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【Abstract】Francis Scott Fitzgerald， known as a Jazz Age singer and a spokesman of “the Lost Generation”， is one of the most distinguished writers of the 20th century in America. His masterpiece The Great Gatsby is a classic in American literature， which is based on his love story with his wife Zelda Sayre. This novel is a dramatic reproduction of the degradation of the “Jazz Age”， and the disillusion of the “American Dream” in America after the First World War. This thesis re-exams the dramatic features in its background， characters， plot and language， and attempts to provide a new understanding of Fitzgerald’s work.
【Key words】dramatic; money; love; disillusion
1. Introduction
Dramatization， one of the most essential characteristics of The Great Gatsby， has received little attention. According to The Free Dictionary by Farlex， dramatization means “a dramatic representation in art or literature”. Professor Yu Jianhua generalized the novel by claiming that “the image of Gatsby completes step by step as the plot develops， and Gatsby’s dream comes to an end. The three elements intervene with each other yet develop in balance， creating a dramatic effect throughout the novel” （Yu 194）. Fitzgerald had a great interest and talent in drama， and he tried many times to perfect his idealistic plays. Furthermore， the adaptation of The Great Gatsby into a musical play at Yale in 1958 is an example showing that the unfailing love for Fitzgerald’s works.
2. The Dramatic Conflicts Reflected in the Novel
2.1 Money VS. Love
Money and love appears in the beginning of the story as a dramatic conflict. Daisy， Gatsby’s dream girl， she searching for the one and only man who could give her the true love. But Daisy chose to be a slave of money rather to fight against the overwhelming reality. After Daisy married Tom， the twisted conflict makes her going crazy. “If he left the room for a minute， she’d look around uneasily and say：’where’s Tom？’ and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door. She used to sit on the sand with head in her lap bu the hour， rubbing her fingers over his eyes， and looking at him with unfathomable delight” （Fitzgerald 83）. Daisy chose to turn a blind eye to the infidelity of her husband Tom. Yet Fitzgerald creates a much more rich guy， Gatsby， which makes this conflict more dramatic and intricate. In the chapter V， Daisy came to Gatsby’s gorgeous “palace” and admired everything in there till she saw the shirts with various colors. “Suddenly， with a strained sound， Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily” （Fitzgerald 99）. The irony is that it is the same guy who she loves and he also own a great fortune， but now she lost her judgment of money and love. The conflict become more complicated from this moment because now both Tom and Gatsby have enough money， and Gatsby is determined that money can buy anything including his dream girl Daisy with no doubt. However， Daisy refuses to back to Gatsby， and complains Gatsby “wants too much”. So far， although Gatsby longs for regaining his dream girl Daisy’s love， Daisy only loves money and status and what money can bring to her. In this case， Gatsby has still be an outsider in that upper class club. The conflict ends with the tragic death of Gatsby， an idealistic slave of love who is murdered by a realistic slave of money.
2.2 The American Dream VS. Reality
2.2.1 Failure of Gatsby’s Dream
In the first place， the character Gatsby was actually a typical American pursuing his “American Dream”， and also failed in such a pursuit. The conflict between dream and reality reach its climax， when the car accident happened. Gatsby thinks about nothing but Daisy’s feeling after the accident， while Daisy together with her husband Tom are thinking about make Gatsby to be the scapegoat. That is， obviously a vivid contrast between Gatsby’s naive dream and the harsh reality. After Gatsby’s death， Daisy and Tom went to a tour， while there were almost no one on his funeral except for Nick， and there was no even a flower or message from those guests， who used to come to Gatsby’s parties. When Gatsby died with his “American Dream”， there was nothing but the man-eating reality survived.
In the second place， the internal aspect of the conflict makes the disillusion of Gatsby’s dream more dramatic. Gatsby lives in his “non-material dream”， but still can’t escape from the cruelty of the deadly material reality. In chapter VI Fitzgerald points out：
The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg， Long Island， sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God- a phrase which， if it means anything， means just that- and he must be about His Father’s business， the service of a vast， vulgar， and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent， and to this conception he was faithful to the end. （Fitzgerald 104）
This Platonic conception encourages Gatsby to fight for his life and also his dream. Gatsby himself believes firmly that he will win back the past that Daisy has always love him instead of Tom. However， the truth is that compared to money and status， the true love is of little importance in Daisy’s eyes. Gatsby wants to buy back his love， which makes his dream more like a self-made farce. He knows nothing about this harsh world and also his idealistic dream.
