In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a purposive man, whose goal in life is to acquire wealth, and-more importantly-the love of his life Daisy. Although five years have passed and Daisy is married, Gatsby constantly turmoils over trying to win her back. Gatsby loses his equable composure when he invites Daisy and Nick to his mansion. Nick observes, "[Gatsby's] head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock, and from this position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy, who was sitting, frightened but graceful, on the edge of a stiff chair"(86). The narrator proceeds to comment that Gatsby almost knocks the clock over, catching it before it falls and they, "believed for a moment that it had smashed in pieces on the floor"(87). To mention the clock multiple times is notable because it possesses the underlying meaning of the preservation of time. A similar event occurs in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye when Holden Caulfield visits a museum he loved as a child. Holden explains that he wishes life was like the glass displays in the museum: unchanging and frozen in time. He was forced to grow up at a young age when he suffered the tragic loss of his little brother. Now he dreams that his life as he knew it before the death would have stayed forever preserved. Like Holden, Gatsby was forced to move forward in life, despite his loss. By catching the clock, Gatsby is essentially freezing time.
I also noticed that The Catcher in the Rye connects to The Great Gatsby, but I was oblivious to the "freezing of time" that both characters wanted to do. Also, Gatsby and Holden both want to be something they are not. Holden yearns for a life that doesn't consist of the "phonyness" of the adult world, and Gatsby desires to be the richest man in Daisy's eyes. Holden and Gatsby's personalities, even though largely different, reveal the "phony" world they both live in.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the comparison of Gatsby to Holden Caulfield, I never thought of it and they are in fact very similar; it was a very good and original idea. They both have unsupportive families, meaning that all of their accomplishments can be credited only to them. Their work and success—by whatever means—are their own. In addition, Holden and Gatsby both try to fit in to a place where they don’t belong. Holden’s inappropriate use of swear words indicate that he is trying to act more mature than he really is, just like Gatsby is trying to act more well-bred than he really is. Gatsby earned his money and status through illegal methods, compared to Holden breaking the law by drinking and smoking. Ultimately, they both have disrespect for the law and are faking their way through life.
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