Have you ever had a best friend? Someone that was always there for you? Do you truly know how they felt about you? The Great Gatsby is about a young man named Jay Gatsby, a motivated bootlegger pursuing a grandeurous life that ends with a tragedy caused by betrayal. Of Mice and Men tells a story about two men who travel ranch to ranch together. They stumble upon a ranch that in the long run is the end of the road for them. The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men both portray two different stories in different time periods, yet both stories have strong resemblance. Both F.Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck exemplify through their characters that friendships are not always perceived the same between two individuals.
In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway gradually grows annoyance with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and their selfish and luxurious life. Daisy, on the other hand finds Nick to be her “trustworthy genuine cousin”. Tom thinks of Nick as his old friend from college who is always there for him; however fraudulence lies between all of them. Thus, representing how each of the characters perceived their friendship differently. To begin, throughout the book Nick grows to become more and more disgusted with the actions Daisy and Tom fulfill; especially towards people. Nick represents this when he says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them
that characterizes the lives of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby. One particular scene that highlights Nick's true character is when he accompanies Gatsby to the Buchanan's house after the accident. Nick witnesses the disregard for others with which Tom and Daisy treat the situation, and he is unable to restore friendly relations between their behavior with his own moral code. Nick is bummed out because he no longer believes in the wealthy and privileged class is evident in this scene, as he realizes the emptiness and hypocrisy that underlies their lives. Ultimately, Myrtle's death serves as a catalyst for Nick to reevaluate his own values and beliefs.
“the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired”(Fitzgerald). From this Nick puts Gatsby as a pursuer and Daisy as the pursued. Nick is essentially stereotyping people with four niche stereotypes that are accurate for very few people. Nick tells gatsby “You’re acting like a little boy” and that Gatsby was being rude. Nick rarely tells people what he thinks of them and their actions. It was a rather condescending statement towards Gatsby, who was already embarrassed.(Fitzgerald 88). One of the few times Nick tells people how he feels about something it’s negative. Throughout the story Nick never tells Daisy about Tom’s affair and Never tells Tom about Daisy’s. Nick also could have told Mr.Wilson from being surprised. If either Tom or Daisy knew they would have divorced ending horribly dishonest relationship. This would have benefited everyone. Mr.Wilson knew that if he did not go west his wife would leave him, but if he knew before he could have either ended the affair or his marriage. If he had told anyone instead of standing by and doing
Today, it is more evident than ever that there are deep divisions within modern society along the lines of race, class and gender. These divides are highlighted by recent protests, riots and movements. These issues are relevant in modern society as well as in two famous stories. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men use character development to make commentary toward these points. Fitzgerald’s novel covers the tumultuous journey of Nick Carraway through the swanky social elite of the 1920’s. Steinbeck’s text covers the opposite end of the spectrum, detailing the experiences of George and Lennie, ranchers during the great depression. While also providing a riveting and captivating plot, these seemingly antithetical tales both develop their respective characters to be normal, everyday people who face difficult problems because of their class.
Batman and Robin, Kirk and Spock, Andy and Barney, Meredith and Christina Spongebob and Patrick; what’s so special about all of these characters? The answer itself is quite simple: they all have someone looking out for them. The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men are two stories set in the early 1900’s. However, they portray 2 diverse perspectives of the lives of those in that era. Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, tells about the lavish, extravagant lives of the upper class and how their possessions overtook them. Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, chronicles the story of 2 impoverished young men and their longing for true friendship. Fitzgerald and Steinbeck portray characters who show that the need for companionship is a
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is told by Nick Carraway, a young man looking for independence. Caraway writes about his nearby neighbor Jay Gatsby, a millionaire who throws enormous parties. Nick soon finds out that Gatsby is in love with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, who is married to Tom Buchanan. A story filled with promises, hope, betrayal, love, pleasure, trust issues, money, and affairs.
Genevieve Liebert Mr. Stark English Honors May 1, 2018 Compare and Contrast: The Great Gatsby & Of Mice and Men “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald, 180). In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald covers the American dream from someone who lives it during the roaring twenties. The book was about a man named, Nick, who lived in the West Egg in New York next to Jay Gatsby, a newly wealthy man.
Although, Nick was Gatsby’s neighbor, the relationship they formed probably wouldn’t have been if Nick didn’t have close relations to Daisy. For instance, not many of Gatsby’s party guests personally knew him however, Jordan Baker did, a close friend of Daisy’s. Gatsby could have very well made an acquaintance with Jordan due to her connection just as he did with Nick. He manipulated both Nick and Jordan like puppets to get to Daisy. In addition, he had a childish belief that through Nick he could erase four years of Daisy’s life along with her child and marriage. This notion is not only delusional and manipulative but also selfish. In fact, in the text, it states “”Oh, you want too much!” she [Daisy] cried to Gatsby. “I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.”” In the process of hurting Tom, Gatsby is completely disregarding Daisy’s feelings and only focusing on his desires. He wants Daisy and doesn’t care if he becomes a “careless
As a child, one may have been sure that their future consisted of becoming a superhero and battling evil monsters, but as time goes by, people grow, they mature, and became aware that superhuman abilities are beyond their capacity. What would have happened if everyone continued to believe in their wildest fantasies beyond childhood? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck explores this idea in distinctive detail. Gatsby looks into a mysterious man’s life in the 1920s and the secrets behind the extravagant parties he threw for all but himself, and his longing for a true love that consumed his sensibility. Of Mice and Men revolves around two peculiar young men in Great Depression era who worked to earn
Regarding Gatsby, Nick "had enough of all of them [referring to Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan]"(Fitzgerald 79) and he thought Gatsby was "despicable."(Fitzgerald 79) This is all just after the accident. By the end of the whole story though, Nick's sympathy toward Gatsby improved. He felt terrible that no one paid honor to this man or cared that he was dead.
