It is no small statement, yet at the same time no stretch, that the Great Gatsby and Citizen Kane can be the undisputed kings of their respectful American media; less so for their stature (which is monumental but in the case of the Great Gatsby, not totally dominant) in their media but rather for their nature as masterful depictions of a quintessentially American theme. This theme is the pursuit of perfection despite great success, of the emptiness of wealth, and of striving for an ideal that may not exist. This is prevalent in both, with similar characters Gatsby and Kane embodying this quintessential American persona, this idealist, striving for something he has never known.
In art of cinematography that both are excellent; Citizen Kane …show more content…
What unites them so completely and absolutely is their lack of a very essential part of being human: love. Neither truly receive love from anyone; Gatsby does not receive true love, permanent or realistic love from Daisy (before and after she knew of his living in West Egg), and Kane never received love from any of his "lovers", had no friends (Jed remarks in the movie that if Jed hadn't been Kane's friend, then Kane had never had any), and he was never loved by his mother who quickly, unapologetically, and, in fact quite cruelly, sends him to live with a billionaire in the city for a deposit of $50,000 a year ("I've had his bags packed for a week"). It is the latter shameful act of neglect and lack of love that sends Kane into his lifelong sense of emptiness and longing for the loving childhood he never …show more content…
At the end of Citizen Kane, the journalists conclude that the mystery of “rosebud” is unsolvable, that it will always be a missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle. That jigsaw puzzle was the man's life, both Gatsby's and Kane's. Along with the ingredients of the “melting pot” are the jumbled ideas of the American Dream. Is there only one Dream? Perhaps it is simply happiness. No matter if it’s money, love, security or a palace, a snow sled, or a green light, whatever it may be that fills the blank space in their heart, the “dream”, that crucial missing piece, which might have completed the picture, was
In art of cinematography that both are excellent; Citizen Kane …show more content…
What unites them so completely and absolutely is their lack of a very essential part of being human: love. Neither truly receive love from anyone; Gatsby does not receive true love, permanent or realistic love from Daisy (before and after she knew of his living in West Egg), and Kane never received love from any of his "lovers", had no friends (Jed remarks in the movie that if Jed hadn't been Kane's friend, then Kane had never had any), and he was never loved by his mother who quickly, unapologetically, and, in fact quite cruelly, sends him to live with a billionaire in the city for a deposit of $50,000 a year ("I've had his bags packed for a week"). It is the latter shameful act of neglect and lack of love that sends Kane into his lifelong sense of emptiness and longing for the loving childhood he never …show more content…
At the end of Citizen Kane, the journalists conclude that the mystery of “rosebud” is unsolvable, that it will always be a missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle. That jigsaw puzzle was the man's life, both Gatsby's and Kane's. Along with the ingredients of the “melting pot” are the jumbled ideas of the American Dream. Is there only one Dream? Perhaps it is simply happiness. No matter if it’s money, love, security or a palace, a snow sled, or a green light, whatever it may be that fills the blank space in their heart, the “dream”, that crucial missing piece, which might have completed the picture, was