The Great Gatsby Comparison Essay

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

He is portrayed as someone that is physically built well and is immensely wealthy . Through these two characters we get learn in their era, what exactly was culturally acceptable. Readers will usually find out that social status is extremely significant to The Great Gatsby and Things Fall Apart, as well as the importance of a male figure.

In both books status is the most significant thing in their society. Okonkwo and Tom 's high ranking in their society, reveals the cultural value of status which causes them to be careless. In The Great Gatsby’ social status is an immensely significant part as it separates geographical locations in the novel but above all, portrays the mentality of citizens belonging to different social class. The characters in the novel are separated by the money that they have and where they work or live. East Egg reflects a higher class society where the people are filthy rich, the author refer to them as “old money”. The people in East Egg are usually well educated and they have some sort of hatred towards the “new money”, which is known as West Egg. The people of West Egg are rich, but have only became rich recently.

At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before” (pg 43) . Nick, the narrator talks about the Extravagant party and how the rich and high status people comes to these types of parties to mingle and get drunk, basically make a mess. Nick then states that after the whole hurray, the poor have to come behind and clean up everyone 's mess. 8 people are assigned to clean a house that 's most likely bigger than 12 acres. Tom happens to be one of the people whom shows up to Gatsby event later on in the book. The author decided to use allegory because it 's able to convey a