本科毕业论文---《本杰明巴顿的人生奇旅》中美国梦的破灭(论文)设计.doc

本科生毕业论文册

学院 外国语学院
专业 英语
班级 20XX级英语X班
学生 XXX
指导教师 XXX

河北师范大学本科毕业论文任务书
编 号：
论文题目： 初论《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中XX梦的破灭
学院： 外国语学院 专业： 英语 班级： 2010级英语三班
学生姓名： XXX 学号： 20XX01XXXX 指导教师： XXX 职称：副教授

1、 论文研究目标及主要任务
本论文的研究目标是探讨《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中美国梦的破灭的几个方面。其主要任务是分析二十世纪美国梦的破灭对现代人的启示。

2、论文的主要内容
本论文分为三章，第一章分析本杰明与其父亲、妻子和儿子的种种矛盾和利益冲突。第二章分析了本杰明父亲、本杰明和本杰明妻子各自地位的变化，来展示他们的社会地位最终的幻灭。第三章从本杰明和本杰明的父亲的角度阐释了美国梦的破灭。

3、论文的基础条件及研究路线
本论文的基础条件是文学家对菲茨杰拉德以及美国梦的研究结果。
研究路线是从不同的角度对《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中二十世纪美国梦的破灭进行详细的阐述，并分析美国梦的破灭对现代人的启示。

4、主要参考文献
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 2009. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Beijing: Law Press.
Kuehl, John. 1991. F. Scott Fitzgerald: a study of the short fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
常耀信. 1993. 《美国文学简史》. 天津: 南开大学出版社.
吴建国. 2002. 《菲茨杰拉德研究》. 上海: 上海外语教育出版社.

5、计划进度

阶段
起止日期
1
确定初步论文题目
2014年1月10日前
2
与导师见面，确定大致范围，填开题报告和任务书，导师签字
1月11日-1月17日
3
提交论文提纲
1月16日-3月8日
4
交初稿和文献综述
3月20日-3月28日
5
交终稿和评议书
4月30日前
指 导 教师： 年 月 日
教研室主任： 年 月
注：一式三份，学院（系）、指导教师、学生各一份
河北师范大学本科生毕业论文开题报告书
外国语 学院 英语 专业 2014 届
学生
姓名
XXX
论文（设计）题目
初论《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中XX梦的破灭
指导
教师
XXX
专业
职称
副教授
所属教研室
英语基础教研室
研究方向
语言学与英汉翻译

课题论证：通过二十世纪美国梦的破灭，探讨《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中XX梦的破灭的几个方面分析二十世纪美国梦的破灭对现代人的启示。

方案设计：第一章分析本杰明与其父亲、妻子和儿子的种种矛盾和利益冲突。
第二章分析了本杰明父亲、本杰明和本杰明妻子各自地位的变化，来展示他们的社会地位最终的幻灭。
第三章从本杰明和本杰明的父亲的角度阐释了美国梦的破灭。

进度计划：2014年1月10日前确定初步论文题目
1月17日前写开题报告、任务书
3月8日前提交论文提纲
3月28日前提交初稿和文献综述
4月30日前交终稿和评议书
指导教师意见：

指导教师签名： 年 月 日
教研室意见：

教研室主任签名： 年 月 日
河北师范大学本科生毕业论文评议书
姓 名
XXX
学院
外国语学院
专业
英语
年级（班）
2010级英语三班
论 文 题 目
初论《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中XX梦的破灭
完成时间
2014/4/12
论

文

内

容

摘

要

弗朗西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德是美国20世纪著名的小说家。他的作品以其独特的风格真实地记录和反映了美国特定历史时期里所呈现出的诸多典型特征，所以被誊为“爵士乐时代的杰出代言人”、优秀的“编年史家”及“迷惘的一代”的代表作家。他不仅亲身经历了美国历史上最奢华享乐的时代的生活，而且以敏锐的目光，审视着那个时代所发生的一切。
《本杰明·巴顿的人生奇旅》是菲茨杰拉德最著名的短片小说之一。《本杰明·巴顿奇事》讲述了本杰明离奇的人生故事。本杰明以七十多岁的老人模样出生，又以新生婴儿的状态死亡。他的一生都是越活越年轻。也正是由于他奇特的人生轨迹，本杰明，甚至他的父亲、妻子和儿子都生活在一个悲剧当中。
本文主要分析《本杰明·巴顿的人生奇旅》中体现的美国梦的破灭。本文共分为三章。第一章分析本杰明与其父亲、妻子和儿子的种种矛盾和利益冲突，体现亲情梦的不堪一击。第二章分析了本杰明父亲、本杰明和本杰明妻子各自地位的变化，来展示20世纪美国人对光荣的社会地位的错误认知，以及他们的社会地位最终的幻灭。第三章从本杰明和本杰明的父亲的角度，阐释了美国梦的破灭，并分析从美国梦的破灭到对生命的严肃思考。

