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Essay / A comparison of the theme of obsession in The Great Gatsby and A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby revolve around a main character who serves as a vessel revealing the major theme of the book. The Great Gatsby chronicles Jay Gatsby's quest for love, while Farewell to Arms tells the story of Frederic Henry, a man caught in the middle of love and war. Fitzgerald and Hemingway depict these characters, respectively, as detached individuals absorbed in an ideal, but each writer does so in his own style. Fitzgerald depicts Gatsby in a sensual and poetic manner, primarily through complex prose. Hemingway, on the other hand, reveals the character of Frederick in a realistic and concrete way through a combination of literary elements such as dialogue, structure and form, and through the events that transpire in the book. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The styles of both authors are revealed immediately upon the introduction of each character in the novel. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a man who had a "heightened sensitivity to life" but who at the same time was so detached from everything that at the lavish parties he threw, he "stood alone on the steps of marble, looking at the group. group with approving eyes” (Fitzgerald 6, 54). Here it is immediately established that Gatsby had a sense of vitality within him that did not involve the hedonism and pleasure with which he surrounds himself and perpetuates himself. Additionally, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby's smile as having "an eternal quality of reassurance", but despite this, no one interacted with him, "no one fainted back at [him] and no French bob touched [his] shoulder” (52, 55). . Through the paradoxical description of Gatsby using poetic and unconventional diction, Fitzgerald creates an impression of Gatsby that gives the reader insight into his distant yet absorbed personality, which persists throughout the book. Hemingway presents the character of Henry in a different way. The story is written from Henry's point of view; therefore, there is no explicit or formal description of Henry's character. Instead, the reader gains information through the events that occur at the beginning of the book and the way they are constructed. Hemingway gives the reader a deeper insight into Henry's personality by revealing Henry's thoughts while he was drunk: "I had not been to any place where the snow was dry and powdery [but rather] to the smoke cafes and nights where the play was spinning. .." (Hemingway 13). This line serves two purposes. First, it reveals Henry's guilt for choosing a hedonistic escape over a spiritual escape. As Henry describes how he "felt bad" and “couldn't understand why he didn't leave,” Hemingway reveals the slight moral conflict that occurred within Henry as well as the lack of structure in his life (13). will result in a heavy dependence on Catherine By revealing the way he lived his life aimlessly before Catherine, Hemingway reinforces the importance Henry placed on their relationship. Additionally, this line reveals how Hemingway uses the. structure to reveal Henry's state of mind: Henry's fragmented thought pattern while drunk was reflected in the disjointed sentences and words of the passage Unlike Fitzgerald, Hemingway uses very simple language, direct and concise, revealing Henry's thoughts and emotions. He also uses structure to reveal a side of his mind.character who is raw and uncensored. Both Fitzgerald and Hemingway give the reader a glimpse of their characters' detachment from the beginning, but Fitzgerald does so in a poetic and emotional way while Hemingway accomplishes the task by providing realities such as events and thoughts that the reader can get inspired. conclusions.Fitzgerald and Hemingway continue to develop their characters throughout the book in a variety of distinct ways. Fitzgerald repeatedly reveals Gatsby's obsession with Daisy and conveys this obsession to the reader through the character Nick, the narrator, and a character who observes events as they occur. As the book progresses, the reader sees how much Gatsby loves Daisy, how he was so "consumed with wonder at Daisy's presence" that he "reevaluated everything in his house based on the measure of the response that this aroused from his beloved eyes". (Fitzgerald 97). Nick's observations give the reader an idea of how Gatsby was in love with Daisy while Fitzgerald's lyrical articulation of these observations evokes relative feelings in the reader. Likewise, Hemingway develops the character of Henry much like Gatsby in the sense that both characters' lives were dominated by one thing: their love for a woman. Henry's devotion to Catherine is evident in his conversations in which he says he wants her to "ruin him" and when he repeatedly says that "if [she is] not with [him], . it] has nothing in common. the world” (Hemingway 250 257). The frequency of these conversations and thoughts about how "he felt weak for loving her so much" reveal to the reader the intensity of Henry's love for Catherine. Hemingway does not linger on description to convey the emotions of the characters; instead, he expresses these emotions directly via dialogue and insight into the character's mind. Henry's love for Catherine is reminiscent of Gatsby, but each character's love is displayed in different ways: Fitzgerald's style is elaborate and poetic, while Hemingway's is simple and realistic. As both characters' stories conclude, so do their respective decisions to commit to a single ideal. and disconnecting from everything ultimately takes its toll on them. In The Great Gatsby, this outcome may first appear to be Gatsby's death, but upon closer examination, what affected him the most was the collapse of his dream: the loss of Daisy. Even though "the dead dream fought...trying to touch what was no longer tangible," Daisy "sinked deeper and deeper into herself," leaving Gatsby with nothing although he invested everything (Fitzgerald 142). Gatsby's death was actually a fitting conclusion to the end of his immense dream. Fitzgerald reveals how Gatsby "paid a high price for living too long with a single dream" through Gatsby's eventual corruption and vivid, profound, and slightly elegiac depiction of him (167). Henry's story also ended on a tragic note, and his fate and that of Gatsby bear a slight resemblance. Both men were ultimately left with nothing because they invested everything they had in one thing. When Henry abandoned the war, he did not do so just for Catherine; however, he poured all his attentions upon her, including those he had already engaged in the war. To Henry, “all other things were unreal” except him and Catherine (Hemingway 249). As Catherine neared death, Henry thought in his head, “What if she dies? She wouldn't die... yes, but what if she died? She would not die” (320). These lines reveal the vague distortion in Henry's head and,.