The Great Gatsby11119赵晔辉精选.pptVIP

The Great Gatsby 赵晔晖 11119 Themes 1. Decadence of American dreams 2. Hollowness of the Upper Class 3. Change 4. Other related themes 1. Decadence of American dreams It depicts the period after the end of World War 1, ending with the onset of the Great Depression. It is an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. Reasons: When World War I ended in 1918 Result the corruption of the American dream analysis evidence Nick and Gatsby, both of whom fought in World War I, exhibit the newfound cosmopolitanism [?k?zm??p?lit?niz?m] 世界主义 and cynicism (愤世嫉俗） that resulted from the war. 2. Hollowness of the Upper Class Conflicts between new millionaires and the old aristocracy of the country’s richest families. Old aristocracy: stereotype, inconsiderate,brutal New rich people: sincere, passionate Fitzgerald [fits?d?er?ld] portrays the newly rich as being vulgar（粗俗的）, gaudy（花哨的） ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. In contrast, the old aristocracy possesses grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance. However, What the old aristocracy possesses in taste, however, it seems to lack in heart, as the East Eggers prove themselves careless, inconsiderate bullies who never worry about hurting others. Eg. The Buchanans exemplify this stereotype when, at the end of the novel, they simply move to a new house far away rather than condescend[?k?nd?‘send]屈尊 to attend Gatsby’s funeral. 3. Change(double meanings） 1. It is a story about change and those who resist it. Americans from the 1920s to modern day have plenty of experience with changing economic and social circumstances. “...it‘s easy to see echoes of?Gatsby’s basic conflict between established sources of economic and cultural power and upstarts(新贵，突然兴起之物） in virtually all aspects of American society. CHANGE 2 2. Gatsby failed to a keep up with the emotional change of Daisy. Although Gatsby remains ful