In what ways are Gatsby and George Wilson similar or dissimilar, to whom is Nick more sympathetic towards? Essay

In what ways are Gatsby and George Wilson akin or dissimilar, to whom is incision more(prenominal) sympathetic towards?Fitzgerald purposefully contrasts his characters throughout the novel, in order to compare contrasting worlds that were present in Ameri tail assembly society. Although there are somewhat straigh ex out differences in the midst of Gatsby and George, there are also superficial similarities surrounded by them that each man has to experience and empower up with.Drawing upon the more apparent differences between these two characters, it is evident that they use up differing wealth. Gatsby is depicted as being recondite through the means of the Hotel de Ville or mansion(11) that he owns, and also by the way he holds lavish parties where champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger-bowls(48). Con brassring that Gatsby lives in western United States Egg non nonwithstanding reveals the veritable extent of his wealth, further additionally it shows that he is noveau riche rather than old rich like those who hold up East Egg. Gatsby has only recently acquired his wealth after migrating from the Midwest whilst pursuance the New the Statesn aspiration. The professional intake consisted of both American citizen having the right to pursue their goals and woolgathers through spartan work and free choice.It was the hazard to make individual choices without the underlying restrictions of class, caste, religion, race, or ethnic group, that once overshadowed volume. Often, people followed the common saying, Go air jacket young man where the land was uninhabited and extremely fertile. In the case of the New dream, it was simply how the dream had become interpreted by the 1920s. It was a distortion from the original dream to the idea of Get rich quick. Being of New wealth, Gatsby tries to flaunt his wealth roughly.When prick asks Gatsby whether he is going to go dwelling house that night following the vehicular manslaughter of myr tle by Daisy, break off describes Gatsby in chapter eight, as wearing a pink rag of a suit(147).This description suggests how Gatsby wears these expensive, gaudy and colourful items of clothing in order to break his wealth ostentatiously. The idea behind this pretentious displayal of the opulence that he has acquired, may be a method used by Gatsby in order to stand out from the crowd and to break away from periphery and into East Egg high up society. This is a means to an end that he requires so that he can get unconstipated conclusionr to retrieving Daisy and thus accomplishing his distorted version of the American Dream.In comparison, George lives in the assail tip that is the Valley of the Ashes. All that grows on it is dead and the words Ash and grey that Fitzgerald uses to describe it with in chapter two, not only emphasise the literally stifle and unfulfilling nature of the landscape here, just now also the dull and unfulfilling lives of those like George Wilson who inhabit this valley. In chapter two it becomes apparent how little respect Georges wife has for her husband, when she says He burrowed somebodys best suit to get married in. This shows how poor he is because he cannot sluice afford a wedding suit of his own to get married in. In comparison to Gatsby, he has little material wealth.Gatsby appears to pick up originated from a poor background in the West which is similar to Georges background. However, the effects of this poor background influence twain workforce differently. Originating in the West, rural North Dakota, he followed the New American Dream in order to Get rich quick and this pushed him towards organized crime, such as bootlegging. During the 1920s, there was a prohibition which imposed the law that alcohol was to be banned. Gangsters like Gatsby, were able-bo fall apartd to make a fortune out of this time through the illegal distribution of alcohol and duty in stolen securities.This was all a means though of achie ving his distorted version of the American Dream, which was to retrieve Daisy. Importantly, he does not abide by the protestant work ethic which states that a man should work hard and earn a comfortable living by which he and his family can live a peaceful, gratifying spirit off. He also participated in a bit of bond fraud on the side as Fitzgerald notifies the reader in chapter nine (158). A strange caller says to slit (thinking him Gatsby), Young Parkes in trouble. They picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter. The way he commits himself to such illegalities is irresponsible on his behalf and it reveals how the American Dream has become revolved around money. Human greediness to obtain money, have debauch the dream that once was so much more innocent.Comparatively, George does not involve himself in such a tainted world and instead follows a morally acceptable path in life by owning a legal service depart custodyt. To some extent though, Fitzgerald uses this char acter to emphasise how such a traditional place like the one George takes up (where one follows the Protestant work ethic), is unable to survive in such a morally decayed world that was the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald describes him in chapter two, as mingling without delay with the cement colour of the walls of his garage. In some way it shows how the years he has been following this legitimate path, have caused him to effectively fade away into the dull environment that he inhabits.Kathleen Parkinson described Gatsby as a inscrutable and ambivalent figure. This is a true interpretation of Gatsby in the sense that, unlike George, there is a build up prior to his introduction into the novel. At Gatsbys