Pragmatic Study of the Main Characters in The Great Gatsby
JiangBingYan

Xi'an International Studies University, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province,710000;

Abstract:The Great Gatsby was written by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. It was conceived not only as a deeply reflection on American society in the 1920s, but also as an exploration of the conflict between humanity, dreams, and reality. From the perspective of pragmatics, based on the Cooperative Principle, this study analyzes the dialogues of the main characters in the novel through the qualitative method. It reveals the different personality of different characters. It is found that Gatsby is a calm, prudent, and thoughtful person. Daisy is changeable and capricious; Tom is selfish, indifferent, and aggressive. It not only enables us to have a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the characters and the theme in this novel, but also provides us with an insight into the complexity and contradiction of American society in the 1920s.

Keywords:The Great Gatsby; Cooperative Principle; Conversational Implicature; Character

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