by anonymous

最偉大的作家常常具有多重作用，既是其時(shí)代的象征，又是永恒神話的締造者。F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德（1896-1940）顯然符合這一描述。他的代表作《了不起的蓋茨比》是二十世紀(jì)二十年代這一所謂的“爵士時(shí)代”的佳作，然而它也有著穿越時(shí)間的特質(zhì)，不僅能回溯到哥特時(shí)代的頹廢墮落，也能延伸到正在快速衰落的美國(guó)未來(lái)。通過(guò)五部長(zhǎng)篇小說(shuō)、十部短篇小說(shuō)集和其他短文，菲茨杰拉德精確地記錄了二戰(zhàn)后的美國(guó)。即使是一個(gè)世紀(jì)之后，他的作品依然能夠引起讀者的共鳴。

由萊昂納多·迪卡普里奧、凱瑞·穆里根和托比·馬奎爾等明星主演的最新版《了不起的蓋茨比》即將上映，這位傳奇人物必將再次成為人們熱議的話題。

The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald， a 1）legendary figure of the 1920s， was a beautiful writer， and an 2）exceptional 3）craftsman. His 4）tragic life was 5）ironically similar to his romantic art， and a tragic example of both sides of the American Dream—the joys of young love， wealth and success， and the tragedies 6）associated with 7）excess and failure.

On September 24th， 1896， Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born into an Irish 8）catholic family in St. Paul， Minnesota. His mother was from a wealthy family， and his father， Edward， was a furniture

9）manufacturer. After Edwards business failed， he was employed by Proctor and Gamble， and the family moved to New York. The family lived there for some years； but in 1908， when Fitzgeralds father lost his job， they returned to St. Paul.

Fitzgerald 10）enrolled at Princeton University in 1913. There， he worked on The Princeton Tiger， a magazine published by the university. He also wrote for Princetons Triangle Club， an organization that put on musicals. Due to ill health and low grades， he left the university in 1915. He returned to Princeton in 1916， but left a year later without a degree and joined the US Army. 11）Stationed in Alabama in 1918， he met and fell in love with an 18-year-old Southern 12）belle—Zelda Sayre. The two became 13）engaged. After he left the army he took an advertising job for a short period. Unfortunately， his rather small salary was not enough to 14）convince Zelda to marry him. Tired of waiting for him to make his fortune， she broke off their engagement in 1919.

Back home in St. Paul， after rewriting it for the third time， Fitzgerald finished his first novel， This Side of Paradise， which was published in 1920.

Fitzgerald， suddenly a rich and famous author， married Zelda a week after its publication. Of this period， he later recalled riding up Fifth Avenue in a cab—young， rich， famous， and in love （he might easily have added handsome）—suddenly 15）bursting into tears because he knew he would never be so happy again. He was right. Despite great earnings and fame， he and Zelda lived 16）grandly and 17）luxuriously—but tragically.

A daughter was born in 1921 after the couple had spent some time in Europe. When Fitzgeralds second novel， The Beautiful and Damned （1922）， and a collection of short stories， Tales of the Jazz Age （1922）， sold well， they rented a house on Long Island and ran into debt because of their 18）reckless spending. Fitzgerald tried to recover by writing a play， The Vegetable （1923）， but it was unsuccessful. The Fitzgeralds went to Europe for over two years. The high points of this trip were the publication of The Great Gatsby （1925） and the beginning of Fitzgeralds friendship with Ernest Hemingway. In 1927， Fitzgerald went to Hollywood on his first movie 19）assignment. Afterward the Fitzgeralds again went overseas several times.

Zelda had her first major nervous 20）breakdown in 1930， and her following treatment in a Swiss clinic became the basis for Fitzgeralds next novel， Tender Is the Night （1934）. Zelda spent the rest of her life in and out of treatment centers， and Fitzgeralds own life ran a similarly unfortunate 21）course.

