Dante Alighieri wrote that both the greedy and the prodigal would be sent to the 4th Circle of Hell. He writes how both groups would be forced to push wheels endlessly, insulting each other for hoarding and squandering respectively. Similarly, modernistic works, such as Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, show how a great difference in wealth also leads to an inability of one social class to understand the desires and motivations of another, which makes attempts to move between these classes dangerous to one’s self when moving from poverty to wealth and dangerous to one’s social standing when moving in the opposite direction. Due to the vast differences …show more content…
We can see this discouragement portrayed in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby tells Nick about the first time he had met Daisy, explaining how his time with here was limited, “however glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders. So he made the most of his time. He took what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously--eventually he took Daisy one still October night, took her because he had no real right to touch her hand” (Fitzgerald 149) Gatsby knows that his attempt to reach into Daisy’s life won’t work because he simply isn’t on the same social class as her and thus describes himself as a thief, clearing showing how even he, the very person trying to escape his original class, perceives class mobility as dangerous. This desire can extend so far that one may destroy themselves trying. This is more plainly revealed when Willy explains to Ben, whom Willy is hallucinating, that he plans on killing himself so Linda can receive Willy’s life insurance money. Ben says that the money “is something one can feel with the hand, it is there,” to which Willy concurs with, saying that “I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can pick up and touch in my hand. Not like — like an appointment” (Miller 126). Willy desire for money means he views a guaranteed payout is more tangible and therefore better than Biff’s attempt at an appointment even if it mean losing his own life. His pursuit of riches destroys himself and lets him completely dismiss other people’s attempts in improving one’s happiness in life. Because allowing the poor to move up the social ladder is not allowed, helping a poor person do so is considered disgusting or disgraceful by the rich. In The Great
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck had many comparisons from the movie and the book. In 1939, this story was to have some of the readers against the ones that kept the American people in poverty held responsible for their actions. This unique story was about the Joad’s family, who were migrant workers looking for a good decent job. They were also farmers from Oklahoma that are now striving to find some good work and success for their family in California. This novel was one of Steinbeck’s best work he has ever done. It was in fact an Academy Award movie in 1940. Both the movie and the novel are one of Steinbeck’s greatest masterpieces on both the filmmaking and the novel writing. Both the novel and film are mainly the same in the beginning of the story and towards the end. There were some few main points that Steinbeck took out from the book and didn’t mention them in the movie. “The Grapes of Wrath is a
He fails to start the business he had his heart set on and the family ends up moving into Clybourne park. In both The Great Gatsby and Raisin in the Sun, wealth has a negative impact on people and wrecks their morals.
Jay Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald, two different beings, one a book character, the other a human being but both are the same person. Jay Gatsby, as evinced by the the title, is the main character in The Great Gatsby. His goals and achievements is what the novel revolves around. Gatsby is the most interesting character which is why he leaves something to think about in everything he does in the book, but what makes him amazing are the parallels between him and Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby as a catalyst of his life in the novel.
The past and future to people are the most frightening thing. The past is what makes your future, or helps you fix your future and make it better. People sometimes stay in their past because they are too scared of the future and what their future is going to be like. The past is usually when all the good things happened to people, so they try and stay in the past but the point of the past is to have a plan for the future, and plan that will make your life better. The novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the film Chicago directed by Rob Marshall takes place in the 1920s and shows us how different we see life now, then how people saw life back then. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby wants to forget his past except for the fact that he still loves daisy, While Gatsby longs to re-create his past romance with Daisy and build a new future together. He tries to hide his past with non credible facts about his past in order to help his future become more successful. The Film Chicago which is very similar to The Great Gatsby because Roxie, has a bad past that puts her in a bad position, That finally put her on the new paper. Roxie only cares about fame and money and attempts to break free from her marriage to build a future for herself.
Here, the wealthy were seen as blessed and favored, while the poor were considered to be wicked, sinful, or even cursed. Mixing between the social classes was rare and looked down upon. Thus, springs the reason why Gatsby had to cheat his way to material wealth in order to win his real prize, Daisy’s love.
As the case with most “Novel to Movie” adaptations, screenwriters for films will make minor, and sometimes drastic, adjustments to the original text in order to increase drama and to reach modern audiences. Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film interpretation of The Great Gatsby followed the 1925 classic great plot quite accurately, with minor deviations. However, Luhrmann made some notable differences to the characters and settings of The Great Gatsby in order for the story to relate to the current generation and to intensity the plot
John Steinbeck wrote the The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 to rouse its readers against those who were responsible for keeping the American people in poverty. The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family, migrant farmers from Oklahoma traveling to California in search of an illusion of prosperity. The novel's strong stance stirred up much controversy, as it was often called Communist propaganda, and banned from schools due to its vulgar language. However, Steinbeck's novel is considered to be his greatest work. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and later became an Academy Award winning movie in 1940. The novel and the movie are both considered to be wonderful masterpieces, epitomizing the art of filmmaking and novel-writing.
is Nick. In the novel Nick is a man who comes from a poor family who
When facing a conflict, one mostly tries to find a solution that will benefit him rather than accommodate everyone. It’s much more satisfactory to have everything go one’s way than having to compromise with another. This selfish mentality is something that repeatedly takes place in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, where many characters act out of their own self-interest. However, throughout The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, the individuals often commit acts of true altruism. Instead of always being on the lookout for themselves, they often make sacrifices for others. The Great Gatsby’s selfish, egocentric acts contrast with the altruistic, selfless acts in The Grapes of Wrath through demonstrations of self sacrifice, greed, and the ability to persevere and help others in the direst of situations.
