Abstract: F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most famous American novelists, who is widely considered as an outstanding representative of the Jazz Age, and is one of the greatest American writers in the 20th century. One of his representative novels, Tender is the Night, depicts the rise and fall of a talented doctor, Dick Diver. This paper will study the tragedy of Dick Diver from the perspective of narcissism. The paper includes four parts: to start with, it introduces the author and the novel as well as the relevant theories on narcissism; next it explores the narcissistic traits of Dick; then it goes deeper to analyze outcomes by his narcissistic traits and finally comes to the conclusion. The paper uses narcissism to analyze the tragedy, which is helpful to have a deeper understanding of the novel.

Key words: narcissism; Dick Diver; tragedy; Tender is the Night; F. Scott Fitzgerald

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 An Introduction of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tender is the Night-1

1.2 Literature Review-2

2. Narcissism Theory-3

2.1 The Definition and Origin of Narcissism-3

2.2 The Development of Narcissism-3

2.3 The Embodiment of Narcissism on Dick-5

3. Traits of Dick Diver by Narcissism-5

3.1 Idealization of Himself-5

3.2 Illusions about Love-7

3.3 Eagerness for Love and Admiration-10

4. Disastrous Outcomes of Dick Diver by Narcissism-11

4.1 Failure of Career-12

4.2 Failure of Love-14

4.3 Failure of Dream-15

5. Conclusion-17

References-18