However, once Nick gets to know the nature of his personality a bit better, he realizes that Gatsby is in love with his cousin, Daisy. This proves that Gatsby has vast amounts of hope, having been in love with the same girl for over five years despite her marriage to Tom Buchanan during the time they were apart. In fact, it was stated that Gatsby had “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” (page 2). Gatsby is a charismatic figure, although enigmatic at times. However, like any character, Gatsby has his flaws. He can be arrogant and rather blunt with people. He’s also rather controlling and possessive of Daisy, and demands that she tell her husband she never loved him just because he was in love with her now. Gatsby has a habit of dismissing her feelings, saying that “she was very excited this afternoon… she hardly knew what she was saying” about the fact that she explained that she did love her husband once, but she loved Gatsby now. Despite this, in the end Gatsby was a good man, and the last thing Nick told him before his death was, “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole bunch put together.”
Everyone has a dream that they want to achieve. The goal in life is to find something valuable to achieve. Many people immigrated to America for a second chance in life. The American dream is a goal someone wants to achieve in America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men are two books that are prime examples of the American dream. The Great Gatsby is a story about a guy named Nick from the Midwest moving to New York for a job in the stock market. He finds many friends along the way, including Gatsby. Nick lived next door to Gatsby’s mansion. Gatsby used this mansion to try to marry a girl he loved named Daisy. In the end, Gatsby did not get married to Daisy. Of Mice and Men takes place during the great depression, which makes it hard for people to get work and earn money. The story is about two men in California who have a dream of having their own ranch. George and Lennie get a job at a ranch where they buck barley. They made friends with an old man named Candy, who wanted to help them buy a ranch house. Lennie had a mental disorder, which makes it hard for him to understand. He accidentally killed a lady because of mental disorder. In the end, Lennie was shot by George and he was not able to live on his own ranch. These two books are similar because characters from both books want to achieve their American dream. Although they did have their American dream, it was difficult for them to achieve it. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck
These characters live in the age of the “Hollow Men,” and are portrayed as empty and absent-minded people. In fact, Nick voices his grievances with this at the end of the story; after Nick meets Tom Buchanan a couple months following Gatsby’s death, he takes time to reflect, pondering, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (179). Shaking Tom’s hand, he states that he feels like he “were talking to a child” (179). Nick feels a personal disdain for the carelessness of the characters in the book. Gatsby, however, acts with real thoughtfulness, as he exhibits his authenticity multiple times in the novel. Reflecting on Gatsby’s life, Nick proclaims that Gatsby’s heart “was in a constant, turbulent riot” (99). He then tells that “the most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted [Gatsby] in his bed at night” (99). These examples help validate that Gatsby, unlike the other characters, was genuine enough to feel passionate and convey emotion. While the readers dislike Tom and Daisy’s emptiness, they favor Gatsby’s compassionate and sincere personality, as they can relate to his
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship is portrayed as obsessive, materialistic, and ineffective. Gatsby displays the quality of obsessiveness within the relationship by consuming himself with the desire to bring back the image of Daisy he fell in love with and his romance with her that had existed in the past. The intensity of Gatsby’s obsession is displayed when Gatsby invites Daisy and Nick over to his house. Nick observes that Gatsby “had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock” (Fitzgerald 92). Nick’s examination of Gatsby obsession reveals that Gatsby has had this intense
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men are set in two close time periods, but give a different feel to the setting in each book. In both books, women have a status lower than men. Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle and Curley’s wife are seen as inferior, most likely due to society’s view of women during the time periods. In The Great Gatsby and in Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is often put aside, seen through the actions of women characters.
Romance, love, and destiny. Connections are formed like bridges built of various things; love, trust, money, fate. Some bridges are stronger than others and some bridges connect people who perhaps shouldn’t be connected. The movie “The Great Gatsby” better expresses the romantic relationships and connections between characters. Between Tom and Daisy, whose relationship may have more to do with survival than love, with Myrtle and Tom, the bridge between them connecting two souls searching for something more in life. And then there are bridges like the one between Jordan and Nick, filled with lies and a bridge not often travelled, and if you’re lucky you come across a bridge like Gatsby and Daisy's, which is made of love but filled with obstacles. These bridges play a key part in the story and the movie most definitely does a better job at expressing these connections between characters.