Much like in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, society treats views and treats people with money differently than those without it. For example, Tom and Daisy get away with the death of Tom’s mistress because of their wealth “His family was enormously wealthy – even in collage his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (Fitzgerald,23). Further the reason that Daisy had not married Gatsby all those years ago was because he was poor, it was not until he had an enormous house and lots of money “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me” (Fitzgerald ,367). It was not until Gatsby became wealthy did Daisy want to marry him “After she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house” (Fitzgerald, 311). Moreover, Gatsby’s own personal success was based on how Daisy perceived his house “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well loved eyes.” (Fitzgerald, 260). Critic Karielle Stephanie Gam agrees with this view of success “His wealth is never cloaked; from the mansion, to the weekly parties, to the countless dress shirts and expensive cars, it is evident that Gatsby is rich as sin and is initially, though his inclusion in the nouveau riche, the epitome of the American dream.” (Karielle Stephanie
As people go throughout their life, they strive to make dreams they believe are unachievable, come true. The iconic American Dream is a symbol of success within the United States that many people aim to secure throughout their lifetime at any cost, even compromising their true identity. In Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun, both authors work to display how Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger work towards obtaining their dream, but fall short due to society and timing. By attempting to reinvent themselves through money, gaining power within their personal life, and their image, Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger aim to complete their American Dream to become successful in their lives.
As an American citizen we seem to make presumption that all cultures are different from ours, and some might even call those cultures weird. Americans fail to realize just how similar we are to these “weird” cultures. By reading Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald , it makes the reader realize how similar the African culture is from the American culture. There 's those obvious differences we already knew about with the two cultures, but readers can learn that not just American culture value men and give them advantages, but many cultures including 1900 's African culture. In both books we come across two main characters that is portrayed as being more superior compared to others. Okonkwo, main
For example, Leonardo Dicaprio’s character of Gatsby was focused on emotions. I enjoyed that Redford was very calm and cool about everything and the way he approached the character but, Dicaprio made such an open and outgoing character which made the movie more entertaining. DiCaprio captured Gatsby’s intensity and charm and brought out the crazy mood swings and took his character and the audience to a more emotional place. Both Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio had their own way of approaching the character and really selling Gatsby but Leonardo DiCaprios was better. Another reason I prefer the 2013 version of the 74’ is because of the bond and friendship Nick Carraway played by Tobey Maguire and Gatsby had MaGuire was able to bring a true and strong meaning to their friendship that made his and Gatsby’s bond feel organic and real and you were able to see that clearly unlike with Waterston where you just saw the friendship and didn’t feel any emotion. But I felt much more of a connection with his character than I did with the ’74 version. If you have read the book and seen the original film, then you understood where Nick was coming from in the scene where he was furious with Gatsby, after he believe he killed Myrtle only to find out that Gatsby wasn’t the one driving the car that killed Mrytle, MaGuire, did a fantastic job in showing his emotions and how what happened to Myrtle and the person that killed Myrtle affected him. I loved that Nick was a lot more real in this movie. He didn’t hold back and he gave the audience a reaction that anyone in life would have had if they were in his situation. Nick had the major issue of being dragged into situations because of people he knows. I thought Maguire did a great job of showing ...
“And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quicklime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is a failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath” (Steinbeck 349). John Steinbeck, the author of The Grapes of Wrath, portrays the migrant’s resentment of the California land owners and their way of life and illustrates that the vagrants from Oklahoma are yearning for labor, provisions, and human decency. Similarly in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee elucidates the concept that people should be treated with inclusive human dignity and be affected by good aspects rather than deleterious behavior. In addition to both novels, “Suffering with Them”, “Evil’s Fate”, and “To Hope” share the same concurrent theme. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath and “Suffering with Them”, “Evil’s Fate”, and “To Hope” illustrate a synonymous, thematic message that evil’s inhumanity, during corrupt times, induces a perception of hopefulness for good to conquer immorality.
Benjamin Disraeli once said, “the magic of first love is the ignorance that it can never end”. In similar ways, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and the film The Notebook directed by Nick Cassavetes both share a similar love story producing the idea that first love never dies. Both the novel and the film present the idea of a lower class man falling in love with a wealthy woman. Neither of the men are able to stay with the women due to disapproval. When the men finally reconnect with the women, they realize they are already in a new relationship. Although the women are in different relationships, they know they are still in love with their first love, leaving a conflict for them in the current relationship