Contents

Introduction 1

1。 The information we get from the title before we read the novel 1

1。1。 The direct information given by the title 1

1。2。 The imaginations bring by the title 2

2。 The information we get from the title after we read the novel 4

2。1。 The first part of information gotten from the title---the popularly recognized themes 4

2。2。 The second part of information gotten from the title---a less recognized theme 5

3。 The comparison with other titles 7

3。1。 The titles made for Fitzgerald’s other long novels 7

3。2。 The earlier titles made for Tender 9

Conclusion 11

References 12

Introduction

As far as I am concerned, none of the title comes from none and few of them come from a whim。 As for Fitzgerald, he revised his novels again and again, so did he do with their titles。 Thus, I feel the necessity to probe into the titles of Fitzgerald’s novels; especially Tender is the Night which I fall for in the first glance and can’t help repeatedly thinking about it time and again。 The title is so simple with barely four words, but the meanings it contains and the information it conveys is affluent。 论文网

1。 The information we get from the title before we read the novel

If we compare an epigraph of a novel to an appetizer of a great meal, the title is like the appearance of a restaurant。 An epigraph illuminates important aspects of the story and gets us headed in the right direction as an appetizer encourages us to have a further try of the meal, while before we expose ourselves in the attraction of the epigraph or the whole novel, we must first fall for the title。 Therefore, there is always a necessity to think about the title for a while, contemplating the information it leaks to figure out the possibility of it being a good novel that is worthy of our time and grasp the precious time when our minds have not been confined to what have been shown to us to enjoy the joy of envisaging its potential plots and themes with the sight of only the tip of the iceberg。

1。1。 The direct information given by the title 

In fact, the title only have four simple words among which “tender” and “night” are the two that needs deeper dig。

About “tender”, in Chinese The Tao Te Ching, translated by Lin Yutang, Lao Tzu puts forward the idea:

When man is born, he is tender and weak; 

At death, he is hard and stiff。

　　      When the things and plants are alive, they are soft and supple;

　　      When they are dead, they are brittle and dry。

　　      Therefore hardness and stiffness are the companions of death,

　　      And softness and gentleness are the companions of life。

　　      Therefore when an army is headstrong, it will lose in a battle。

　　      When a tree is hard, it will be cut down。