Examples Of Individualism In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the characters are imitations who hide behind their empty words; they lack individualism. Tom Buchanan demands attention with his words, yet they are hollow. Daisy Buchanan speaks to receive attention. Like Tom, her words are meaningless. Tom and Daisy’s marriage is hollow and lacks love. They are restless; they lack God and stability. T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” portrays a collective group of people that speak meaningless words. They go through life as a paradox: living but dead. Their humanity is dead, and their pursuits are empty. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad presents Mr. Kurtz, a man unafraid of saying what he wants. He is labelled as a party of unsound method, but he lives as an individual. Kurtz is not afraid of infamy. THESIS???? Voice is used to characterize
The Hollow Men are Trimmers, a mindless collective that go through life as shadows. Their lives are meaningless and empty. The Hollow Men depend on others to go through life. They hear and see the world, but they are unable to perceive anything. Their core humanity is a sham:
“We are the hollow men/We are the stuffed men/Leaning together/Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!/Our dried voices, when/We whisper together/Are quiet and meaningless/As wind in dry grass/Or rats’ feet over broken glass/In our dry …show more content…
He comes from a family of old money, where wealth gives him the ability to belittle others. One summer night, Daisy’s cousin, Nick Carraway, comes over for dinner. Tom’s demeanor and voice demand the attention of the people in the room. “...a gruff husky tenor, add to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it…” (7). Tom talks down to his guests, like a father scolding a child. As the night progresses, the conversation becomes increasingly hollow and awkward. Tom violently breaks out in a racist