The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby EssayThe most iconic characters in literature atomic number 18 alienated by the changing world well-nigh them. Discuss these ideas in relation to The Great Gatsby and Nineteen Eighty-Four. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald frequently plants how isolated his strongest characters be by the world around them through with(predicate) a variety of techniques. Both Nick and Gatsby are presented as being alienated from the world in some way and, as suggested by William Troy, both characters settle two threads in Fitzgeralds own life intelligent and responsible vs. dream ridden romantic. He uses symbolism frequently throughout the novel to suggest that this disperse autobiographical portrayal of his characters is interpreter of the limbo between power and dream as said by Lionel Trilling in his critical essay, and the immovability this creates inwardly people. I find confinement of characters is shown in the novel through a use of pathetic fallacy. Fitzgerald als o uses the novel to introduce the theme of crystallize and demonstrate how wealthiness constricts different people in different ways, despite sometimes seeming like the key to happiness.Many of these ideas are echoed in Nineteen Eight-Four, in which Orwell uses symbolism to emphasise his totalitarian oppressive society. One way Fitzgerald portrays his characters as confined by the world around them is through his use of pathetic fallacy. The devise endure-beaten is used to describe Nicks bungalow on the West Egg and this implied that it wasnt just the people in The Great Gatsby that the weather and lurch bore down on, tho the buildings too.When Nick start-off visits Tom Buchanan at his home, Fitzgerald says the two men talk on the sunny porch with the sunshine here being presented as a sense of optimism that Nick can find companionship with a man he knew at Yale. When Nick talks to Daisy during that first visit, he tells her theres a persistent wail all night along the shore of where theyve left Nick is bowing to Daisys lust to be missed by personifying nature to allow it to chase after her, much like Gatsby.Sunshine again is used by Fitzgerald to present those who are indulgently soused when Nick visits Tom and Myrtles apartment which was full of cheerful sun until night time and alcohol were brought into the story. Alcohol is unremarkably accompanied with darkness within the novel, to reflect Fitzgeralds potential personal distaste as a recovering alcoholic at the point of committal to writing the novel. Of Gatsbys parties, it is said they are held on summer nights, a phrase still managing to retain the concept of summer and nice weather to attach to the wealth. once Nick has arranged the meeting between Daisy and Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses pathetic fallacy to mirror Gatsbys emotions within the chapter. As he waits for Daisy coloured with embarrassment, it is pouring rain but once Daisy arrives and he sees her with unreasoning joy it has stopped rai ning, and finally as Nick leaves Daisy and Gatsby looking at each other with wonder over a piano, there are twinkle-bells of sunshine leaving a sense of hope to the chapter that the constraining rain did not hold.Again, at Gatsbys funeral, Fitzgerald writes the weather to very clear reflect the characters moods. Nick is deeply saddened by the loss of his friend and the rain is repeatedly described to be thick and heavy, a force to be reckoned with that the characters must move through to the cars. The rain is shown to hang around Nick, replacing the people the funeral lacks in attendance and shows that Fitzgerald thinks it is a trapping task for a man to abandon the side of him that dreams.Similarly, Orwell also uses metaphor at the beginning of Nineteen Eighty-Four, as Winston enters Victory Mansions to describe the swirl of gritty dust pursuance him into the building, reminiscent of how the troupe trace every movement and every action, confining their citizens in the most suff ocating of manners the dust reminiscent of the dark, rainy cast out in The Great Gatsby closing in on the characters. Fitzgerald frequently depicts the isolation of characters in The Great Gatsby with use of various reoccurring symbols. Colours are something the author uses in various ways.The colour scandalmongering, which we have already seen mirrored in Fitzgeralds use of pathetic fallacy with the large amounts of yellow sunshine symbolises decay and corruptness. The proofreader is told Gatsbys car is a rich cream colour. Not only is the mustard colour of the car symbolism, it is a representation of Gatsby himself ostentatious and over-the-top in displaying his wealth. Later in the novel, Fitzgerald writes that the car mirrored a dozen suns with its large amount of windshields. This give the interpretation that the car is glowing, further drawing on the yellow symbolism of decay for the personal representation of corruption.Perhaps intentionally, it is also this car that lead s to Gatsbys own destruction by being so conspicuous. Gatsbys decease by his own car leads to the idea presented