Similarities Between Othello And The Great Gatsby

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a mistake that inevitably leads to his or her downfall. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows narrator, Nick Carraway as he moves next door to protagonist Jay Gatsby. Jay is a mysterious, self invented millionaire, who believes in the American Dream, and confuses it with his love interest, Daisy which leads him to his demise. The play “Othello” is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, about Othello and Desdemona, two interracial lovers who’s marriage is sabotaged by the envious ensign, Iago. In both novels Gatsby and Othello are portrayed as “tragic heroes”, as they have triggered their own downfalls, and decided their own fate. Their actions, motives and intentions ultimately …show more content…
In “The Great Gatsby” Jay Gatsby perceives to be someone he is not, using slang such as “old sport” (Fitzgerald, 93) to portray a false image of himself. To impress Daisy he appears to be a wealthy admirable man of old money. He constantly throws extravagant parties to fuel a mutual need: that is to lessen the gap between what is not real, and what is real. When Gatsby dies we learn the reality of the situation as very few people attend his funeral “Why, my God! They used to go there by the hundreds” (Fitzgerald, 140). The theme of the American Dream also demonstrates appearances vs reality. Throughout the novel it appears as a reality that remains in the distance, and is almost unattainable. The American Dream portrays the illusion that with money comes perfect life and love, which is not true. Gatsby strives for this dream with the hopes that it will win him the affection of the women he loves, but he fails to see the inevitable downfall of his ideal world. In a similar way, “Othello” captures the theme of appearance vs reality through the protagonist, Iago. He appears to the characters as an honest trustworthy man, and he is often referred to as “honest Iago” (I.iii.294). In Iago, Shakespeare shows us a character who acts against his image, and has set up a false reputation for honesty “I am not what I am” (I.i.66). In reality Iago is an intelligent villain, …show more content…
Through textual evidence it is clear that Daisy and Desdemona contributed to the moral corruption of the protagonists. It is also evident through Iago, and Gatsby that not everything is how it appearances. Finally both texts exemplify how possibilities and aspirations cannot be achieved without proper judgement and careful analysis into decisions. These themes explored throughout the texts defiantly set the characters up for downfall and contributed to the overall image of a tragic