Fitzgerald earned over 400，000 dollars between 1919 and 1934， but he and Zelda lived so expensively that they barely managed to cover their bills. When Tender Is the Night failed to excite interest， 22）financial problems became 23）critical. By 1937， Fitzgerald owed 40，000 dollars despite continued earnings from magazine stories； Zelda had returned to medical care in 1934；and the years from 1935 to 1937 saw Fitzgeralds own 24）decline—increasing 25）alcoholism and 26）physical illness. Fitzgerald was able to 27）land a job as a screenwriter for MGM注 in 1937， and was able to pay off 28）the bulk of his debt. Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood alone and began an 29）affair with Sheilah Graham. Zelda would spend the rest of her life in the hospital soon after. On December 21st， 1940， F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack. He was 44 years old at the time. His 30）untimely death may have been caused by years of heavy drinking. Zelda Fitzgerald died in a fire at Highland Hospital eight years later.

美國(guó)作家F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德——二十世紀(jì)二十年代的傳奇人物——是一位文筆優(yōu)美的作家，也是一位無(wú)與倫比的藝匠。具有諷刺意味的是，他的悲劇人生和其浪漫的作品一樣，是美國(guó)夢(mèng)兩個(gè)對(duì)立面的悲劇例證：一面是青春愛戀、財(cái)富與成功的歡樂，另一面則是揮霍與失敗帶來(lái)的悲劇。

弗朗西斯·斯科特·基·菲茨杰拉德于1896年9月24日出生于（美國(guó)）明尼蘇達(dá)州圣保羅市的一個(gè)愛爾蘭天主教家庭。他的母親來(lái)自一個(gè)富貴之家，父親愛德華則是一個(gè)家具制造商。愛德華生意失敗后，受雇于寶潔公司，于是全家搬遷至紐約市。一家人在那里生活了幾年，但1908年當(dāng)菲茨杰拉德的父親失業(yè)后，他們回到了圣保羅市。

菲茨杰拉德于1913年入讀普林斯頓大學(xué)。其間，他為《普林斯頓之虎》——一本由普林斯頓大學(xué)發(fā)行的雜志工作。他也為專門制作音樂劇的普林斯頓三角俱樂部寫作。因?yàn)樯眢w欠佳以及學(xué)分過(guò)低，他于1915年離開了大學(xué)。1916年他又回到普林斯頓，但一年后未取得學(xué)位便離開大學(xué)加入了美國(guó)陸軍。1918年在阿拉巴馬州駐扎期間，他邂逅并愛上了18歲的南方佳麗——塞爾達(dá)·塞爾，隨后兩人訂婚了。離開軍隊(duì)后，他從事過(guò)短期的廣告業(yè)工作。不幸的是，他那微薄的薪水無(wú)法說(shuō)服塞爾達(dá)嫁給他。她厭倦了等待他賺錢致富，于是在1919年解除了兩人的婚約。

回到圣保羅市后，經(jīng)過(guò)三次重寫，菲茨杰拉德完成了他的第一部小說(shuō)《人間天堂》，并于1920年出版。

菲茨杰拉德一夜致富，成為了著名作家，并在小說(shuō)出版后的一個(gè)星期迎娶了塞爾達(dá)。后來(lái)他回想起這個(gè)時(shí)期，他乘車飛馳在（紐約）第五大道——年輕、富有、出名而且處于熱戀狀態(tài)（或許他會(huì)輕易地加上英?。獣?huì)突然潸然淚下，因?yàn)樗雷约涸僖膊粫?huì)如此快樂了。他是對(duì)的。除了巨大的財(cái)富和名聲，他和塞爾達(dá)生活奢華鋪張，卻充滿了不幸。

1921年，這對(duì)夫婦在歐洲度過(guò)一段時(shí)光后，他們的女兒降生了。菲茨杰拉德的第二部小說(shuō)《美麗與毀滅》（1 9 2 2年）和短篇小說(shuō)集《爵士時(shí)代的故事》（1922年）大賣之后，他們?cè)陂L(zhǎng)島租下了一棟房

