Abstract：Fitzgerald was a legendary writer in American literary of 1920s-1930s.He was the representative writer of Lost Generation and Laureate of Jazz Age. Most of the characters created in his novels were youths who pursued their dreams after World War I. They yearned for the past when American society prospered. At the same time, they felt confused for the future especially in the Great Depression in 1929. He described two similar experiences of the American’s pursuit for American dream distinctly in his novels The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night. The two novels revealed what people cared most was money in American society after World War I. In other words, the society was full of desire for materials, selfness and indifference. The people living in the society lacked of sympathy to others. The author implied the disillusion of American dream through Gatsby and Dick’s tragedy. This paper will display the heroes’ pursuit of the American dream and analyze the reasons of the disillusion from the perspective of money, love and social position.
Keywords: American dream; Wealth; Social position; Love; Disillusion
中文摘要：菲茨杰拉德是20世纪二三十年代美国文坛上富有传奇色彩的作家，他是“迷惘的一代”的代表作家，也是“爵士乐时代”的桂冠诗人。他的小说中塑造的人物形象大多是一群战后追求梦幻的青年男女,他们处在历史的交叉口，既怀念过去，又对未来感到迷茫。菲茨杰拉德在其作品《伟大的盖茨比》和《夜色温柔》两本小说中以细腻的笔触表现了二十世纪二十年代的美国风貌，小说揭示出战后美国社会金钱至上，没有感情只有物欲、自私冷漠的现实。作家赋予了主人公自己的生活经历以及为实现美国梦所做出的努力。主人公盖茨比和迪克的悲剧隐喻了“美国梦”的虚幻及其不可企及性，揭示了“美国梦”破灭的必然规律。本文将着重从三个方面来描述主人公对美国梦的追求以及美国梦破灭原因的分析。
关键词：美国梦；财富；社会地位；爱情；破灭
