A Metafunctional Analysis Of The Great Gatsbv

The aim for Halliday to construct the Systemic Functional Grammar is to provide a theoretical framework for discourse analysis. The metafunctional theory is one of the most important components in the Systemic Functional Grammar. Hallidy believes that there are three metafunctions in language, which are ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function. The ideational function is primarily embodied by transitivity and voice system. The interpersonal function is mainly reflected by the mood and modality system. The textual function is chiefly realized by thematic structure and cohesion. Based on Halliday’s metafunctional theory, this thesis attempts to analyze the discourse in chapter Ⅶ of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the characteristics of the protagonist in this novel through the metafunctional theory and help readers better understand and appreciate the novel.This thesis firstly gives a brief introduction to the development of Systemic Functional Grammar and narrows the scope to Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar.This paper is a combination of linguistic and literature, therefore, the background, main content and the previous studies of the novel are necessarily provided to help readers understand this novel better. Then the paper introduces in detail three metafucntions of language and their respective means of realization. At last, the author analyzes the language of the discourse from the aspect of ideational function, interpersonal functionand textual function.Major findings of the research are as follows:(1) this thesis firstly focuses on transitivity system from the perspective of ideational function. The protagonist mainly adopts material processes, relational processes and mental processes, and material processes are adopted most frequently. At the beginning, Tom has the most processes,which indicates that he plays the dominant role in the interaction and he attempts to control the situation. However, after Daisy’s driving kills the mistress of Tom, processes related to Gatsby take the largest amount, which shows that he tries his best to protect Daisy and he is even willing to sacrifice himself to fulfill his dream.(2) In terms of interpersonal function, this thesis mainly studies the mood and modality system. It can be seen that the choice of mood types and modal verb operators fully reflect the relationship between the Buchanans and Gatsby and the personalities of them.Meanwhile, the theme of the novel — the corruption of the American Dream is strengthened by these linguistic features.(3) As for the textual function, this thesis mainly discusses the thematic structure. The frequent application of the simple theme and unmarked theme are helpful for readers to get a better understanding about the author’s writing intention and unique style. And combined with the description of the context of this work, thematic structure is closely related to the expression of the theme of the novel.