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导
教
师
评
语

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指 导 教 师

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初评成绩

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答辩记录：

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河北师范大学本科生毕业论文文献综述
Literature Review
F. Scott Fitzgerald is a well-known American novelist for his great contribution to the American literature in the 1920s. Hemingway once recalled Fitzgerald and said that, “Since he can write such a good book as The Great Gatsby, I believe that he certainly be able to write a much better book”. A wave of enthusiastic study of his works commences in the last thirty years in China. A lot of scholars publicized their own distinctive views on his works. There are many observations and surveys of his works from different perspectives. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of Fitzgerald’s famous short stories and it has been studied from many aspects.
The following are the recent studies on the Jazz Age and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Yu Jianhua made an overall exploration of the American culture trends and literature overview in 1920s in The High Tide of American Literature, which had a specific introduction of entering into the Jazz Age. And he also discussed Fitzgerald, the famous representative of “the Lost Generation” from the origin and connotation. In the Chapter11 of A Survey of American Literature, Chang Yaoxin attempted to interpret the Jazz Age from its background and unique features, discovering and asserting the essence of life at that time, exposing and criticizing the utilitarianism view which influenced a whole generation. In The Short Stories of F.Scott Fitzgerald: New Approaches in Criticism, Jackson R .Bryer mainly analysed the short stories of Fitzgerald from the novels’ style and art. In the techniques of Fitzgerald's short stories, Alice· Hall·Petry discussed the love, sex and marriage; self and society; the will and fate; dream and disillusionment; historical consciousness; the concept of family techniques of Fitzgerald's short stories from the sequence of Fitzgerald’s works published.
In the Jazz Age and Fitzgerald’s novels, the breaking of American dream is an eternal topic. The American Dream is based on the ideology that each one，no matter what his origin is，can be successful through his own efforts and by cultivating his qualities. When the thirteen colonies became overcrowded, the settlers began to move west. The opening of the middle and western states increased the sense of hope and faith. The democratic system，first voiced in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1997, may be traced as the basic attitude of hope and confidence. So during the eighteen century and the nineteen century, when America was mainly an agriculture society, the dream was transformed into self-reliance. Since success was seen in a proper position in society, people tried to realize their ideals as much as possible because realization was seen as an important condition for a proper social status. The famous representative of rags to riches in this period is Franklin. Developing to the time of the Jazz Age in the 1920s and 1930s, the American dream of freedom and opportunity also became a dream of material advancement. The desire for wealth and status became almost virtuous pursuit. Most Americans were born with the American dream. They dreamed of making personal achievement, enjoying popular fame, or getting great wealth through their hard work. And any failure in achievement could lead to keen disappointment. And this encouraged a spirit of mutual suspicion of the motives of others and led to cases where obtaining of wealth begins to outweigh all other moral considerations. During the time of the Jazz Age, the American dream was doomed to fail, and this tragedy of failure was to a great extent related to the Consumer Culture at that time. In The Epic of America, Adams Truslow Adams held that “The American dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. The American dream is to be understood as an ethical doctrine that is symptomatic of a crisis in national identity during the thirties. The newly invented dream calls out for a supplement to the outmoded narrative of individual uplift, which had lost its moral capacity to guide the nation during the Depression”.
The reflection of the Jazz Age and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button indicates that the 1920s is a tragic age and the major characters in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are full of tragedy and melancholy. As a love story, it shows how time destroys love and how love revenges people. From the social point of view, this story is against the clock and that is the most distinctive part. It is a story about Benjamin Button, who was born as a seventy years old man and died as a newborn baby.
In conclusion, Fitzgerald was one of the most important writers who describe the breaking of American dream. The breaking of American dream of his works was studied by many people; however, people only study his long and major novels and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was not studied by people from the aspect of the breaking of American dream.

本科生毕业论文

题目：初论《X杰X•XX的XXXX》中XX梦的破灭

作者姓名： XXX
指导教师： XXX
所在学院： 外国语学院
专业（系）： 英语

班级（届）： 20XX届

完成日期:20XX年4月12日

On the Breaking of American Dream in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By

Ren Xianhui
Prof. Gao Tianzeng, Supervisor

A Thesis Submitted to the B.A.
Committee in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English Department of Foreign Language
College, Hebei Normal University

April 12, 2014

Abstract

F. Scott. Fitzgerald is a famous novelist in American twentieth Century. With unique style， his works truly record and reflect a lot of typical characteristics in the American specific historical period. So he is hailed as “the brilliant spokesman in the Jazz Age," excellent "Chronicle" and the representative writers of the "lost generation". He not only personally experienced the most luxurious and indulged life in the American history, but also looked at what is happening in that era with the sharp eyes.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was one of the most famous short storied of Fitzgerald. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button told a story about Benjamin’s fantastic life. Benjamin was born as a seventy-year-old man and died like a newborn baby. He became younger and younger all his life. And because of his strange life, Benjamin lived a tragedy life, as well as his father, wife and son.
This thesis analyses the breaking of American dream in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter shows that the dream of family love is too weak to be broken through the different kinds of contractions and conflicts between Benjamin and his father, wife and son. The second chapter reflects the wrong cognition of the Americans about the honorable reputation and eventually reveals the breaking of their social status, by analyzing the status changes of Benjamin, his father and his wife. The third chapter analyses the breaking of American dream in the view of Benjamin and his father, and further analyses the thought of life from the breaking of American dream.

