gatsby 7.docx
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gatsby 7.docx
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gatsby7
标题:
StyleasPoliticsinTheGreatGatsby
作者:
JanetGiltrowandDavidStouck
出版详细信息:
StudiesintheNovel29.4(Winter1997):
p476-490.
来源:
Twentieth-CenturyLiteraryCriticism.Ed.LindaPavlovski.Vol.157.Detroit:
Gale,2005.FromLiteratureResourceCenter.
文章类型:
Criticalessay
书签:
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全文:
COPYRIGHT2005Gale,COPYRIGHT2007Gale,CengageLearning
[(essaydatewinter1997)Inthefollowingessay,GiltrowandStouckusediscourseanalysistoshowthatthenovel'slinguisticsubtletiesmaskideasofsocialconservatism.]
TheGreatGatsbyisvaluedforthevividnesswithwhichitrendersanhistoricalera;perhapsmorethanbyanyotherAmericannovelwritteninthe1920s,weareconvincedthatwehearthevoicesofpeoplespeakingfromthatdecadebeforetheadventoftalkingmotionpictures.Asnarrator,Nickisthemediumbywhichthosevoicesareheardand,asprincipalspeakerinthetext,heservesasatranslatorofthedreamsandsocialambitionsofthepeoplewhosurroundhim.ButthedilemmaforreadersofthenovelishowtointerpretNick'svoice:
ishegenuinelycriticalofGatsby'sromanticimaginationandtheculturethatinformedit,ordoeshissuavetalkconcealanessentiallyconservativenature?
Majorstatementsonthenovelinthelasttwentyyearsidentifyimportantelementsofculturalcriticisminthetext.RossPosnock'sLukácseanreading,groundedinMarx'saccountofcommodityfetishism,viewsFitzgerald(andthestory'snarrator)asprimarilyacriticratherthananexponentoftheAmericanDream;hisassuranceofthespeaker'scriticalpurposeissuchthathecanclaim"thenovel'saccountofman'srelationtosociety...profoundlyagreeswithMarx'sgreatdiscoverythatitissocialratherthanindividualconsciousnessthatdetermine'sman'sexistence"(p.202).1EvenJudithFetterley,inherdenunciationofthetext'smisogyny,allowsthat"certainlythereisintheCarraway/FitzgeraldmindanelementthatisgenuinelyandmeaningfullycriticaloftheGatsbyimaginationandthatexposesratherthanimitatesit"(p.99).2Lesscertainofthetext'sradicalintentisa'queer'readingbyEdwardWasiolekwholocatesoneofthenovel'smeaningsintheconservatismofwhatheallegestobeNick'srepressedhomosexuality.AccordingtoWasiolek,NickdoesnotactonhisintensefeelingsforGatsby,butremainsavoyeur,andhedrawsattentiontoamasturbatoryimageandrhythminthelastlinesofthetext("Sowebeaton,boatsagainstthecurrent,bornebackceaselesslyintothepast")tosuggestaregressiveinfantilismatthenovel'scenter.3Andinadeconstructioniststudythatnegotiatesthecompetingclaimsofpsychoanalysis,feminism,andMarxism,GregoryS.JaysuggestsinpassingthatNick'sidentificationwithGatsbybelongstothatconservativeorderofsocialbondingwhereinwomenareviewedaspossessionsinmalepowergames.4ButJayalsoarguesfortheradicalnatureofthetextassertingthatTheGreatGatsbyis"aworkofculturalcriticismthatenacts...theintellectualanalysisofhowthesocialsubjectcanneverbeconceived,evenabovo,astheinhabitantofaworldoutsidecommodification,exchange,spectacle,andinspeculation"(pp.164-65).ThenJayasks,concerningthemomentinthetextwhenDaisyweepsoverGatsby'sshirts,doesNickreproducethesceneforustoreadcritically,ordoesheendorseDaisy'semotion--herthrillandsenseoflossatboththereachandthelimitsofGatsby'simagination?
Inotherwords,heasks(asifuncertainaboutthelargeclaimshehasmadeofthetext'sdesign),wheredoesNickstand?
Inthisessayweshallapproachthequestionofcriticalintentandexecutionthroughanexaminationofthenovel'sstyle.5WeshallusetraditionalaccountsofEnglishsyntaxtodescribeFitzgerald'satsentencelevel,butweshallalsousetechniquesfromdiscourseanalysisandlinguisticpragmaticsthatwillhelpusinvesitagestylisticfeaturesthatoperatebeyondthesentence,inthearenaoflanguageassociallysituated,asutteranceaddressedandreceivedbothwithinthetextandasanexchangebetweenreaderandwriter.Oneofthemajorcriticismsofstylistics,voicedstronglybyStanleyE.Fish,isthatobservableformalpatternsareinthemselveswithoutvalue,orelsethatstylisticsassignsthemvalueinawhollyarbitraryfashion,withoutregardtocontextsofreceptionandreaderexpectation(p.70).6Respectfulofsuchcriticisms,wepointoutthatouranalysisisinspiredbyadvancesincriticallinguisticsthatinsistthatstyleismotivated--bycontext,bydifferentialsofposition,bypoliticalinterest.InsteadofpresentingobservedfeaturesofFitzgerald'sstyleasisolatedformalities,welocatetheminlargercontexts,andexplainhowthesecontextsmotivatethebook'swordings.Firstwesituateourfindingsinaconsiderationofmodeinthenovel:
inthenaive(orfolk)romancemodeasitishistoricallymanifestedintheAmericanDream,andinitsironicversionmanifestedinthisnarrator'saccountofflagrantpartyingthatconvenesthetokensofsocialclassinAmerica.Then,afterexaminingcertainwaysofspeakingthatadheretothenarrator'smidwesternorigins,wewillclaimthatlanguageinTheGreatGatsbyprovidesuswithevidenceforthemultiple,seeminglycontradictoryreadingsofthebook.WewillshowthatalongsidetheexposeofAmericanmaterialism--theirresponsiblebehaviorsofthewealthyclass,thecorruptioninbusinesspractice--thereremainsaconservatism,aresistancetochange,andthatbothareevidentinthebook'slanguage.InthemannerofNick'sspeaking,wefindevidencethatthecriticalinclinationofTheGreatGatsbyisnotjusttowardsreformbuttowardsrestoration--restorationofasocialorderthathasbeenconfusedanddisturbedbyreconfigurationsofpowerandproperty,bythedishevellingforcesoftheage.