by Fitzgerald that one cannot escape decay. The Valley of Ashes is riddled with symbolism, from the ash grey men that inhabit the grey primer coat to the looming billboard eyes of T. J. Eckleburg. The colour grey here symbolises dreariness and monotony, and with the character of Wilson, Fitzgerald ties this to a lack of wealth. The lack of light implies claustrophobia within its inhabitants Tom says its computable for Myrtle to get out.The dimmed eyes of Eckleburg look out over the characters in the novel and symbolise the ever growing commercialism of America and how this change causes moral depravity. This is again emphasised by how Wilson equates these eyes to deity when finding out about Myrtles affair with the phrase God knows what shes being doing. The eyes watched as Tom and Myrtle had to drive past them to get to their apartment, and the loss of Myrtles life oc curred in the miserable vale of ashes under their omniscient gaze.Another colour Fitzgerald utilises is color, though it is usually placed in juxtaposition to the character wearing it. Daisy and Jordan, first seen in rippling white dresses, are not seen in any other colour but white falsely implying the purity and innocence women were just losing the expectation to have. This lies in seam with Joan Korenmans interpretation that says the ambiguity of Daisys hair colour from dark to light symbolises the fair and the dark women of literature, with fair hair being stereotyped as innocent something the reader finds neither Daisy nor Jordan to be.Fitzgerald is also referencing the expansion of femininity with the 1920s new women. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell also uses symbolism when he writes a nib that gazes down with large, dark eyes much like those of T. J. Eckleburg, that are pasted all over London by the Party comforting to some inhabitants with the differentiate Big Broth er, but a threat to others because the posters watch their every move. heretofore the connotations of Big Brother are a lot more oppressive than those of God in The Great Gatsby and cause Winstons alienation and his subsequent relationship with Julia.Another way Fitzgerald shows that the characters in The Great Gatsby are ostracised because of the world they inhabit is through his presentation of classism and how that affects the interaction between people, as well as isolating them to their own class. Ross Posnock argues that the characters in The Great Gatsby are so obsessed with material wealth they treat each other like objects and this could leave many people feeling objectified and therefore ostracised by those who claim to care about them. This is seen when Nick says the cocktails are floating completely overlooking the fact Gatsbys hired staff are holding the trays.Marxists argue that Nick overlooks the existence and therefore the difficulties of the working class. However at the start of the novel, after the events of the story, Fitzgerald writes that Nick is aware the fundamentally decencies are parcelled out unequally at birth at that point, which means he knows class play a big role in identity in his current society. Fitzgerald further supports this with the phrase wanted the world to be in kindred which is simultaneously a nod to the passing of World War I and also emphasising that Nick has had enough of the upper class selfish behaviours.When Nick is seated on the porch with Daisy and Tom, Tom states that their society is going to pieces and spews racist ideals. This is Fitzgerald showing that Tom feels he is at the top of society and does not want to be semiaquatic by those he feels are beneath him the lower class and immigrants. However, earlier when Tom shows Nick his nice place the reader can see it isnt as big or obnoxious as Gatsbys home and the divide between the Old Rich and New Rich starts to become clear. This clarified differen ce in class leaves the upper classes estranged from each other.At the start of the novel, it is made clear that even Nicks family have been wealthy for three generations and this makes him acceptable despite been less rich than those he socialises with. Like Fitzgerald, Orwell uses the class divide in Nineteen Eighty-Four to define between members of the Party (who are granted great privileges and freedoms), the middle class who obey the Party (such as Winston), and the proles who ( are a swarming mass so poor they are ignore by the Party, which is so convinced of their inability to have action against them much like Nicks complete ignorance to Gatsbys servants at the party.After exploring a variety of factors throughout this essay, I agree with the critical opinion, especially in terms of The Great Gatsby as one of Fitzgeralds main themes throughout was of how Gatsby was trap in the past and this isolated him from the present. This can be seen especially in the last paragraph of the book, in which Fitzgerald compares his character to boats beating on. I feel Orwells characters also felt claustrophobic in their London because of the new law implemented by the Party, and Winstons submission at the end of the novel is representative of Orwells warning to the readers.