摘要
“美国梦”的幻灭是美国现实主义文学中的重要主题之一。《了不起的盖茨比》和《马丁·伊登》的问世相差了十几年，但二者分别结合作者的亲身经历，通过对两位主人公的描述，生动展现并有力地批判了十九世纪末和二十世纪二十年代的美国社会，揭示了“美国梦”的虚无缥缈。
盖茨比对黛西的渴望和马丁·伊登对写作的追求都是“美国梦”的具体化，而两位主人公实现自己的梦想的途径就是追逐金钱。他们以为金钱可以带来成功，可以改变自己的社会地位，到头来却发现等待他们的除了空虚失望，就是谋杀和死亡。他们人生目标的虚无也注定了死亡这一不可避免的结局。
除了主题相似外，自传体是这两部小说的另一共同之处。司各脱·菲茨杰拉德和杰克·伦敦在作品中大量地使用自己早年的生活素材，读者从小说主人公的身上不难看出作者的影子。司各脱·菲茨杰拉德上层社会的家庭出身给他带来的对资产阶级的认识以及他和妻子泽尔达的恋爱、婚姻生活无不成为他刻画盖茨比和黛西的生活源泉。而杰克·伦敦更是把自己从童年时代一直到成名后的生活通过马丁·伊登的坎坷经历表现出来。他们相似的家庭出身，靠出卖体力劳动糊口的经历，和作家梦的实现以及实现以后的失望无不历历在目。
在写作技巧方面，两部作品的特点是鲜明的。《了不起的盖茨比》的叙事角度与众不同。菲茨杰拉德所采用的第一人称叙事者尼克既是故事的参与者，也是旁观者。他与盖茨比及其他人物的特殊关系使他既能看到发生的一切，又不失旁观者的理智和清醒。《马丁·伊登》则突出在作者对生活中细枝末节的入微观察和体现。生动形象的细节描写是它最突出的写作特点之一。
The disillusion of American Dream has always been one of the most commonly concerned themes in American literature. Combining their personal experiences with their work, Scott Fitzgerald and Jack London document the disintegration of the American success story and the great fall of the America wealth myth so as to present the disillusioned American Dream.
Gatsby and Eden try to make their way upward in the world in different ways, both of them are conditioned by the folklore of "making good", of succeeding in America. They believe money can bring them love and social status, but what they find finally is death and spiritual barrenness. Death is destined by their illusions about the upper class girls and their worlds.
Besides the similar theme, both of the two novels are autobiographical ones. The two writers consciously use events of their own lives and the stories that take place around them. Fitzgerald's family background and the luxurious life of his wife and him bring him the familiarity with the rich, while Zelda
becomes the prototype of Daisy. In depicting Eden, London takes advantage of his life experience both as a laborer and as a struggling writer.
The unique writing skill of The Great Gatsby is its first-person narrator, Nick. His temperament and his relationship with other characters enable him not only to personally involve in the story but also not to lose the ability to judge. The vivid description of details in Martin Eden is wonderful to read. These details are concerning language, psychological activities, and daily life.
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