Abstract: As a representative of the writers in the Jazz Age in America, Fitzgerald produced works which have received profound attention. As his most autobiographical novel, Tender Is the Night attracts many scholars for its inexhaustible aesthetic value. This paper aims to analyze the external and internal causes of the tragic life of Dick Diver, the protagonist of Tender Is the Night. This paper claims that the external causes of Dick’s tragic destiny include impacts of the broken society, specific conflicts between Dick and the upper class and other characters. The internal causes include Dick’s vanity and recreance, unchecked desire and collapse of values. These causes combined lead to Dick’s inevitable tragedy.

Key words: Tender Is the Night; Dick; tragedy; causes

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1．Introduction1

1.1 Introduction to Fitzgerald and Tender Is the Night

1.2 Literature Review

2．Causes of Dick’s Tragic Destiny.3

2.1 External Causes of Dick’s Tragic Destiny

2.1.1 Social Environment

（i）Impacts of Broken Society

（ii）Conflicts Between Dick and the Upper Class

2.1.2 Other Characters’ Impacts 4

  (i) Nicole Warren

  (ii) Rosemary

  (iii) Baby Warren

  (iv) Tommy Barban

  2.2 Internal Causes of Dick’s Tragic Destiny

2.2.1. Vanity and Recreance

2.2.2. Unchecked Desire

2.2.3. Collapse of Values

3．Conclusion8

Bibliography..9

Acknowledgements.10