An Analysis of the Dramatic Features Embodied in The Great Gatsby

包學芳

【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 Fitzgeralds 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 Gatsbys 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 Fitzgeralds 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， Gatsbys 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， shed look around uneasily and say：wheres 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 Gatsbys 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 Daisys 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 Gatsbys 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 Daisys 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 Gatsbys naive dream and the harsh reality. After Gatsbys 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 Gatsbys 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 Gatsbys dream more dramatic. Gatsby lives in his “non-material dream”， but still cant 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 Fathers 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 Daisys 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 & Disillusion of Other Characters

In The Great Gatsby， Fitzgerald creating the character Gatsby that gives him the ability to exist with two splitting egos， they are Gatsby himself and the narrator Nick. Gatsby himself lives in the dilemma in reality， and Nicks existence actually completes the image of Gatsby. In fact， Fitzgerald creates another Gatsby， that is， using Nick Carraway as a narrator. “Nick and Gatsby， just like Rudolph Miller and Blatchford Sarnemington， were originally doubles， projections of two different aspects of Fitzgeralds own personality” （Piper 97）. Piper also pointed out that “Nick is one aspect of Fitzgerald （also Gatsby in the novel）， judging another aspect of himself. To do this Nick must possess not only sympathy but also the capacity for moral judgment” （Piper 99）. Nick is keep clam and awake all the time， on the contrary， Gatsby is remain drunk through the whole story. After the death of Gatsby， Nick actually takes over all the role of Gatsby， staring at the evil world and warning people of the disillusion of the so called “American Dream”.

Daisys personality is even more splitting and complicated compared with Gatsby. Daisy lives with her set of principles. In fact， she is nothing but a pretty face who has the fantasy of Gatsby. She is a combination of naivety and evil， beauty and ugliness， and love and crime. Daisys evil side finally kills her spiritually. To do her justice， Daisy has feelings for Gatsby， and she is unwilling to marry Tom who is the symbol of money and status. However， Daisys existence is meaningless without Gatsby. Ironically， she is the one who “kills” Gatsby and also enjoys to make Gatsby a scapegoat without hesitate.

At last， Fitzgerald clears all of the “performers” away from that funeral， which makes the ending more dramatic and more like a tragic farce. In one word， “the story narrated by Nick Carraway about Gatsby is actually a chorus of splitting personalities produced at a certain time in a certain place” （Wu 114）.

3. Conclusion

Fitzgerald works so hard to perfect his language， which is a essential element to make his work full of charm and beauty. There is a kind of dramatic atmosphere between his lines. Fitzgeralds dramatic words and expressions enrich the images of those major characters， and lots of his expressions become popular quotations as well. In this case， The Great Gatsby is a triumph of American vernacular. The Great Gatsby perfectly combines a harsh social tragedy with a traditional love story by using his extraordinary language. The “American Dream” bursts like a bubble at the end of this dramatized story of Gatsby. Yet the dramatic conflict between dream and reality continues from generation to generation， and “we beat on， boats against the current， borne back into the past” （Fitzgerald 188）.

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