I
Thenovel'snarrator,NickCarraway,tellstwostories:
oneabouthisfabulousneighbor,theother,lessobviously,abouthimself.ThestoryhetellsofJayGatsby,initsbarestoutlines,followsthepatternofromance,thatreadingoftheindividuallifeasanidentityquest.JosephCampbellandNorthropFryehavebothdescribedthestructureofromancenarrativeandthetrajectoryofthehero'sprogression:
fromobscureoriginsheorshejourneysintotheunknownwhereanenemy,alover,andamentorallplaycrucialrolesinidentifyingwhotheheroisandwhereheorshefitsintotheworld.Morerecently,MichelFoucaultdefinessuccinctlytheessenceoftheromancemodewhenhewritesthatthemodernmanisnotthemanwhoattemptstodiscoverhispersonalsecretsandhishiddentruths;rather"heisthemanwhotriestoinventhimself,"whoiscompelled"tofacethetaskofproducinghimself"(p.42).7Forsuchanindividual,writesFoucault,thehighvalueofthepresentisindissociablefromaneagerness"toimagineitotherwisethanitis"(p.41).Foucaultusestheterm"modernman"ratherthanromancehero,buthisconceptofmodernityisnottiedtoanhistoricalepoch.Rather,hesuggeststhatmodernitybeconsideredanattitude,amodeofrelatingtocontemporaryrealitythatcanbefoundinotherperiodsofhistory,consistingessentiallyof"thewillto'heroize'thepresent"(p.40).Issuesofidentity,thenatureofpowerand,inFoucault'sterminology,anengagementwiththeOther--thesealllieattheheartoftheromancemodeandbearonanyreadingofGatsby'sstory.
StretchedovermuchofthenarrativeisthemysteryofGatsby'sorigins:
rumoredtobeanepheworacousinofKaiserWilhelm,andclaiminghimselftobethescionofawealthy,English-educatedfamily,Gatsby,Nicklearnseventually,isactuallyJamesGatz,thesonof"shiftlessandunsuccessfulfarmpeople"fromNorthDakota(p.104).8Gatsby'srejectionofthesehumbleoriginsissignaledbyanamechange,an"immigrant"surnameanglicizedandaformalfirstnamemadefamiliarandfashionablesounding.ThisreinventionbeginswhenGatsbyisseventeen,whenheleaveshomeandfamilybehindandmovesintoaworldof"reveries,"9whereonmoonlitnights"themostgrotesqueandfantasticconceitshauntedhiminhisbed"(p.105).Historically,thistransformationtakesplaceintheerawhentherobberbaronswerethemodelforpowerandsuccess.ForGatsby,bornonthemargins,DaisyFayistheembodimentofbothsuccessandtheunknown;herprivilegedsocialstatusrendersheramysteriouscynosureofsexualattraction,wealth,andsocialbelonging,andwhenhekisseshershebecomestheincarnationofhisdreamsand"unutterablevisions"(p.117).NickwritesthatinlovingherGatsby"committedhimselftothefollowingofagrail"(p.156);thatDaisywas"[h]ighinawhitepalacetheking'sdaughter,thegoldengirl"(p.127).ButGatsbydoesnotmeetthetestofwealthinDaisy'ssociety(thatspecificallyAmericanmeasureoftheromancequest),andheloseshertoarivalsuitor,TomBuchanan.ThespellDaisycastswithhervoice--that"low,thrilling"siren'svoicewithits"singingcompulsion"(p.14)that"couldn'tbeoverdreamed"(p.101)--hasbeenbrokenwhenGatsbycansaybluntlytoNick,"Hervoiceisfullofmoney,"andNickrecognizesthatindeedits"inexhaustiblecharm,""thejingleofit,thecymbals'songofit"wassimplythat--theseductivepowerofriches(p.127).SituatedattheheartofGatsby'sstoryisthemetanarrativecentraltoAmericanculture--thedeeplyconservativeideologyofcapitalism,thestoryofragstoriches,ofpower,loveandfameachievedthroughpersonalwealth.
Itisthenarrator'sroletodiscreditthismyth.ThestoryhetellsofGatsbybereftofthisillusionisastoryofviolence,despair,andghostliness--afantasticdream,distortedandgrotesque,likea"nightscenebyElGreco"(p.185
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