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悦读人—“外研社杯”中国政法大学第一届英语读后感大赛

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一等奖（3名）：

1.

The Great Gatsby and the collapse of the American dream: the book report of The Great Gatsby

As an outstanding writer in American literature in the 1920s, Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most talented writers in the "lost generation". His works reflect the disillusionment of the "lost generation" to the "American dream" after the first world war in the United States, and describe the impact of the war on the social atmosphere in the United States, including the shaking of the traditional morality of the bourgeoisie and the spiritual world of the young generation who are uninhibited and depressed.

The story is told by Nick, a bystander. In 1922, a young man named Nick rented a house in Westegg village and his cousin Daisy lived with her husband Tom in Eastegg village. Next door to Nick lay a mysterious man, Gatsby, who lived in luxury. Every weekend, he would stay up all night, holding a grand banquet for various guests, some of whom even never met the host, while Gatsby seldom appeared at the banquet. The speculation about Gatsby's background aroused Nick's curiosity. Later, Nick learned that Gatsby came from a poor family and fell in love with Daisy, a beautiful girl from a rich family, while he was in a military camp in the south. After the outbreak of World War 1, he was sent to the European front. When he returned five years later, Daisy had already married Tom. From then on, he took money as the means to realize his love, through illegal trafficking of bootlegging and gambling, so as to become rich, and tried an American way -- a lavish way to please Daisy. His great wealth, his luxury banquet and his fancy clothes, indeed had attracted the attention and admiration of Daisy, but when Tom revealed Gatsby who got rich illegally, she was afraid of losing Tom who could give her a social status and an extravagant life. When Daisy accidentally hit and killed Tom's mistress -- Mrs. Wilson on the way home, Gatsby took the initiative to protect Daisy, while Tom blamed Gatsby for his adultery and Daisy's murder, inciting Wilson to kill him. Ultimately, Nick saw through the hearts of the rich and upper-class life he once longed for, so he left New York and returned to the Midwest.

As is known to all, America is a nation that prides itself on dreams, which offers a deadly allure for all, with the desire to make a fortune in this land of plenty and opportunity and the desire to be spiritually lifted in a land of moral perfection. It encourages individual to struggle, believing that a young man can achieve what he seeks as long as he strives for himself.

On one hand, Gatsby's "American dream" was embodied in his "dream of wealth". No matter how rich Gatsby was, when he tried to fit into the circle of the upper class, which he had been longing for a long time, his humble origins made him the perfect material for the suspicion and rumor of the so-called celebrities in the upper class. As suspicions grew, Tom finally uncovered his illegal dealings. He worked hard to create material wealth, which did not assist him to achieve but shattered the pursuit of his "dream of wealth". At Nick's funeral after his death, none of the old guests showed up, and the bleak mood of the funeral was in stark contrast to the pomp and bustle of the old banquets, suggesting that he was not at all accepted by high society.

On the other hand, Gatsby's "American" dream was also reflected in his "love dream". He believed that money could purchase Daisy's love. The reason why Daisy had such a strong attraction to him was that money decked her into a noble princess, preventing her away from being linked to humbleness, dimness and lack of security of life. Gatsby's vanity got great satisfaction, suggesting that with efforts, he could become a rich man, a member of the society, together with a rich girl in love. However, Daisy did not love him as much as he imagined, but she was just what he desired, and his selfless love shrouded in a circle of ideal halo. Five years later, even if he was aware that Daisy that he had missed day and night was not as beautiful as he imagined. Supported by fantasy, Gatsby wanted to win back Daisy's heart. In fact, his determination and motivation were due to his unforgettable memory of Daisy, as well as his request to realize his dream and his strong desire for a better future. Eventually, the "love" at the cost of living was disillusioned, and Gatsby's "American dream" was also shattered.

Gatsby was worthy of sympathy. His life began with a dream and ended with another dream. Gatsby's tragedy reflected one of the main contradictions of "American dream" -- the contradiction between ideal and reality. Gatsby and Tom respectively represented two great forces in American society: one was idealism that was far away from reality, and the other one was extreme selfishness and cold-blooded pragmatism. Fitzgerald used the competition between Gatsby and Tom to show the contest between spiritual idealism and materialistic realism.

