Pursuit for dreams
—after reading The Great Gatsby
I have heard of the famous novel The Great Gatsby for many years. However, until recently have I got the time and mood to read it. As soon as I finish reading, I find my previous unwarranted assumption of it totally wrong.
This is a story about Gatsby and his pursuit for the ‘American dreams’. During the World War One, the poor soldier Gatsby fell in love with an upper class girl named Daisy. But due to the wide gap between them, Daisy decided to marry Tom, a man of her class, instead of Gatsby. Broken-hearted Gatsby then held the conviction that money was of the greatest importance. He strongly believed in the ‘American dreams’, which as we all know, advocates that one can achieve whatever he or she likes through continuous efforts. He strived for five years to become a millionaire and bought a villa near Daisy’s to attract her. He was too addicted to his fantasy to realize that Daisy was no longer the lovely girl she used to be. Eventually, he was killed because of her crime.
After reading it, something reverberates in my heart. I can’t help thinking of the theme Fitzgerald trying to convey. One thing may be the lonely void of people’s spiritual world. I am deeply impressed by chapter 3,
There were beautiful girls, drunk men, and boisterous crowds there, but none of them perceived the pointless of their lives and the barren of their minds. To see this phenomenon deeper, there were two circumstances underlying it. The first is the lack of dreams. Some people, especially the people of the upper class, lived an aimless life. They wasted their time and money and took an indifferent attitude towards life. They chased for temporary ecstasy but lost their identity in eternity, namely Daisy and Tom. The second is the misleading of dreams. Some others like Gatsby, bravely pursued their dreams, yet going to a diverged way unconsciously. They might mix up the concept of a richer life and a happier life, viewing a higher social state and a peaceful fulfilled life as equality. Unfortunately, when they were busy chasing their dreams, everything changed with time. When they were anxious about the to-gets, they ignored what they had already had and lost the alert to the constant changes. The excellent use of symbolization illustrates this idea perfectly. The imagery of ‘green light’ is the most important symble which occurred three times in the novel. The green-light’s obscure in the mist indicates the dim of Gatsby’s dreams.
As far as I am concerned, this story can serve as a reminder for us. To live a meaningful life, we should carefully choose some dreams to pursue. And in the process of fulfilling our dreams, we
should always be concious about what we really desire. Anyhow, only by pursuing the proper dreams can we finally get to the deep springs of happiness.
Live
This month, I have finished book live which describes how a man lives strongly after experiencing his whole family members dead. This story is a tragedy but the major character insists on living instead of committing suicide. The main role’s name is Fu Gui whose family is very rich. He is a gambler and loses all his family property earned by his grandfather. He is caught by the army and used as labor on his way to find a doctor for his mother. After a few years, he comes back to home and is reunited with his family. After a while, his son dies because of blood donation. In his whole life, his daughter, his wife, his son-in-law and his grandson die one after another. Finally, he is the only one who survives with an almost dying cow.
After so many horrible things, Fu chooses to live and does not cry the following of his life. Maybe he has already given up any hope to live happily but he needs to live.. The truth that no one but him is in his family has not knocked him down. However, I think that the thing which is alive is his body not his heart. In the end of the story, he and his cow walk in the field and he talks to the cow and calls out all his family’s name. Eventually, he lives with his family which is in his memory.
Life will never go smoothly. People will face a lot of difficulties and setbacks in their journey. As a pessimist, life is a tragedy for me. We have to work hard and compete with others to survive without any rest. After more than ten year’s study, I finally go to college but I have to forget everything I have learned before and learn a different way to survive in the society. I feel so tired but I cannot give up because my family needs me. We are the least important things for the whole world but we are the most significant gifts for our family.We are human not animal, which dooms us to struggle for our life. We have no choice but to fight. No matter what happens, the only thing we need to remember: as long as we live, we will have hope in the future.
Greek myth story has handed down for about more than three thousand years. Brilliant and grand scenes, vivid and distinct personalities, exquisite and flexural plot, so it was overwhelmed by all over the world readers. The Greek myth story is the same as the Bible that has a comprehensive influence to the whole human religious, philosophy, thoughts, customs, natural science, literature and art. When we contact with the western culture, we will meet some literary quotation that almost comes from the Greek myth story, and almost all the classical western literary can find the plot or characters that involved or directly originated from Greek mythology. Just as the Bible we need understand, we also should know the myth stories. That not just a literary works, also a production of culture of that time and an exhibition of the social surroundings and problems of the current western countries. If we want to know western culture, we need to read this book. It is a summary about gods and heroes story of the ancient Greek nation. It mixed up the real life with the fantasies.