first party in chapter three, several(a) rumours of Gatsbys past circu belatedly the party. One guest exclaims that Gatsby is a nephew of Kaiser Wilhelm and others go on to say how they comprehend that he had killed a man or been a German spy or been in the American army. All this myster y serves to stimulate Nicks curiosity, which possibly leads to his more lenient and sympathetic military position when it comes to Gatsby. It also creates a sense of suspense in the reader that heightened Gatsbys entrance into the novel. Rumour plays an total role in the novel as Fitzgerald uses it to provide the reader with the option of deciding whether or not they believe it and this technique evokes more interest in certain characters like Gatsby.Evidently, Gatsby embodies the idea of the American Dream as is suggested in chapter three where Nick reports on how Gatsby would look across the golf at that commonality light every night. This green light would have symbolised various things for Gatsby. It would have been a symbol of primarily the American Dream, but also more specifically for Gatsby, the prospect of the green colour of money and achieving Daisy. Gatsby appears to have achieved the American Dream to some extent as he has risen from an impoverished child to a young man with great material wealth. He is the main dreamer in the novel however, it appears that he is following two dreams. His initial dream becomes apparent in chapter nine where Gatsbys father dialog of Gatsbys SCHEDULE that he wrote when he was cardinal.In the GENERAL RESOLVES (164) Gatsby wrote Read one improving record book or magazine per week which reveals straightaway how his dream of becoming rich and fitting into the world of high society, originates from when he was a teenager. Additionally, it uncovers the immaturity of Gatsby and his dream, as he has neer allowed his dream to develop and grow up like he has. His other dream was a distorted version of the American dream, (which in some way used the wealth he had gained from achieving the American Dream), which was to retrieve his childhood love Daisy. This dream was establish in the past, and therefore fixates on the past. Gatsbys nave personality and his ruthlessness to achieve this dream prune what Daisy has beco me and he appears to pursue the old Daisy which remains vividly in his dreams.The way in which Gatsby was dictated by his undying love for a woman is a reflection of Fitzgeralds own life and dreams too. He too joined the army (1917) and eventually fell in love with a seventeen year old girl called Zelda Sayre. Zelda finally agreed to marry him, but her overpowering desire for wealth, fun, and leisure time led her to delay their wedding until he could prove a success. Their birth appears to be like Gatsby and Daisys. The following quote reveals the point in the novel at which all of Daisys charm and beauty is bare away, leaving nothing but money to be admired underneath That was it. Id never understood before.It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals song of it. (Chapter seven) Gatsby realizes late into the novel, how his dream has been ripped apart into dollar bills as he discovers that for years he has been in pursuit of not love, but cold, harsh money which is hidden behind the disguise of a human face. Following the decease of Gatsby and the suicide of George, it becomes apparent that Fitzgerald is using the deaths of a rich man and a poor man who both set out to achieve their un affectable goals, to symbolise the death of the original dream on which America was founded.With consideration given to George, he too shares the American Dream with Gatsby however he seems to be move the old American Dream and not the New one like Gatsby. George reveals his dream in chapter seven, where he says Ive been here too long. I want to get away. My wife and I want to go West. Shes been talking just about it for ten years. Clearly his dream is the opposite of Gatsbys. He wants to migrate West like the original settlers and wants to follow the idea to Go West young manThis idea was normally followed by many families who would migrate out to the West and set up a basis to rumple wealth. This is the ca se for the characters, Tom and Daisy, whose families formed their wealth out in the West through hard labour, so that their children could have better lives than they did. Undoubtedly, George wants his share of this however, the way in which he says that his wife has been talking about it for ten years is possibly a suggestion that it is more her dream than his and that he has been bullied into dreaming of it by her haughty nature. Whatever the case, he almost definitely dreams of a more comfortable life than what he already suffers.Gatsby and George are similar in the ways they both re carve up to deception in order to attain their primitively unattainable dreams. They both resort to this in their relationships. Gatsby is found to do this in chapters four and pentad. When Nick is informed of the history between Gatsby and Daisy, by Jordan, it appears that she believed him to have wealthy roots when he did not. In chapter five he tells Daisy how it only took him three years to ea rn the money that bought his mansion. He initially created the false science of himself that fooled Daisy into false hope. Daisy probably saw in Gatsby a future of material possessions and comfort, which she adored. But he did not have this and when he comes round to having this in the latter, he lies about how he came to earn the money. He shields her from his true identity as a criminal, so that once again he can relight the false apprehension she had of him.George follows suit and lies to Myrtle early on in their relationship. When Myrtle reveals her hatred towards her husband in chapter