子，并因?yàn)楹鷣y花錢而開始負(fù)債。菲茨杰拉德試圖通過(guò)寫劇本來(lái)恢復(fù)收入，但這部《蔬菜》（1923年）并不成功。菲茨杰拉德一家去往歐洲度過(guò)了兩年多時(shí)光，而這段旅程的高潮便是《了不起的蓋茨比》（1925年）的出版，以及菲茨杰拉德與歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威結(jié)下的友誼。1927年，菲茨杰拉德前往好萊塢接受他的第一個(gè)電影工作。此后，菲茨杰拉德一家又多次前往海外。

1930年，塞爾達(dá)遭遇了第一次重大精神崩潰，其后她在瑞士一家診所進(jìn)行的治療成為了菲茨杰拉德下一部小說(shuō)——《夜色溫柔》（1934年）的素材。塞爾達(dá)的余生都在治療中心進(jìn)進(jìn)出出，而菲茨杰拉德的人生也進(jìn)入了相似的不幸歷程。

菲茨杰拉德在1919至1934年間的收入超過(guò)了四十萬(wàn)美元，但他和塞爾達(dá)的生活鋪張無(wú)度，以致他們只能勉強(qiáng)支付賬單。當(dāng)《夜色溫柔》未能引起讀者興趣時(shí)，經(jīng)濟(jì)問(wèn)題變得嚴(yán)峻起來(lái)。到1937年，盡管為雜志寫故事獲得持續(xù)收入，但菲茨杰拉德依然欠下四萬(wàn)美元巨債。塞爾達(dá)于1934年再次住進(jìn)了醫(yī)院；而1935年至1937年也見證了菲茨杰拉德自身的衰落——酗酒和身體疾病日趨嚴(yán)重。

1937年，菲茨杰拉德攬到一份活計(jì)，成為了米高梅公司的編劇，并能夠償還大部分債務(wù)。菲茨杰拉德獨(dú)自搬到了好萊塢，并開始了和謝拉·格拉姆的婚外情。不久之后，塞爾達(dá)住進(jìn)醫(yī)院，度過(guò)余生。

1940年12月21日，F(xiàn)·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德因心臟病發(fā)去世，時(shí)年44歲。他的英年早逝或許源于長(zhǎng)年酗酒。塞爾達(dá)·菲茨杰拉德在八年后死于高地醫(yī)院的一場(chǎng)大火。

關(guān)于《了不起的蓋茨比》

《了不起的蓋茨比》被視為美國(guó)文學(xué)“爵士時(shí)代”的象征，也是菲茨杰拉德的最佳作品。它最初出版時(shí)并不受歡迎——菲茨杰拉德在世時(shí)的總銷量少于二萬(wàn)四千本，直至20世紀(jì)50年代再版時(shí)才受到廣泛注目。其后的數(shù)十年它更是成為美國(guó)高中、大學(xué)文學(xué)課的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)教材。

《了不起的蓋茨比》所包含的主題貫通了菲茨杰拉德的所有作品：對(duì)于財(cái)富的麻木漠視、美國(guó)成功神話的空虛，以及富人生活方式的庸俗糜爛。這是關(guān)于杰伊·蓋茨比的故事。杰伊·蓋茨比是一個(gè)年輕的百萬(wàn)富翁，他出生貧寒，過(guò)去的名聲并不好。他與他交往的社會(huì)階層并沒有太多聯(lián)系，而且沒有人知道他是怎樣發(fā)家的。雖然他舉辦眾多豪華的宴會(huì)，而且有許多人到他那里去吃喝玩樂，但他始終是一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的人。對(duì)于那些利用其聚會(huì)的人和那些他曾如此絕望地模仿的輕浮富人，他表現(xiàn)出道德上的優(yōu)越感。而蓋茨比之死源于他不現(xiàn)實(shí)地試圖挽回曾經(jīng)的戀人黛西。《了不起的蓋茨比》表現(xiàn)了美國(guó)夢(mèng)的興起和沒落。

關(guān)于“爵士時(shí)代”

“爵士時(shí)代”出現(xiàn)在20世紀(jì)20年代，一般指一戰(zhàn)以后、經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條之前約十年的時(shí)間。在此期間，傳統(tǒng)的清教徒道德土崩瓦解，享樂主義開始大行其道，爵士樂變得相當(dāng)流行。