Masaryk University
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature Štěpánka Nárovcová The American dream and the destructive influence of distorted values in An American Tragedy and The Great Gatsby Bachelor thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Jiří Šalamoun, Ph.D. 2020 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. ……………………………………. 20 April 2020, Brno Author’s signature Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Jiří Šalamoun, Ph.D. for his guidance, helpful advice and supportive comments that he provided me throughout my work on this bachelor thesis. Furthermore, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. Anotace Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá tématem amerického snu a hodnot ve vybraných dílech Americká tragédie a Velký Gatsby. Práce obsahuje analýzu snahy o dosažení amerického snu hlavních postav Clyda a Gatsbyho a zaměřuje se na hodnoty, které volí na cestě k jeho získání. Závěrem této bakalářské práce je zjištění, že hodnoty hlavních postav spojené s bohatstvím, láskou a morálkou jsou pokřivené a negativně ovlivňují směr při pronásledování jejich amerického snu. Tyto hodnoty s sebou nesou destruktivní následky a vedou nejen k selhání jejich amerického snu, ale i k jejich smrti. Klíčová slova Americká tragédie, Americký sen, bohatství, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, hodnoty, láska, morálka, selhání, Theodore Dreiser, Velký Gatsby Abstract This bachelor thesis deals with the theme of the American dream and values in the selected works An American Tragedy and The Great Gatsby. The thesis analyses the pursuit of the American dream by the main characters Clyde and Gatsby and focuses on the values chosen on their way to achieve it. The findings of this bachelor thesis suggest that the main characters’ values of wealth, love and morality are distorted and negatively determine the form of their chase of the American dream. These values imply destructive consequences and lead not only to the failure of their American dream but also to their death. Keywords An American Tragedy, American dream, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, morality, love, The Great Gatsby, Theodore Dreiser, values, wealth Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Francis Scott Fitzgerald and Theodore Dreiser .................................................................. 9 2. The Roaring Twenties ....................................................................................................... 11 3. Definition and history of the American dream ................................................................. 12 4. Plot summary .................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 The Great Gatsby ........................................................................................................ 14 4.2 An American Tragedy ................................................................................................. 14 5. Background of the novels ................................................................................................. 16 6. Depiction of the American Dream in the stories .............................................................. 20 6.1 The Great Gatsby ........................................................................................................ 20 6.2 An American Tragedy ................................................................................................. 24 7. Values ............................................................................................................................... 29 7.1 Moral values ........................................................................................................... 29 7.1.1 The Great Gatsby ................................................................................................. 29 7.1.2 An American Tragedy ......................................................................................... 33 7.2 Value of wealth ...................................................................................................... 38 7.2.1 The Great Gatsby ................................................................................................. 38 7.2.2 An American Tragedy ......................................................................................... 41 7.3 Value of love .......................................................................................................... 44 7.3.1 The Great Gatsby ................................................................................................. 45 7.3.2 An American Tragedy ......................................................................................... 48 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 53 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 56 Introduction ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’(Fitzgerald 3) (Italics added) The idea of the very first line of the novel said by the father of Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, accompanies the whole story of Jay Gatsby as well as Clyde Griffiths, the main character of An American Tragedy. Both characters are influenced by poverty of their family, which makes them think more how to better themselves. Their American dream for a brighter future gets formed more precisely after their first encounter with wealth and women, which causes a transformation of their values. Although the American dream is similar in both novels since it includes wealth, women and power, it is different from the original idea of the American dream. As described in the theoretical part, the idea of the American dream was according to Adams formed centuries ago in minds of European settlers who sought for a better future in America. During the centuries, the form of the American dream changed as well as the tools and ways to achieve it. While in the 17th century it was believed that the American dream can be achieved by hard work, the pursuit of the American dream in the 20th century presented by Clyde and Gatsby is less pure. Both Gatsby and Clyde take an advantage of chances that occur in their life and thoughtlessly pursue their dream. Both the main characters focus on their dream too much that they ignore the morality of their actions. Moral values together with the value of wealth and love are closely analysed in the literary part of the bachelor thesis that brings the main finding of thesis. It suggests that warped values of the main characters lead to the failure of their American dream as well as their death. It is because the American dream and values are closely connected since the 7 values determine the form of the pursuit of the American dream and therefore also its achievement or failure. As for the content, this bachelor thesis consists of 7 chapters. After the introductory chapter, a theoretical part follows to introduce the authors of the novel, the history of the American dream, brief plot of the stories and background of the works to sum up the theoretical approach of the novels which should serve as a base for the following analysis of the American dream and values. Following two literary chapters focus on the American dream expressed in the novel, especially on its form, starting point and its end determined by distorted values of the main characters which are closely discussed in three subchapters. 8 1. Francis Scott Fitzgerald and Theodore Dreiser Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, was an American novelist, a short story writer and representative of the Lost Generation. He was famous for his depiction of 1920s known as the Jazz Age (Mizener). Fitzgerald studied at Princeton which he left without any degree in 1917. At the university, he met Ginevra King who became a model for his characters, e. g., Daisy Fay in The Great Gatsby (1925) or Isabelle in This Side of Paradise (1920) which is an autobiography of his days at Princeton presented by its main character Amory Blaine (Johnson). Soon after his studies, he joined the army and met Zelda Sayre, a daughter of a court judge (Mizener), who did not want to marry him because he did not have enough money. However, after the success of This Side of Paradise, they got married and the Fitzgeralds started to live their American dream (Johnson). In 1922, Fitzgerald wrote his second work The Beautiful and Damned (1922) – a novel about toxic wealth. Later, after publishing The Great Gatsby (1925), his wife Zelda experienced several mental breakdowns. Subsequently, Fitzgerald wrote a novel Tender is The Night (1934) which was an attempt to understand Zelda’s mental problem which led, beside other reasons, to Fitzgerald’s growing alcoholism. He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940 (Mizener). Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist, journalist of the naturalist school and the author of An American Tragedy which is closely linked with his life and job- experience. He was born on 27 August 1871 in Terre Haute, the State of Indiana (Hussman). His father was originally from Germany and his