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Literary Analysis Of'The Great Gatsby
Literary devices in a streetcar named desire
Literary analysis for the great gatsby
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F. Scott Fitzgerald best selling book "The Great Gatsby" and Tennessee Williams play “Streetcar named desire”,are two american classic that share identical themes then you would picture. Since, Jay Gatsby is illustrated as a wealthy hard working man, while Blanche Dubois is characterized as a lying former prostitute who tries to escape reality, by creating her own fantasy you would think they don’t have much in common. By comparing, both the play “Streetcar named desire” and the novel “The Great Gatsby”, Blanche and Gatsby are not so different after all. By analyzing the two characters, in this comparative essay, I will be stating how Gatsby and Blanche are alike. Both Gatsby and Blanche share many similar themes, firstly they tend to deceive others, secondly they are confused by the difference between reality and illusion, and lastly they both have strong desires that leads them to their downfall. Both characters in these novels have a false perspective of their reality. …show more content…
Daisy is the only thing he cares for, Daisy represents a trophy that Gatsby wants to accomplish all along. We learned that Gatsby unlimited desires for Daisy, is a token of success that Gatsby dreams to achieve but fails. Daisy doesn’t care for Gatsby, she only cares for him due to how much attention he gives her, and how he worships her like a goddess. Gatsby still desires the past, he had with Daisy, and how she was all his. Nick explains Gatsby desire for the green light, he tell us “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter, tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And then one fine morning. So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”(Fitzgerald 153) Nick is explaining to us that Gatsby is trying to reenact the
“ Its attitude is one of disillusionment and detachment; Fitzgerald is still able to evoke the glitter of the 1920s but he is no longer dazzled by it; he sees its underlying emptiness and impoverishment” (Trendell 23)The story is narrated from the point of view of Nick, one of Gatsby’s friends. The problematic and hopeless romantic, Gatsby, sets out to fulfill his dream in acquiring Daisy, his lifelong love, through his many tactics and ideas. Gatsby is introduced extending his arms mysteriously toward a green light in the direction of the water. Later, Gatsby is shown to be the host of many parties for the rich and Nick is invited to one of these parties where Gatsby and Nick meet. When Gatsby later confesses his love for Daisy he explains she was a loved one who was separated from him and hopes to get her again explained when he says, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 56). There are several obstacles that Gatsby must overcome and the biggest one that is Daisy’s current fiancé but that still does not get in the way of him trying to recover Daisy’s old feelings. His attempts are made through money and wealth because he tries to buy her love back instead of letting it happen naturally.
Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, and since he has accumulated a lot of money, he had his mind set on getting her back. Throughout the novel, Gatsby shows his need to attain The American Dream of love and shows his determination to achieve it. You can tell that Gatsby has a clear vision of what he wants when Nick says, “..he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light” (20-21). This green light represents Daisy and being able to have her would be completing Gatsby’s American dream but the light is so far away that it indicates that he could never have
For him, she represents his youth and is the epitome of beauty. Gatsby, "with the religious conviction peculiar to saints, pursues an ideal, a mystical union, not with God, but with the life embodied in Daisy Fay" (Allen, 104). He becomes disillusioned into thinking the ideal is actually obtainable, and the realization that he will never be able to obtain his dream is what destroys him in the end. Gatsby realizes that Daisy isn't all he thought she was, and with this his dream collapses. The symbolic implications of this can be realized when studying Fitzgerald's religious beliefs and other religious imagery in the novel.
Mansions, cars, jewels, and extravagant parties- what more could a person want? Gatsby had it all, yet he was still empty inside, craving more. All the riches Gatsby has mean nothing without his great love, Daisy. Gatsby strived to become successful for the sole purpose of capturing Daisy's heart. However, Gatsby's dream is an unattainable and hopeless dream for he can never win her love. Daisy and Gatsby live only miles apart, but their relationship is eons apart, as Daisy is already attached. Gatsby is pursuing "a transcendent significance outside of society and beyond the notability of history" (Lynn 180). Gatsby is dreaming "the American dream" that anything is possible, but the tragic flaw within him is that he is living in the past and cannot see the destructive future that lies ahead. Gatsby says, "I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,... She'll see," and he does not realize that he cannot make it the way it was before (Fitzgerald 114). When Gatsby does get the chance to prove himself to Daisy, it is already too late. According to Fitzgerald, "the whole caravansay had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes," (Fitzgerald 114). Gatsby's downfall is in the fact that he is unable to determine the fine line that divides reality and illusion in his life. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock burns bright for Gatsby, but Gatsby does not realize that he cannot ever capture the light. He continues to dream blindly. This is evident when Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot relive the past and Gatsby replies, "Why of course you can, old sport!" (Fitzgerald 116). Gatsby's dream of capturing Daisy's love is based on a fantasy of romance, but the truth is that Daisy is already taken and no amount of money or popularity can change that.
His American Dream was to repeat the past and be reunited with Daisy but had no idea that his past was already far behind him. He perceived a debt of lies just to fit in with Tom’s social class. Fitzgerald never let Gatsby reach his dream because he never realized that if he truly loved Daisy he’d let her decide if she wanted to be with him and back out of her marriage, but he didn’t. Gatsby only thought about what was best for him, not what was best for him and Daisy. Even though Tom was a swindler didn’t mean he didn’t have a spiritual attachment towards Daisy, even when Tom ran off to have his little sprees he always returned back to her.(132). Gatsby just wants Daisy because she a shimmering thing that’ll look good on his arm, something like a trophy he could show off. He’s too haunted by his past to give it up, he actually thinks repeating his past would be an accomplishment to him but in reality moving on with his life would’ve been his biggest achievement and that’s why he couldn’t achieve his ultimate dream.
