ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of violent representation in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby from a postcolonial perspective. Fitzgerald is a leading figure of “Lost Generation.” His The Great Gatsby has been evaluated as the American canon in terms of its style and structure. Yet his misrepresentations of the other such as race, gender and class have been ignored owing to the aesthetic achievement of the text. This paper investigates and interrogates how he represents the other in The Great Gatsby. First of all this paper begins its discussion with re-reading of “Lost Generation” and talk about its discontent in terms of representation. Then this study goes on to define what is representation in cultural context and how it operates as power. Next three aspects of representation in the text will be discussed by demonstrating proper textual evidences. The key argument of the paper is that the protagonist Gatsby is described as a racial other from Tom Bucchanan's eyes. Gatsby is marginalized by the dominant whit Anglo-Saxon bourgeoisie even though he returns a rich man. The established group also marginalize the sexual other such as Daisy. The violence of representation is revealed through stereotyping the other as inferior being like an animal or potential terrorist like an monster. For this Fitzgerald translates class into race and vice versa. This racializing of the class and sexualizing of the race has been deployed as colonial strategies by the hegemony class in order to maintain its domination.

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