Similarities Between Othello And The Great Gatsby

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A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. In both Othello and The Great Gatsby, William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald utilize the tragic heroes, Othello and Jay Gatsby, as their protagonists. Both men are able to amass great admiration, but then ruin their good name due to the effects of a fatal flaw. Both protagonists place too much trust in the people around them. In Othello, Othello places too much trust in Iago, one of his only enemies in the entire story. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby places too much trust in the love of his life, Daisy. This leads Gatsby to follow Daisy’s every move, hoping that she will come back to him. Unfortunately, both Iago and Daisy use the trust they receive …show more content…

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Shakespeare’s Othello use the same basic character development involving a protagonist that is a tragic hero with the same fatal flaw: the inability to see reality and the tendency to over trust those around them.
Both Othello and The Great Gatsby share the same character development despite the vast period of time separating the two works. Both Othello and Jay Gatsby act as tragic heroes, first accumulating admiration, and high esteem from their peers and then proceeding to lose their admiration due to a fatal flaw. “My parts my title and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly” (Shakespeare I.i. 31-31). While Brabantio is cursing Othello for maintaining a relationship with his daughter, Othello remains calm, cool, and collected. He believes that his honest and true intention to love and take care of Desdemona will deliver him from injustice. Othello feels that his reputation will be able to protect him. He has amassed great admiration from his peers, including from Brabantio, and holds a highly regarded position in Venice. “Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (Shakespeare I.i.292). It is not just Othello that thinks highly

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