Discuss the way a particular reading practise has enriched your understanding of a novel you have studied (The Great Gatsby).
Applying different types of readings to different texts often reveals more about the story than the author intended. This seems like a bad idea, however in some cases, these types of readings can be extremely useful. In particular, archetypal / mythological readings are a type of literary criticism that is shaped by cultural mythology, usually Greek mythology, considering the origins of the word archetype are Greek. With the root words being archein and typos, archein meaning ‘original or old ' and typos meaning ‘pattern, model or type ' - hence giving archetype. A perfect example of an archetypal / mythological reading …show more content…
But Gatsby was always after one thing; Daisy. Daisy was drawn to a wealthy, powerful, well-known men, Gatsby thought that his large extravagant house and parts would attract Daisy 's attention, showing Gatsby would do anything in order to get Daisy 's attention. But with this love Gatsby sought after, it also brought along drama and problems, such as when he and Daisy planned to tell Tom that she wanted a divorce, Daisy backed out, and a long string of events occurred, resulting in the death of Myrtle, Tom 's mistress, and Gatsby himself. This shows how much of ‘The Lover ' character archetype that Gatsby is. ‘The Lover ' character archetype is constantly seeking love from a young age from all sorts of people, from platonic and romantically considered relationships. They are constantly seeking attention, appraise and love from the people they surround themselves with. This is shown when Gatsby and Daisy finally reunite, and he is showing Daisy around his house in order to omit to impress her, when Nick notices that ‘he hadn 't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. …show more content…
Helen of Troy was supposedly the most beautiful women in the world, she was so beautiful that The Trojan War occurred between two men who both wanted Helen for themselves. Paris, a Prince of Troy wanted Helen to marry him, although she was already happily married to Menelaus. Paris kidnapped Helen while Menelaus was away, and when he realised, Menelaus called upon the greatest and most powerful leaders of Greece to help him get to Troy and take back his wife. His landing in Troy marked the beginning of The Trojan War. In The Great Gatsby, Helen of Troy is almost recreated with Helen as Daisy, Paris as Jay and Menelaus as Tom. Although The Great Gatsby, is very similar to Helen of Troy, there are a few extra parts in The Great Gatsby. For example, Daisy does cheat on her husband, and Tom knows this, as he exposes it when he finally snaps and yells out "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife." It almost seems that Tom doesn 't mind that his wife is having an affair, but it bothers him that "Mr Nobody from Nowhere" is the one to do so. After stating this, Tom does almost whatever he can to get rid of Gatsby, going to such extremes, even getting someone to indirectly kill Gatsby for him in order to keep Daisy to himself.
Overall, through the use of an archetypal / mythological reading of The Great Gatsby, the
Applying different types of readings to different texts often reveals more about the story than the author intended. This seems like a bad idea, however in some cases, these types of readings can be extremely useful. In particular, archetypal / mythological readings are a type of literary criticism that is shaped by cultural mythology, usually Greek mythology, considering the origins of the word archetype are Greek. With the root words being archein and typos, archein meaning ‘original or old ' and typos meaning ‘pattern, model or type ' - hence giving archetype. A perfect example of an archetypal / mythological reading …show more content…
But Gatsby was always after one thing; Daisy. Daisy was drawn to a wealthy, powerful, well-known men, Gatsby thought that his large extravagant house and parts would attract Daisy 's attention, showing Gatsby would do anything in order to get Daisy 's attention. But with this love Gatsby sought after, it also brought along drama and problems, such as when he and Daisy planned to tell Tom that she wanted a divorce, Daisy backed out, and a long string of events occurred, resulting in the death of Myrtle, Tom 's mistress, and Gatsby himself. This shows how much of ‘The Lover ' character archetype that Gatsby is. ‘The Lover ' character archetype is constantly seeking love from a young age from all sorts of people, from platonic and romantically considered relationships. They are constantly seeking attention, appraise and love from the people they surround themselves with. This is shown when Gatsby and Daisy finally reunite, and he is showing Daisy around his house in order to omit to impress her, when Nick notices that ‘he hadn 't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. …show more content…
Helen of Troy was supposedly the most beautiful women in the world, she was so beautiful that The Trojan War occurred between two men who both wanted Helen for themselves. Paris, a Prince of Troy wanted Helen to marry him, although she was already happily married to Menelaus. Paris kidnapped Helen while Menelaus was away, and when he realised, Menelaus called upon the greatest and most powerful leaders of Greece to help him get to Troy and take back his wife. His landing in Troy marked the beginning of The Trojan War. In The Great Gatsby, Helen of Troy is almost recreated with Helen as Daisy, Paris as Jay and Menelaus as Tom. Although The Great Gatsby, is very similar to Helen of Troy, there are a few extra parts in The Great Gatsby. For example, Daisy does cheat on her husband, and Tom knows this, as he exposes it when he finally snaps and yells out "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife." It almost seems that Tom doesn 't mind that his wife is having an affair, but it bothers him that "Mr Nobody from Nowhere" is the one to do so. After stating this, Tom does almost whatever he can to get rid of Gatsby, going to such extremes, even getting someone to indirectly kill Gatsby for him in order to keep Daisy to himself.
Overall, through the use of an archetypal / mythological reading of The Great Gatsby, the