two, she says I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasnt fit to lick my shoe. As it appears through the use of the word gentleman, Myrtle wanted to marry someone of higher social precondition and of wealth, and George apparently gave her the false hope of this. He creates a false persona that fools her into thinking that her dre am is coming true. In some way, the relationship between George and his wife is possibly what may have occurred in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, if they had run away unneurotic in their youth. There is a mirror image or reflection between Gatsbys relationship and Georges, and Fitzgerald parallels the consequences of both.Comparing both men, they both seem to be solitary figures who are overly involved in their work. For instance, when looking at Gatsby he is clearly a type of loner and this may be pop out to the fact that he is too set upon retrieving Daisy to have anytime for others. The only circumstance that he has friends is when they are a means to an end with Gatsby, as he only manipulates them to get something out of them. For instance, he befriends Jordan and Nick especially as means of getting closer to Daisy. In chapter four, it is clear that Gatsby has manipulated Jordan into sorting out a see between him and Daisy, when she says to Nick Youre supposed to invite her to tea (78). The inclusion of the word supposed, suggests how Gatsby plans what he wants to get out of people.At Gatsbys first party the girls swoon back into the mens encircling arms, but no one swooned backward on Gatsby. This example shows how Gatsby never socialised with people unless he required something from them, and as Nick shows in chapter three where he says that he hasnt even seen the host (49), hardly anyone really knows who Gatsby is. Also, he constantly thinks of his work. Even at his parties, he rudely has to palliate himself to take calls from places like Philadelphia and Chicago which are renowned cities for their corrupt environments where gangsters based themselves. This work is funding his dream in a way, as if he had not been gathering money like this, then he would still be poor and he would not have had the money to buy such been close to Daisy.George similarly is a man of solitude due to his wife and work he is portrayed as having no real friends . He is a sick failure who is reduced to the status of a specter. This ghost-like appearance or presence is highlighted in chapter two when Tom and Nick visit George at the garage and his wife Myrtle is said to have smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost. This emphasises the lack of presence and authority he has, as his wife walks through him not noticing or caring that he is standing there. She is far more interested in Tom to care about where her husband is. The way he is referred to as a ghost the disembodied spirit or instinct of a deceased person is a link to not only death but more specifically, the death of the land he lives in.Fitzgerald is therefore linking George to the failure of the Valley of ashes and it is noticeable that he never does this sort of thing with Gatsby. Gatsby is never linked to the riches of the land of the Eggs, which in a way shows how he does not fit in with the high society of the Eggs and this crucially establishes his isolation within such an environment. George is similar to Gatsby also, in the sense that he always thinks about his work too. This becomes clear in chapter two where he pesters Tom with the question When are you going to sell me that car? This highlights his desperation to make a sale and also suggests that he feels he has to jump on every customer who enters his garage, due to the lack of profession he receives. Further, it shows his solitude as he scarcely has any customers and thus does not have any interactions with other people.Nick as narrator, appears to be far more lenient towards Gatsby. Following the deaths of both men, Nick only makes it his duty to sort out Gatsbys funeral and does not think of Georges. In addition, when Tom wants Nick to meet his mistress in chapter two, Nick says how he had no desire to meet her. This statement suggests how Nick feels he is being disloyal to Daisy. He does not think to consider how George would feel knowing about the affair his wife is having with one of his own acquaintances (Tom). Additionally, Nick seems to overlook Gatsbys criminal behaviours even though he has been given enough evidence to suggest that Gatsby is a gangster.Fitzgeralds portrayal of both men differs greatly, so much so that they appear to be direct opposites of one another. Gatsby is rich and has a more fulfilling life than George, who suffers the dullness of living in a dump (Valley of Ashes) and the lack of respect from his wife. The relationship between George and his wife is peculiar and goes against the historical view of a married couple. In the Victorian era, women would have had to tab at home in order to attend to maternal duties, whilst the husband would have had to provide the income. ordinarily the man had the authority over the woman, and in the case of the Wilsons, there has been a role reversal. However, these two men are linked superficially by their failure to achieve their unattainable dreams which they had been pursu ing throughout life. Considering that Gatsby was originally a working class poor man in previous years, and that he and George both die in honour of their failed dreams, suggests that when a poor man tries to enter into a higher social status like Gatsby, their efforts are rendered useless. Not only does this circumstance reveal the divide in society but additionally it emphasises the moral decay of American society amidst the superficial impressiveness of upper-class profligacy.