Key words: Fitzgerald The Curious Case of Benjamin Button American dream

摘 要

弗朗西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德是美国20世纪著名的小说家。他的作品以其独特的风格真实地记录和反映了美国特定历史时期里所呈现出的诸多典型特征，所以被誊为“爵士乐时代的杰出代言人”、优秀的“编年史家”及“迷惘的一代”的代表作家。他不仅亲身经历了美国历史上最奢华享乐的时代的生活，而且以敏锐的目光，审视着那个时代所发生的一切。
《本杰明·巴顿的人生奇旅》是菲茨杰拉德最著名的短片小说之一。《本杰明·巴顿奇事》讲述了本杰明离奇的人生故事。本杰明以七十多岁的老人模样出生，又以新生婴儿的状态死亡。他的一生都是越活越年轻。也正是由于他奇特的人生轨迹，本杰明，甚至他的父亲、妻子和儿子都生活在一个悲剧当中。
本文主要分析《本杰明·巴顿的人生奇旅》中体现的美国梦的破灭。本文共分为三章。第一章分析本杰明与其父亲、妻子和儿子的种种矛盾和利益冲突，体现亲情梦的不堪一击。第二章分析了本杰明父亲、本杰明和本杰明妻子各自地位的变化，来展示20世纪美国人对光荣的社会地位的错误认知，以及他们的社会地位最终的幻灭。第三章从本杰明和本杰明的父亲的角度，阐释了美国梦的破灭，并分析从美国梦的破灭到对生命的严肃思考。

【关键词】 菲茨杰拉德 《本杰明•巴顿的人生奇旅》 美国梦

Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………1

Chapter One Human Relations…………………………………………………....5
A. Relation Between Benjamin and His Father………………………………...5
B. Relation Between Benjamin and His Wife…………………………………..6
C. Relation Between Benjamin and His Son…………………………………...8

Chapter Two Honorable Reputation………………………………………….…10
A. The Breaking of Roger Button’s Reputation………………………………..10
B. The Breaking of Benjamin Button’s Reputation……………………………11
C. The Breaking of Hildegarde Moncrief’s Reputation………………………..13

Chapter Three American Dream………………………………………………...15
A. The Breaking of American Dream in Roger Button’s View………………..15
B. The Breaking of American Dream in Benjamin Button’s View…………….16
C. The Thought of Life from the Breaking of American Dream………………17

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...20

Notes…………………………………………………………………………………21

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...22

v

Introduction

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of the short stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). In 1922, Fitzgerald published Tales of the Jazz Age, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Although The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not the most famous fiction of Fitzgerald, it shows the breaking of American dream, just as his other famous long stories, such as, The Side of Paradise (1920), The Great Gatsby (1925) and Tender Is the Night (1934).
Fitzgerald was born in a merchant family on September 24th, 1986. His ancestries were very rich; however, his family came down in the world since his parents. In 1913, he went to the noble university---Princeton University through his relatives’ help. But he put his energy and heart on social activities instead of study. So he always could not pass his exams. In order to erase his differences of his background and study, he tried his best to join the literature organization and to change his local accent.at the age of eighteen, he fell in love with a daughter of fortunes; however, the girl’s father said that the poor boy had no choice to marry his daughter. Then Fitzgerald joined the army in the summer of 1917 and yet he did not be appointed to go to the battlefield. In July, 1918, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre---the little daughter of the Supreme Court justice in Alabama. To marry Sayre, he strived to make money to let his wife live a rich life. Jazz age was the ten years that Fitzgerald and Sayre lived in an easy and luxurious life. But good time do not last long, Sayre was diagnosed schizophrenia. For his wife and daughter, Fitzgerald had to write for Hollywood for the high payer, on the other hand, he could not endure that his works were revised. What is the worse, the entire world sank into great depression in 1929 and the Fitzgerald time was lost. His works were not paid attention. At the same time, he began to drink excessively and he defaulted to hand in the manuscripts. As a result, periodical offices and newspaper offices stopped to appoint the manuscripts successively. On December 21st, 1940, Fitzgerald died for the reason of heart attack caused by the long time intemperance. Before his death, he went bankrupt and required to hold “the cheapest funeral” in his testament. Actually, all of Fitzgerald’ life was a breaking of American dream. He did his best to live in the high class; for all that, he lost himself in the luxury and dissipation life. Over and above that, Fitzgerald had his writing dream; nevertheless, he surrendered to the money society and died in tragedy.
The generation of American Dream had its own specific history background. Its origin could date back to the time when a great number of European immigrants came to this land. They had strong desire to get freedom and equality. Besides, some people who were Puritans held lofty ideality. They built up from nothing and worked in