A Brief Analysis of Interpersonal Relationship in The Great Gatsby -- An Analysis of Interpersonal Function Based on Systemic Functional Grammar

Abstract

In Fitzgerald's hands, the Great Gatsby presents readers with a true picture of the prosperity of the United States in the 1920s, or the lively “jazz Age”. In the both stylistics and literature fi eld, it has been a famous classical work. With respect to three meta functions of language from linguistic perspective, Halliday’s systemic-functional Grammar gets widely used in China. Studies on the Great Gatsby from the view of Halliday’s meta-functions of language theory turns out great innovation and get numerous fi ndings in various facets of this classic. This research continues this topic, focusing on some fragments of dialogue in the climax chapter VII of this work, aimed at seeking for a possible insight of the interpersonal relationship between the main characters, using MOOD system, which is one of the members in interpersonal function of language proposed by Halliday’s theory in order to enrich the analysis perspective of studies on this fi eld and make a corresponding complement for the application of MOOD system in literary classical works in discoursal analysis.