推敲過程における削除の問題:The Great GatsbyとTrimalchioの異同から
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概要
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This paper concerns the effects of the deletions in the revision of The Great Gatsby (1925) which were made by F. Scott Fitzgerald after he received the galley proofs from his editor for its publication. The galleys were made public as an early and complete version with the title of Trimalchio in 2000. Some of the most conspicuous changes are found in the final scene of Chapter XI in the current edition of the novel. My attention is mostly focussed on this part because it is one of the few scenes where the protagonists hidden past is gradually revealed to us. However, some critics argue that a few of the figurative expressions do not make sense, since the author finally revised the last scene in question mainly by deleting other related parts in the proofs. The scene is very important in that Gatsby confides the incarnation of his dream in the form of the relationship with a rich daughter from the upper class five years before. Thus, a vague description of his telling, although artistic, can lead to a serious misunderstanding of the substance of his unfulfilled ambition on the part of readers. The matter of deletion is all the more complicated because the narrator of the novel is not Gatsby himself but Nick, his neighbor and friend. Nicks narration does not necessarily guarantee the exact reproduction of Gatsbys telling, partly because he seems to select facts from his past experiences and even add something to them on account of his literary temperament and partly because his passionate sympathy tends to lack criticism of the main character. After comparing The Great Gatsby with Trimalchio and discussing the matter of revision closely in terms of the content and structure of the novel, this paper concludes that some deletions can make part of the narration hard to fully understand.
- 2005-01-31