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Similarities Between Netherland And The Great Gatsby

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Netherland and The Great Gatsby Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between Netherland by Joseph O’Neill and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald are pronounced. Joseph O’Neill’s novel, Netherland, follows Hans Van Den Broek, a patriotic Dutch immigrant searching for the American dream in New York City. Hans’s selfish quest leads him to financial gains, however at the cost of his family. In hopes of fulfilling his desires Hans befriends Chuck Ramkissoon, an ambitious Trinidad entrepreneur with shady connections and together they manage a cricket club. Hans eventually leaves his dreams behind and reunites with his family while Chuck is left dead, sinking in his dreams. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great …show more content…

In a respectable sense, they had it coming. It is like Nick says, “Gatsby turned out alright at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams”(Fitzgerald 8). This passage justifies Gatsby’s intentions for earning wealth; however, the path he chose to obtain such wealth is morally wrong. Similarly, in Netherland, Chuck’s intentions for creating a cricket stadium in an effort to unite Americans wasn’t wrong; however, Chuck chose the path of exploiting others for his own goals, which is not acceptable. Both characters die and fail to achieve the American dream. In both cases, the characters from either novel carry nostalgic feelings, which may contribute to the decline of the American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is most commonly known to be nostalgic, however all the major male characters long for the past as well and for this reason they aren't able to move forward and fail to grasp their dreams. Likewise in Netherland, Hans is not able to move forward. Throughout the novel Hans keeps on providing past experiences with cricket, his mother and his family. Hans says that “[i]t would feel

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