In the first chapter, it mainly talked about the Prometheus, who was only seed of the ancient god family that exiled by Zeus. He is intelligent and wise, created human beings according to the god’s appearance, and stuffs they need. All Prometheus did was caused Zeus’ envy, and stole fire make him tied in the mountain and pecked
by the eagle sent by Zeus. Then the story begins from here.
The chapter two talked about the era of the humans. The God began to create the first generation of human that is the golden generation. They lives happily and had a peaceful ending. Then god created the second generation of human with silver. They are fall into the abyss of suffering due to their immature in spirit and the wanton behavior. Zeus was angry and destroy them create the next generation called bronze. They’re rude and cruel always fighting with each other. The fourth generation was we called half-god; they’re more justice and fair. But a ancient poet who exclaim over the fifth time he lived, ‘they made by black iron, they thoroughly corrupt, completely destroyed, and is full of pain and iniquity; they anxiety and distress for day and night, no peace; God only constantly add new worry to give them. There is no hope for human but despair and pain ’. So we can conclude that the man in that time in the western they also lived very pain. Full of hatred between human beings, brothers is not honest and love each other, white-haired parents gets no respect and compassion, old man is abused. Such a painful and disappointed world.
Whatever the Zeus, the main god and also has abundant emotions, just like man. And his wife Hera is the daughter of Cronus, and in charge of the family and marriage, she has a strong jealous
about whom his husband loved, she also was the symbol of the power. This phenomenon was showed by several chapters. And some chapters were talked about some heroes worshipped in that situation. So in other words, it was an ideal product of the bad social condition, was the pain people"s spiritual pillar, just as the Bible. The miserable people can’t change the lives and bad conditions, but only obtains psychological comfort. Although there is no god, but we learned that the Greek myth story which reflect the culture the history and the human mental outlook is nice and eternal. It records infinite ideal and hope for the human pursuit in life, but at the same time, how much inventory of the human to strive for and spatter of tears and laughing.
The Greek myth is a heavy book. Many of the characters and complex relations make the person annoyed, make a person impatient; But many appalling things and make the person feels depressive, boring, and even asphyxia. Although Greek mythology is mainly sing praise to heroes, but I think also deeply expose and criticize the ugly humanity. Greek mythology it is a treasury of knowledge for human nature criticism. Family love can be false. Today maybe still be your brother, tomorrow may become your enemy. Love is not reliable make people easy to think of perishable food, difficult to preservation for a long-term. Lusts hoodwink the
heart, killing and revenge filled with the world, killing cause vengeance, vengeance and repetitive killing. Even god also exist human selfishness and ugly. Zeus in this aspect reflects particularly special. Although he is the Lord of the gods, but there is no that kind of emperor feeling who should behave. He is infatuated with worldly woman, or incarnation spirit beast, or incarnation, handsome, close to lure beautiful woman, everywhere leave merry seed. The woman knew that he was the Lord of all gods besides accept this destiny, can still how to do? Nothing. Zeus"s wife Hera jealousy extremely heavy. As the same victims for the women, she not only did not give enough sympathy, but resent and revenge in their body, as if someone else is seduce her husband not her husband cheat others. The unhappy or angry between this couple, directly caused the pain of others. Iraq is one of the typical victims. When Zeus know he seduce the Iraq things have been known by Hera, he put the Iraq into a cow in order not to let Hera find the Iraq. But it still make Hera found out, she sent a servant guarded the Iraq. From now on Iraq cannot back to home even she has family, they cannot recognize each other even loved ones near at hand, the worst is leave their homes and the undertake the lovesickness . Greek mythology to person to god has made a real show, not whitewash light, and also do not cover the darkness. Not because he is a hero and cover the mean, not because he is god and conceal its
hypocrisy. Criticism of human nature is deeply rooted in this soil, so critical to appear deep powerful.
Through man’s fantasy, with a kind of involuntary artistic way processed natural and social form is made by imagination and the aid of imagination to conquer nature, control the forces of nature to visualize ". So the myth is an exploration of human nature and ego and natural and self -relationship. Marx said that.
Now whatever the stories or movies both originate from the Greek myths. It not only a classical literary, but a great reference for us. We can learn not only interesting things but encyclopedic information. In the west, more or less you know about the myths, always becomes a measure for man’s education degree. Greek mythology had already become an integral part of the whole western culture shall be, and constantly affect the western social culture and the development of literature and art. Many of the plots of Greek myth now have changed to some the most basic structure of western culture. Through the interpretation of Greek mythology of the human nervous, it is laid the foundation for today’s western social moral and ethical structure.