Tom, as a pragmatist, was recognized and approved by the American society mainstream. Although his personality was dark and cold, he was a guardian of traditional ideas. Gatsby, as an idealist, was naive and pure, who pursued pure love and sticks to his ideal. The opposition exactly reflected the true face of the so-called upper class.

Gatsby's ideal was incompatible with the reality. His "American dream" of fair competition, in addition to personal efforts to change his social status and achieve the goal of becoming rich, inevitably broke down in the background of the decline of American traditional belief. It could be said that the fundamental difference between values led to Gatsby's tragedy. Although Gatsby realized that "Daisy's voice is full of money", he did not understand that they belonged to different worlds and represent different values, which he paid a high price for. Even at the moment when death fell down on him, he was still making the dream of getting along well with Daisy, running away with her and living a happy life.

2.

Exploring the Way Home

The Call of the Wild is written by Jack London, an American realistic writer of very humble birth. His rich experience of making a life in adolescence provides him with the foundation and materials to reveal the cruelty of human existence. It is no wonder that his most well-known works, The Call of the Wild, attaches such great importance to struggling and fighting, through which we gain lots of knowledge and growth, and eventually find out the nature of human beings.

The Call of the Wild leads readers into the rough and legendary life of a dog called Buck. Unlike the author himself, Buck was born with a high status in a judger's family, but was unfortunately kidnapped and sold to the Arctic as a sled dog. At first he had a difficult time learning to draw the sleds, adjusting to the freezing environment, and especially abandoning his dignity as well as moral codes in exchange for some kind treatments. It's never easy to live under clubs and fangs, but Buck somehow survived and even made himself the team leader after a fierce fighting against the former leader dog. After the mission was accomplished, the dog team was sold to three outsiders who knew nothing about the trail in frost. Then here came the turning point where Buck was almost whipped to death but saved by John Thornton, who became his master and most loved person. However, they were attacked by a group of native Indians and everyone except Buck was killed. Finally, Buck took revenge on the enemies and won his place as the wolf king by conquering the wolf pack.

My favorite part of the story is the paragraphs describing Buck's peaceful life with John Thornton, and the other two dog mates Skeet and Nig. They were all very kind and mild, whose quality awakened the civilized role inside Buck. After so many twists and turns, so much hatred and suspicion, the new family members embraced Buck with all their sympathy and trust, making him able to feel love and respond to love again. Compared to Buck's comfortable life with the judger's family, his new home perhaps couldn't offer him the equal conditions, but I think that was what exactly made them cherish everything they possessed. Lying by the side of the running river, listening to the spring murmur of awakening life, and rushing home to see your loved ones when the evening closed in-everything was as perfect as you could imagine, because daily life here was about struggling for a chance to survive, and there was very little room for the existence of love, love for both our family and the nature. When love became a luxury as it should be, it would be more treasured and more cautious to be given. In other words, the difference between the judger's family and the family in the wild, I think, was that whether love is reserved for those we really care and whether we receive love that we actually deserve.

As for the main idea conveyed, I think there is an obvious clue linking up the whole novel, which is growing by challenging yourself. At the very beginning of the story, Buck was much like a spoiled child, taking everyone's affection for granted while knowing nothing about the outside world. Later when he was forced to step out of his comfort zone, his talent of learning was inspired, his courage and strength were developed, and most importantly, his own value was realized by living freely in the wild instead of dying for the defense of the judger's riding whip. He knew who he was, not as an attachment, but as an individual. As Japanese writer Higashino Keigo once said, "A tree isn't sure about what kind of air it requires until it has grown to a certain height." Indeed, the environment shapes who we are, by forcing us to explore our nature and take a deep insight into our inner world. Once we succeed in finding who we are, we will eventually discover our place in this big world, just like Buck. When he was running down the snow-covered Arctic land, there must be a calling inside his heart:"Welcome home, my long-lost friend!"

3.

Ode to the wildness

I remember the saying going like "You don't read a great book; it reads you." The call of the wildness is one of those books. Written by Jack London and first published in 1903 and blending London’s tribulations, it outlines the rapid development (or retrogression in some ways) of Buck, towards the wildness.

Buck was sold to the forbidding, bleak North and experienced several owners whose law of club and fang hardened him both mentally and physically. Finally the heart-breaking loss of his bosom friend George Thornton pulled Buck into a group of wolves and prompted him to pursue his wild nature.

