畢業(yè)論文：The Unique Narrative Techniques in The Great Gatsby

The Unique Narrative Techniques
in The Great Gatsby


A Thesis Submitted in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts

Abstract
Fitzgerald, who has an outstanding position in the history of American literature, vividly displays the spiritual outlook of American upper class in the great depression period, and further reflects the theme of the disillusionment of the American Dream in the roaring 20s by his representative work The Great Gatsby, which is able to arrive at a near perfect one in profound ideological content and new narrative methods. This essay focuses on analytical study of narrative techniques in three aspects as follows :( 1) multi-angle narrative (2) narrative progress and latent readers’ interaction (3) poetic narrative

Key Words: narrator, The Great Gatsby, narrative process, latent readers’ interaction, poetic narrative.



摘要
菲茨杰拉德在美國文學(xué)史上具有杰出的地位，其代表作《偉大的蓋茨比》生動(dòng)地展現(xiàn)了大蕭條時(shí)期美國上層社會(huì)的精神面貌，深刻反映了20世紀(jì)美國幻破滅的主題。這部堪稱接近完美的著作，主要體現(xiàn)在它所蘊(yùn)含的豐富的思想內(nèi)容和全新的敘事方法上。本文從三個(gè)方面對(duì)《偉大的蓋茨比》的敘事技巧進(jìn)行分析研究：（1）多角度敘述者和讀者效應(yīng)；（2）故事進(jìn)程與讀者反應(yīng)批評(píng)（3）詩化的敘述

關(guān)鍵詞：敘述者；偉大的蓋茨比；敘事進(jìn)程；潛在的讀者反應(yīng)；詩化的敘述



Table of Contents
I. Introduction 1
i. Francis Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby 1
ii. Narrative techniques 2
Ⅱ.Mult
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-provoking spirits of the time. T．S．Elliot regarded it as “.The first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James, because Fitzgerald depicted the e*tolled grandest and most boisterous, reckless and merry-making scene”. (Fitzgerald)
Unlike other contemporary writers, Fitzgerald adopted in The Great Gatsby diverse narrative ways. Different small scenes and small stories in The Great Gatsby look like constant changes of scene in the album of painting, sticking to the subject vividly, dramatically and ironically. At the same time, something aroused a responsive chord in the hearts of its readers. For intense, it intensively embodied in struggling dreamer, romantic relationship, tragedies of life and morality. All these are controlled by the writer appropriately. In New York Times, readers of that time and critics considered it as the best one of Fitzgerald’s works and this book won praises from the critics. Mathew J. Bruccoli insisted that
“It is provided with remarkable capacity. With only one sentence, it can be objectively summarized style and features of times, affectionateness of night and lingering charm of old songs. Although it can not be considered as productions that will be handed on from age to age, the book appropriately hold the kernel of these ten years”. (Broccoli, 1984： 4)
The book has been welcomed by readers for quite a long time profiting from its high literary attainments in ideological connotation and its particular narrative strategy.
ii. Narrative techniques
At present, huge readers of The Great Gatsby still e*ists. This essay will introduce the analytical study of narrative techniques from three aspects: the first one is multi-angle narrative. According to what different characters（both the main characters and minor characters）saw and heard in their descriptions to analyze why the story is complete and close to a true story. The second one is narrative process and readers interaction, and the third one is poetic narrative.



























Ⅱ.Multi-angle narrative
Narrative is a telling of some true or fictious event or connected sequence of events, recounted by narrator. James Phelan regards narrative as a rhetoric behavior. He advocates that study should go on with the form of pluralism. (Shang, 2010:60)
i.Nick as an unreliable narrator and a hearer
The choice of the focal character—Nick, has polynary narrative angle. The special identity of Nick (as a hearer and unreliable narrator) makes that the leading character’s tragedy emerges so reasonable and thought-provoking. For Gatsby’s affairs, Nick was both involver and outsider. He was regarded as a link in the circle of them. In order to obtain information channel, the author arranged for Nick’s special identity----(1)Jordon’s lover;(2) Daisy’s remote cousin; (3)for Tom, they were classmates in college; (4)and Gatsby’s neighbor. The book gives an account of Nick’s e*perience, which is a part of Nick’s life. And Gatsby’s stories are included in Nick’s life.

As for narrator’s angle, at the beginning, Nick is only a hearer and unreliable narrator. Some information about Gatsby is known from the chatting with Catherine (Mytle’s sister):
“Do you live down on Long Island, too?” she inquired.
“I live at West Egg.”
“Really? I was down there at a party about a month ago. At a man
named Gatsby’s. Do you know him?”
“I live ne*t door to him.”
“Well, they say he’s a nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s. That’s
where all his money comes from.”
“Really?”
She nodded.” (p27)
Readers only know a rich man named Gatsby who held parties at West Egg, while the unreliable narrator himself and readers can not identify whether “he’s a nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s. That’s where all his money comes from” is true or not.
ii. Nick as the first person witness (“I” as witness) and unreliable narrator
As the story goes on, Nick has opportunities to approach Gatsby and his life. Then the narrator changes his angle from the first person hearer to the first person witness (“I” as witness), and also unreliable narrator. He began to become a part of Gatsby’s life. By this way, the impression of Gatsby may be known by readers step by step, no matter those Gatsby’s information are true or not. During summer that something happened in the parties seems like pictures shown to readers: music, beautiful garden, champagne, private beach, glamorous party, different kinds of participants in Gatsby’s ……（未完，全文共32419字，當(dāng)前僅顯示5831字，請(qǐng)閱讀下面提示信息。收藏《畢業(yè)論文：The Unique Narrative Techniques in The Great Gatsby》）