By the ending of World War 1, over 30 million soldiers were either MIA, dead, or injured. The generation was later labeled “the lost generation”. Indian Camp is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway in 1924. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Both stories institute a post-war society’s pain and suffering as they were written a handful of years after the ending of World War 1. The Great Gatsby is a novel portrayed through the eyes of Nick who follows a man known as Jay Gatsby, and his persona as “The Great Gatsby”. Indian Camp is a short story through the eyes of a child witnessing a birth. Both stories set an archetype for Modernist literature. Indian Camp, is a short story of unexpected loss and twisted
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In Indian Camp, the son witnesses a birth which constitutes a euphoric feeling of happiness which is immediately shattered by the father committing suicide. In The Great Gatsby, a similar situation happened. Gatsby is murdered by Wilson under false pretenses, and then Wilson ends his own life, “It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald 162). With the book named, “The Great Gatsby”, the expectation would be for Gatsby to end the novel living a prosperous life, but the novel ends with a twisted murder-suicide of the novel’s icon. The death’s dictate a destruction of happy endings which is shown throughout the Modernist period. Another theme of the novel which ties into unexpected loss, is depression. A symbol for depression is the valley of ashes, “This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The valley of ashes is meant to signify the masses which don’t have the luxuries of the few wealthy individuals. Labeling the men who roam the valley of ashes as, “men who move dimly and already crumbling …show more content…
Although Tom can be seen as the protagonist on the surface, which could impact the perception of The Great Gatsby being a Modernist novel, it is proven among amounting evidence that this is a false assumption. Both writings are marred with wounds and unexpected loss; especially amongst male characters which highlights the burden on men. As these three themes are repeatedly proven in both novels, The Great Gatsby proves to fit the archetype of Modernism literature set by Indian
In Indian Camp, the son witnesses a birth which constitutes a euphoric feeling of happiness which is immediately shattered by the father committing suicide. In The Great Gatsby, a similar situation happened. Gatsby is murdered by Wilson under false pretenses, and then Wilson ends his own life, “It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald 162). With the book named, “The Great Gatsby”, the expectation would be for Gatsby to end the novel living a prosperous life, but the novel ends with a twisted murder-suicide of the novel’s icon. The death’s dictate a destruction of happy endings which is shown throughout the Modernist period. Another theme of the novel which ties into unexpected loss, is depression. A symbol for depression is the valley of ashes, “This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The valley of ashes is meant to signify the masses which don’t have the luxuries of the few wealthy individuals. Labeling the men who roam the valley of ashes as, “men who move dimly and already crumbling …show more content…
Although Tom can be seen as the protagonist on the surface, which could impact the perception of The Great Gatsby being a Modernist novel, it is proven among amounting evidence that this is a false assumption. Both writings are marred with wounds and unexpected loss; especially amongst male characters which highlights the burden on men. As these three themes are repeatedly proven in both novels, The Great Gatsby proves to fit the archetype of Modernism literature set by Indian