“The Call of the Wild” is an excellent combination of sophisticated symbolism, emotions, characters and literature. It is an allegory, a metaphor for the whole human society. Buck is definitely the symbol of an ordinary person who was cast into a completely new environment by fate, and was deprived of everything he had owned." No fair play. To kill or to be killed." North represents a primitive and cruel society where staffs like politeness and fellowship are dumped by the merciless capitalists represented by humans in the novel. The tragedies of the dogs actually mirror the destiny of the workers, working until their last breath.

But if you read this book only to find an animal story mocking the American society in the 19th century, you absolutely underestimate the power of Jack London, who believes deeply in the strength and meaning of life found through struggling and fighting. "Because it happens that the essence of life is to live, to move, to live, to move." The book embraces the restless, ambitious living force. Would you care for your fatiguing work and spare no efforts to perfect it when you cannot even fill your belly? Would you dare to fight for a leading role at the risk of losing your life just for the hidden pride in your descent? And would you be loyal to your friend whole-heartedly, saving his life, or revenging for his murder? In this book we can find how London mentions about longings and nature:" Again from its brumal sleep wakens the ferine strain", which I believe, is a paean to the perseverance and glory of life. What London truly despises is not civilization itself, but the surrender to trials and tribulations, in which sense humans are equal to other species.

Also I'd like to mention a few impressive moments. Buck's timidity and curiosity at his first meeting with snow are one of those few light, cheerful plots. The mutual understanding between Buck and Thornton that transcends species almost drives me to tears. Yet I find a reflection of my soul in Spitz, the former leader killed by Buck who was destroyed but not defeated even by death. I regard him as another version of Buck: "despite the anguish and helplessness, Spitz struggled madly to keep up." It was that simple, but worth reading and rereading whenever challenges lie on my way.

Precise, unputdownable, dramatic and epic, “The Call of the Wild” is a book in a million. In here some will find cruelty, some will find inspiration, and some will find the strength of life. The most enduring legacy of it, maybe, is the ode to the wild hidden deeply in us. It strikes a song that never stops.

二等奖（5名）：

1.

“A Letter from an Unknown Woman” is a novelette published by Zweig in 1922 as well as one of his masterpieces. The story portrays that the writer Mr.R received a long letter from an unknown woman who have unconditionally and irrevocably fallen in love with him, a brilliant and charismatic man, since she was 13. She even gave birth to a child after the brief association with Mr.R. Unfortunately, owing to the death of her child, bereavement drove the woman to despair. She was so devastated that she fell ill finally. On her deathbed, she wrote the letter, revealing to Mr.R her most hidden and profound love for him. Nevertheless, Mr. R knew nothing about it and could not even recall any of her characteristics.

It was apparent that Zweig was adept at narrating with an exquisite description of how the woman dedicated her life to love. In this serene and affectionate ambiance, it is easy for readers to be deeply impressed by the pure, unrequited love and fall in meditation. In a sense, the feelings of the strange woman for Mr.R were no longer love at the traditional level, but have translated into all the meanings of her life. It was the persistence of love that enabled her to understand the essence of life and realize her personal value. Her life was poetic, full of spirituality and nobility, this is not because she devoted her life to pure love, but because she painted her life with firmness and courage.

In fact, the story is doomed to a tragedy from the beginning. Being fanatically in love with the heart of a thirteen-year-old girl, the woman lived forever at the age of thirteen and didn't want to wake up in the imaginary world with Mr.R. But the inexorable outcome of the story was that fantasy must always be broken by reality, even her lonely but ardent, paranoid but rational love could not change a little bit. The ulnerability of females and the helplessness of love coexists on her, but what really renders her to gain respect is that she lives with extraordinarily mature and strong all the time. Her love is for moths to dart into the fire, to burn her own life in imaginary happiness with a fiery sentiment. These are not only the insistence and absurdity that are hard for ordinary people to understand, but also behaviors in disregard of gains.

Whether or not this artistic story is possible to emerge in real life, there is no gainsaying that such sincere love is a wake-up call to the materialistic world, in other words, a kind of "valuable passion". This novelette embodies the tenderness and power of women, in terms of aesthetic qualities, it is the product of "dreams" and "love", endowed with a strong artistic expressiveness and romantic flavor. Beyond all questions, the story is both innovative and unique, making it suffice to be appreciated carefully for anyone that is taking delight in reading.

2020-02-27

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