Gatsby left readers with an impression of being persistent and passionate， as Eros has the capability to encourage people to fight for themselves and meet the needs of the id， through the exploration of Gatsby’s rising from scratch， his persistence and passion for his future glory was definitely derived from his Eros.
After Daisy attended Gatsby’s party for the first time， as the representative of the old aristocrats， she threw her contempt and disregards on the newly-rich group. Even Gatsby sensed the unwillingness of Daisy to leave Tom， he was obstinate that he could alter the fact and change Daisy’s decision. In a word， Gatsby’s Eros in this story was vibrant and persistent， which spurred him to achieve his goal and satisfy his id to the most extent. 2.Suppressed Desires in Unconscious.
Although Gatsby started from scratch and he realized his American dream， underneath the facade of wealth and power， Gatsby was definitely a negative byproduct of American dream. All along Gatsby’s life journey， he experienced breakthroughs as well as struggles. Thankfully， he didn’t give in and eventually he was but one short step to his dream. In this process of struggling， Gatsby repressed most of his desires preserved in his unconscious. All of his desires and conflicts are below the level of conscious as his lust and aggression surfaced from unconscious， therefore at this critical moment， his id was the determining factor to his behaviors. For instance， in spite of bootlegging was illegal and banned by explicit order in 1920s， Gatsby still risked reaping huge profits to meet these needs of the id which were used to be unrealistic even impossible to him.In a word， the lust and aggression deep in his id drove him to do what he had never done only in order to win over the beauty’s heart.
四、Nick Carraway： The Honest Moralist
As the narrator of this novel， Nick Carraway was equipped with the ability to survey all characters involved and document their experiences in the summer of 1922. When it comes to Nick’s omniscience， his special relations with other characters are necessary to be mentioned here first.
1.Nick’s Strong Superego.
In the whole story， Nick was equipped with the right to judge all characters’ behavior， not only owning to his special relationship with all others， but also his strong superego， which guided him to judge fairly and disdain the fickleness of the world. Nick’s father once told him that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that he has had. Obviously， Fitzgerald attached a sense of moral superiority on Nick， endowing Nick to play the special role of a judge and moralist.
The most distinct disdain and disgust that Nick had toward the crowd of old aristocracy was his contempt for Tom and Daisy. Although Nick was once attracted by the gay and prominent life in New York City and strived for his American dream， after witnessing what happened to people around， he decided to flinch.The withdrawal of Nick when facing the prosperity of metropolitan life implied his consciousness of his surroundings and his moral clarity after experiencing much in this dirty and foul society.The ideal that Fitzgerald wanted to achieve was a character， Nick， who possessed strong superego in the author’s literary work and did what he hadn’t done in real life. 2.Identification to Gatsby.
Identification， from the perspective of psychoanalysis， is the process in which the ego tries to emulate another.For example， if a boy identifies himself with his father， he wants to be like his father.
Nick’s attitude toward Gatsby wasn’t identification from the very beginning， as his comment on Gatsby at first was“Gatsby represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn （6）”. However， in the last chapter， when Nick left Gatsby’s mansion and he found himself being responsible to tell his true feelings toward Gatsby， which was transformed to “They’re a rotten crowd… You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together （150）”. Then Nick’s attitude toward Gatsby completed its transformation from disdain to identification.
In this novel Nick is the witness of Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and his desolate funeral， which makes the relationship between them quite subtle. They had much in common when it comes to their encounters.The loyalty and unconditional help that Nick provided to Gatsby serves as a proof of his identification to Gatsby. Nick regarded Gatsby as another half， which helps him to reach a psychological satisfaction and balance.
五、Daisy Buchanan： “The Golden Girl”
Daisy Buchanan played an important role in causing Gatsby’s tragedy， and she embodied the features of hedonism of America in 1920s， which was named as the Jazz Age by Fitzgerald. Hedonism seeks for infinite pleasure and enjoyment， which matches with the principle of human’s id， the pleasure principle.
1.Daisy’s Lusty Id.
As other young girls， Daisy sought for romantic love； however， what she asked for extra was that the romance needed to be built on wealth and high social status. In one of the conversations between Nick and Gatsby， where they were commenting on Daisy， Nick thought Daisy got an indiscreet voice and Gatsby added that her voice was full of money， who talked to the point of this discourse. Daisy’s criterion for love was shallow and snobbish， which was mainly guided by her id， as she made decisions of her life solely based on the pleasure principle.
At the climax in this novel， Daisy rode in Gatsby’s car and ran Myrtle over in panic. She didn’t intend to confess the guilty and conspired with Tom to run away， leaving Gatsby to be in danger and then get killed by Myrtle’s husband. Their ruthlessness and indifference in the novel showed the characteristics of the group of upper-class people who were represented by Tom and Daisy， which was also criticized and despised by the author in the real life. 2.Hollowness Hidden in Unconscious.
In this novel， Fitzgerald paid special attention not only to Daisy’s diction but also the adjectives to describe her. The most frequently used adjective to describe Daisy was “white”， for instance， she wore in white， rode in white and lived in a white palace. Generally speaking， the adjective “white” is used to describe someone pure and graceful， however， in my perspective， the author meant to show the hollowness and emptiness hidden in Daisy’s unconscious.
To explore deeply into Daisy’s words， her psychological status and hollowness hidden in unconscious surfaced from her discourses. In the hottest day in the summer of 1922， all major characters gathered in Daisy’s house. Then Daisy said，“What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon？ And the day after that， and the next thirty years？ （116）”these three questions in arow constitute to Daisy’s bewilderment and fickleness. As they had no worries about money， all they had to worry about was how to kill time while others struggled in the abyss of suffering.
六、Conclusion
The thesis attempts to present a detailed study of three main characters in the novel The Great Gatsby in view of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic criticism.
The analysis of characters from the perspective of psychoanalytic criticism reminds us of the importance of personality and psychological condition to people. Psychoanalysis helps us to see the real relationship among people and catch the point in the social intercourse. A quick review of the whole thesis makes us reflect on Gatsby’s tragedy， which was also that era’s tragedy. However， it also gives hope to the reader as people like Nick who insists on his moral standards would judge the society with justice and compassion.
References
[1]陳晨.2009.黛西的矛盾——《了不起的盖茨比》中女主人公形象再析[J].山花 （6）： 139-140.
[2]朱建廷. 2005.《了不起的盖茨比》的“精神分析”阐释 [D].M.A Thesis.保定：华北电力大学.
[3]Fitzgerald， Francis S. 2011.The Great Gatsby[M].Beijing： Foreign Languages Press.
[4]Freud， Sigmund. 1993. Beyond the Pleasure Principle[J].New York： W.W.Norton & Company.