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Abstract: As the core of American spirit, American Dream goes through the whole history of America, also through the American literature of different eras. Americans believe that even a poor person is able to promote his social status and achieve his worldly ideal through hard work and untiring struggle. While with the elapse of time, the connotation of American dream has changed though it still has the same meaning. The essay compares the values of the two leading characters in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and The Great Gatsby - Benjamin Franklin and Jay Gatsby, analyzing the difference between the connotation of American dreams of the two, exploring the essence of them and the reasons for the difference.29525
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Key words: American Dream; Benjamin Franklin; Gatsby
探讨美国文学作品中美国梦内涵的变化——以《富兰克林自传》与《了不起的盖茨比》为例
摘要：“美国梦”作为美国精神的核心内容，贯穿于美国发展的整个历史。同样，也贯穿于各个时代的美国文学作品中。美国人相信，即使出身卑微，只要通过自身的不懈努力与追求，也可以提升自己的社会地位，实现自己的人生理想。但是随着时代的变化，美国梦尽管仍保留着其原本意思，但其实际的内涵却悄然改变。本文即以美国梦为切入点，比较不同时代的作品《富兰克林自传》和《了不起的盖茨比》中主人公本杰明•富兰克林和杰伊•盖茨比的价值观，探讨不同时代下的两个人怀揣美国梦内涵的区别，并且探讨其本质，以及导致其不同的根本原因。
毕业论文关键词：美国梦；本杰明•富兰克林；盖茨比
Contents
ABSTRACT.1
KEY WORDS1
摘要1
关键词. 1
INTRODUCTION2
2. THE CONNOTATIONS OF AMERICAN DREAMS OF FRANKLIN.3
2.1 Pragmatism of Franklin.3
2.2 Humanistic Elements of Morality4
3. THE CONNOTATIONS OF AMERICAN DREAMS OF GATSBY .5
3.1 Idealism of Gatsby.5
3.1.1 Idealism in money.6
3.1.2 Idealism in love.6
3.1.3 Idealism in life.7
3.2 Morality of Jazz Age7
4. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN FRANKLIN AND GATSBY’S AMERICAN
DREAMS8
4.1 The Deep Exploration of Franklin' s American Dream: Puritanism8
4.2 The Deep Exploration of Gatsby's American Dream: Consumerism10
5. CONCLUSION12
BIBLIOGRAPHY14
The Change of Connotation of American Dreams in American Literature:
in The Case Study of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and The Great Gatsby
1. Introduction
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He is, especially, known as a politician writer. His representative work -The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin occupies an important position in the history of American literature, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the first in the United States, it is also one of the most important and most widely read autobiographical works. Whether from the angles of the autobiography or from the point of view of American history, it is of important significance（杨正润，2009）.”
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin tells the story of Franklin’ s experience of the success he achieves his enterprise and the moral integrity by personal efforts in spite of his poor family. In the Autobiography, Franklin reviewed his own struggle, which in fact also illustrates the connotation of the American Dream by his own experience .
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), known professionally as F. Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist and short story writer, whose works are seen as representatives of the Jazz Age, especially The Great Gatsby. Because of this, he is also ranked among the “Lost Generations”.