A Post-colonial Interpretation of The Great Gatsby 从后殖民视角解读《了不起的盖兹比》 Purpose and Significance of the Study Domestic and foreign scholars have interpreted it from many perspectives, most concentrating on the theory of writing techniques, feminism, historical perspectives, etc. However, few interpret this novel from the perspective of post-colonialism. This thesis aims to interpret this novel via the theory of post-colonialism, which is a new perspective to interpret The Great Gatsby. The analyses of characters may provide dialectal opinions for Chinese scholars who study it. What#8217;s more, the application of post-colonial notions offers readers a profound understanding of deep-rooted post-colonial ideology deeply hidden in American culture. In addition, in the past few decades, the topic of identities such as ethnic identity, national identity, class identity, cultural identity and gender identity, have been heated topics in literature arena. Last but not least, the topic of ethnic equality and discrimination is quite meaningful in modern life. One#8217;s belonging is difficult to be defined in the geographic sense of place and historical connections as one enters into a global age; the sense of belonging is often talked about among people, which plays an important role in the national integration and harmony in today#8217;s world. Literature Review The Great Gatsby brings Fitzgerald#8217;s works to a new level and makes his name as one of the greatest American writers. It is titled by the famous poet and literary critic T. S. Eliot as ”the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James” (Cheng 1-2), one of the greatest masterpieces that can stand the test of time and is listed as one of the best of twelve novels of America by Malcolm Cowley (1992). Besides, this novel has been adapted into movies with five versions, and they were respectively taken in 1926，1949, 1974, 2000 and 2013. According to cnki.net, the total number of the academic essays on it is 145, and the earliest is in 1997. Among them, there are 40 focusing on writing techniques, 38 on feminist, 15 on the historical and other perspectives, yet almost none of them make a post-colonial study. Li Xi (2002) analyzes the author#8217;s prominent capability of describing colors. Scholar S. P. Tavandashti (2009) makes a feminist interpretation of minor female characters like Myrtle, unfolding the twentieth century#8217;s American women#8217;s oppressed living status in aspects of tradition, faiths, ethnic morality in the patriarchal society, so as to call for people#8217;s awareness of women#8217;s rights. Zhong Yongfang (2012) analyzes the protagonist#8217;s tragedy from the perspective of New Historicism, warning people against wrong thinking and appealing to their establishing a correct outlook on life and value. Despite those scholars#8217; studies, few pay attention to the issue of identities of characters in this novel. The thesis attempts to analyze Nick and Gatsby by taking colonialism as the theoretical framework, in particular Edward#8217;s theories on Orientalism and ”the Other”, and Bhabha#8217;s opinions of ”the Third Space” and ”hybrid”. Methods and Procedures of the Study Edward Said is the earliest person who spreads from Europe to America the critical theory, which lays the foundation for his world-wide fame as a post-colonial critic. In his masterpiece, the most influential is Orientalism (1978). In Orientalism, there is a profound insight into the unequal relationship between the East and West, which suggests his criticism toward the later imperialism and cultural hegemony. Orientalism refers to three meanings: a political method in destination of helping to invade and dominate others for westerners; assisting the westerners to set up their superior figure; mistakening the image of eastern people and even the whole culture on account of the stereotype formed in westerners#8217; mind. That is to say, Orientalism distorts the culture in formerly colonized countries as inactive and unchanged, unable to advance with the time going. This prejudicial idea leads the colonizers to ethnocentrism both in their culture and their knowledge. Under the influence of such views, the westerners regard the easterners as ”the Other” and the people as inferior to them, voiceless and submissive. When they are constructed and framed, the easterners lose the feeling of identity and belonging. Then according to Fanon, they will turn to be ”individuals without an anchor, without horizon, colorless, stateless, and rootless-a race of angles” (718) just like the protagonist in The Invisible Man. Homi Bhabha is one of the most influential post-colonial theorist who defines hybridity as ”a problematic of colonial representation and individuation that reverses the effects of colonialist disavowal, so that other denied knowledge enter upon dominant discourse and estrange the basis of its authority-its rules of recognition” (43) in Signs Taken for Wonders. We may summarize hybridity as reprehensive of colonialism. In other words, hybridity remains a term used in colonialism, which was conversed in the construction of dominance under the circumstance of colonialism. For Bhabha, cultural differences cannot be limited within the general framework of freedom and democracy or Marxism-the general framework of historicism. Because these cultural differences are immeasurable, it is bound to lead to a kind of ”the Third Space”. This view is closely related to his colonial discourse and critique of Orientalism, whose main function is to stimulate the pleasure by monitoring/knowledge production in a form of complex sadness for the purpose of creating a space for the subjectivity. In Cultural Diversity and Cultural Differences, Bhabha mainly emphasizes interdependent relationship between the eastern world and the western world. He claims that all of hybrid space mixed with the colonizers and the colonized is called ”the Third Space”. He confirms that in this third space we can communicate with others and even ourselves. Spivak comments the effect generated by ”the Third Space”: ”The ”hybrid#8217; moment of political changed. Here the transformational value of change lies in the rearticulated, or translation, of elements that are neither the One, nor the Other, but something else besides, which contests the terms and territories of both”. (32）It is in the Third Space that the entire extreme in politics could be ruled out. The notion of ”the Third Space” makes two different or opposite social groups meet in the third space, in which the culture is different from neither of its original character, forcing people there to become a hybrid identity. Conclusion The thesis analyzes the main characters Nick and Gatsby of The Great Gatsby from the post-colonial perspective of Edward#8217;s theories on Orientalism and ”the Other” to disclose Nick#8217;s true identity as a colonizer and interprets his ethnic alienation, and of Bhabha#8217;s ”the Third Space” and ”hybrid” to expound how Gatsby becomes a hybrid and struggles in the Third Space. This study can firstly arouse readers#8217; reflection on colonialism as well as point out underlying reasons for Gatsby#8217;s identity crisis and tragedy. Second, it can improve our understanding of post-colonialism and the post-colonial ideology deep hidden in American culture. Third, with the tendency of globalization and the increased intercultural exchanges, our sense of belonging and identity are weakened; therefore, the interpretation of Gatsby may provide some enlightenment for modern marginalized people who are seeking for their individual identity as well as realizing their own dreams. Finally, by discussing ethnic problems and discrimination, the study may offer some inspirations for establishing a harmonious society. Works Cited Bao, Congyin. [鲍聪颖]. ”爵士时代”的青年文化及其文学表现[D]. 北京语言大学, 2008 Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. New York: Grove Press, 1994. Chen, Lei. [陈雷]. 对《了不起的盖茨比》的一种解读[J]. 国外文学, 2002(2) Cheng, Shuxian. ”The Disillusionment of American Dream in The Great Gatsby.” Overseas English, 9 (2013). Cui, Minglu[崔明路]. Wei, Ming. [魏明]. 叙事学框架下的《了不起的盖茨比》[J]. 西北大学学报(哲学社会科学版）, 2012(6). Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2009. Hua, Suyang [华苏扬]. 迷失在爵士时代：美国梦之破灭#8212;评析《了不起的盖茨比》与《夜色温柔》[D]. 苏州大学 ,2002 Li, Xi[李希], 论《了不起的盖茨比》中的色彩描写在刻画人物中的作用. 外国文学研究，2002 (3). Liu, Hongjian[刘洪健]. Zhao, Ting. [赵婷]. 《了不起的盖茨比》的艺术特色[J].山东文学,2007(1) Pan, Shaozhong[潘绍中]. 《了不起的盖茨比》[M]. 中国对外翻译出版社，北京，1993 Spivak, Doona. Landry and Gerald Maclearn. London NewYork: Routledge, 1996. Stanley Cooperman. F.Scott Fitzgerald#8217;s, THE Great Gatsby [M] Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1996 Sun, Shengmao[孙生茂]. 《了不起的盖茨比》的独特魅力[J]. 扬州师院学报（社会科学版）, 1994(3) Tavandashti, Soheila Pirhadi. ”A Feminist Reading of The Great Gatsby.” Diss. Islamic Azad University, 2009. Wu, Li [吴莉]. 爵士时代的精神崩溃[D]. 西南大学, 2007 Xia, Wanbi. [夏万碧]. 《了不起的盖茨比》中黛西的话语特征[J]. 时代文学, 2009(04) Zhang, Ruihua. [张瑞华]. 《了不起的盖茨比》的象征意义[J]. 外国文学研究, 1999(2) Outline 1. Introduction 1.1 Research background 1.2 Literature Review 1.3 The Significance of the Study 2. A Post-colonial Interpretation of Nick 2.1 Edward Said#8217;s View of ”Orientalism” and ”the Other” 2.2 Nick#8217;s True Self Identity 2.3 Nick#8217;s Ethnic Alienation 3. A Post-colonial Interpretation of Gatsby 3.1 Gatsby as a Hybrid 3.2 Gatsby as a Member of the Third Space 4. Conclusion