2.2.2 Dream
【Key words】dramatic; money; love; disillusion
1. Introduction
Dramatization， one of the most essential characteristics of The Great Gatsby， has received little attention. According to The Free Dictionary by Farlex， dramatization means “a dramatic representation in art or literature”. Professor Yu Jianhua generalized the novel by claiming that “the image of Gatsby completes step by step as the plot develops， and Gatsby’s dream comes to an end. The three elements intervene with each other yet develop in balance， creating a dramatic effect throughout the novel” （Yu 194）. Fitzgerald had a great interest and talent in drama， and he tried many times to perfect his idealistic plays. Furthermore， the adaptation of The Great Gatsby into a musical play at Yale in 1958 is an example showing that the unfailing love for Fitzgerald’s works.
2. The Dramatic Conflicts Reflected in the Novel
2.1 Money VS. Love
Money and love appears in the beginning of the story as a dramatic conflict. Daisy， Gatsby’s dream girl， she searching for the one and only man who could give her the true love. But Daisy chose to be a slave of money rather to fight against the overwhelming reality. After Daisy married Tom， the twisted conflict makes her going crazy. “If he left the room for a minute， she’d look around uneasily and say：’where’s Tom？’ and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door. She used to sit on the sand with head in her lap bu the hour， rubbing her fingers over his eyes， and looking at him with unfathomable delight” （Fitzgerald 83）. Daisy chose to turn a blind eye to the infidelity of her husband Tom. Yet Fitzgerald creates a much more rich guy， Gatsby， which makes this conflict more dramatic and intricate. In the chapter V， Daisy came to Gatsby’s gorgeous “palace” and admired everything in there till she saw the shirts with various colors. “Suddenly， with a strained sound， Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily” （Fitzgerald 99）. The irony is that it is the same guy who she loves and he also own a great fortune， but now she lost her judgment of money and love. The conflict become more complicated from this moment because now both Tom and Gatsby have enough money， and Gatsby is determined that money can buy anything including his dream girl Daisy with no doubt. However， Daisy refuses to back to Gatsby， and complains Gatsby “wants too much”. So far， although Gatsby longs for regaining his dream girl Daisy’s love， Daisy only loves money and status and what money can bring to her. In this case， Gatsby has still be an outsider in that upper class club. The conflict ends with the tragic death of Gatsby， an idealistic slave of love who is murdered by a realistic slave of money.
2.2 The American Dream VS. Reality
2.2.1 Failure of Gatsby’s Dream
In the first place， the character Gatsby was actually a typical American pursuing his “American Dream”， and also failed in such a pursuit. The conflict between dream and reality reach its climax， when the car accident happened. Gatsby thinks about nothing but Daisy’s feeling after the accident， while Daisy together with her husband Tom are thinking about make Gatsby to be the scapegoat. That is， obviously a vivid contrast between Gatsby’s naive dream and the harsh reality. After Gatsby’s death， Daisy and Tom went to a tour， while there were almost no one on his funeral except for Nick， and there was no even a flower or message from those guests， who used to come to Gatsby’s parties. When Gatsby died with his “American Dream”， there was nothing but the man-eating reality survived.
In the second place， the internal aspect of the conflict makes the disillusion of Gatsby’s dream more dramatic. Gatsby lives in his “non-material dream”， but still can’t escape from the cruelty of the deadly material reality. In chapter VI Fitzgerald points out：
The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg， Long Island， sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God- a phrase which， if it means anything， means just that- and he must be about His Father’s business， the service of a vast， vulgar， and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent， and to this conception he was faithful to the end. （Fitzgerald 104）
This Platonic conception encourages Gatsby to fight for his life and also his dream. Gatsby himself believes firmly that he will win back the past that Daisy has always love him instead of Tom. However， the truth is that compared to money and status， the true love is of little importance in Daisy’s eyes. Gatsby wants to buy back his love， which makes his dream more like a self-made farce. He knows nothing about this harsh world and also his idealistic dream.
2.2.2 Dream