Antagonists often offer a powerful contribution to various pieces of literature. Stanley Kowalski, in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, and Tom Buchanan, in “The Great Gatsby”, both act as valid and powerful antagonists in their respective texts. These two characters share the need to find out the truth about the protagonists of the novels. They both are considered dominant, violent and strong men. They share the trait of honesty, but lack a sense of morality. Although there are evident differences regarding the social class of these two characters, they rightfully serve as similar characters. Both authors used very similar character traits to prove that despite the domineering and abusive mannerisms-characteristics of these
The use of alcohol has many different physical properties. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, alcohol plays a rather compelling and symbolic role. For instance alcohol occurs in both texts in the form of social meanings of having a good time and can also lead to violence. Therefore, the authors are trying to get across that alcohol is used, in different ways, to convey the moral degradations of society.
In the novel The Great Gatsby and the play A Streetcar Named Desire the main characters James Gatsby and Blanche Dubois have a lengthy search for love. Both characters go about their search in similar and different ways. The characters choose illusion over reality, but the way in which they go about it differs. Also in an attempt to impress, both characters try and “buy” love by using material possessions to attract people to them. Although Gatsby and Blanche devote a lot of their lives to finding true love, their searching leaves them unsuccessful.
Although Gatsby one of the main characters doesn’t necessarily have the correct intentions when chasing down Daisy’s heart, his perseverance says otherwise. Throughout the story there is a recurring symbol of a green light across the bay. The green light that Gatsby sees is perceived to him as an embodiment of Daisy, a girl whom he has been in love with since he was a young man. Gatsby always stares at this light because it's his connection to Daisy“‘If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.’ Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever’”(121). With Gatsby’s obsession with the green light, it can be seen that he refuses to let his past mistakes with Daisy happen again. With all the time that he had been without Daisy, and the pain he endured without her, Gatsby was not willing to give her up again. He was ambitious and resilient in getting her back. Unfortunately, in the end, the pain and accusations that Gatsby takes for Daisy is too much after Daisy chooses her husband, Tom, over him. Gatsby’s sacrifice to Daisy was a waste and he lost his life over his undying love and commitment for her. His last instance of bravery for the love Gatsby
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby functions under the illusion that Daisy is perfect and is living in such distress because she was forced to marry Tom due to Gatsby being away at war and being poor. This illusion leads Gatsby to spend his entire adult life pining after Daisy and cheating his way up the social and economic ladder in order to win her over. Gatsby believes that Daisy will someday come back to him because she loves him so much and they will live happily ever after together.
Gatsby’s love life has become surrounded by ideas from the past. No longer is he able to fall in love with the moment, but instead he is held up on what have and should have been. He spends his time reminiscing on old times and previous relationships while he has also been building up a new life in order to return to the past. The unreal expectations he has for Daisy prove to us that he has trouble letting go of his old romantic ideas. Gatsby doesn’t want to accept and love this new Daisy, and instead he is hoping for the Daisy he knows to come back. But people change and there can be no expectations for someone to continue to remain the same after a number of years. Instead we must let go of the past and embrace the future for everything it could be.
Gatsby can achieve his dream once he marries Daisy Buchannan, a young woman he met in Louisville, where he falls in love with the opulence that surrounds her. Throughout the book, the motifs of the green light and fake facade are used to signify Gatsby's hope and never ending lust for status respectively. Gatsby's obsession with restructuring his past leads to his failure. Fitzgerald uses these motifs of the green light, fake facade and past to showcase Gatsby's objectification of his American Dream. The green light at the end of Daisy Buchannan's dock signifies both hope and the difficulties Gatsby encounters while pursuing his dream.
Gatsby is a very loving and caring character in the book. This is shown by his love for Daisy. The love Gatsby shows is young love. Gatsby is stuck in the past where he loved Daisy without doubts or worries. Gatsby thinks since the love he remembers is in the past
Essay 4: Comparative Analysis of Two Texts When comparing two texts, one must look at the characters and themes to find similarities and differences and we see a similarity with the theme of accepting reality in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby. There are differences in both texts with the way the characters fight reality, but the outcome is the same. The power of love in both texts is looked at as more important than social priorities and the main characters will do anything to get what they want and it results in death. One might come to conclusions to say that F. Scott Fitzgerald based the relationship of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan on Romeo and Juliet, seeing that both stories have characters who do not accept the reality and in their minds, love overpowers everything. When looking at these two texts side to side, one would notice many similarities in the actions of the main characters.
Written in 1947, by playwright Tennessee Williams, the play A Streetcar Named Desire opens in the 1940s in the well-known city of New Orleans. Readers are presented with the young couple Stan and Stella Kowalski who live below another young couple, Eunice and Steve. While Stan and Stella manage to maintain a relationship, it is abusive. Stella reunites with her alcoholic sister Blanche, after learning that the family plantation had been lost due to bankruptcy. Blanche, a widow often finds herself in difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Blanche’s poor choices and vulnerability leads to an affair with Stan’s poker buddy Mitch. Coinciding with his abusive nature, Stanley rapes Blanche. No one believes her until the very end, causing her to get sent away to a mental institution. While the play and film were smashing, each had their similarities overall, in regards to setting, plot, and characters while differences concerned narrative technique.