Comparing The Great Gatsby, O Captain My Captain, And The Open Boat

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Rags to riches, power, voyage, and tragedy are common themes in The Great Gatsby, O Captain, My Captain!, and The Open Boat. In The Great Gatsby, death represents unfulfilled goals, while for both O Captain, My Captain! and The Open Boat represents that a sacrifice must be made. In all three pieces of literature involved the theme of herculean effort, which represents that giving your all does not guarantee accomplishing your goal. Lastly, the three text utilized the theme, dynamics of social class and power, which is significant for the importance and dominance of each character. In The Great Gatsby, O Captain! My Captain!, and The Open Boat connects with the themes of inevitable death, herculean effort, and the dynamics of social class and …show more content…
These three text proved that giving your all does not always end in your favor. Gatsby worked his way to his rich and fame to get Daisy. "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay"(Fitzgerald 63). It was not a coincidence at all that they lived near each other. Gatsby wanted to grab Daisy’s attention, so Daisy would realized that he was back with tons of money. In the end, Gatsby tried winning back Daisy, but was killed during his quest. "A rope stretched across the main gate and a policeman by it kept out the curious…’He had a big future before him, you know’” (Fitzgerald 171). All of his hard work drowned in the pool with his dead corpse. Gatsby had a great life ahead of him because he had herculean effort. Unfortunately that is not the case for everyone. Another person that drowned in his own hard work was the oiler in the journey to safety. The oiler gave hope to the other sailors on the boat. He believed that they would reach land nearby and did whatever it took to arrive back home. The oiler “worked double-watch in the engine-room of the ship” (Crane Chapter 3). Unfortunately, the ocean had a different outcome for him and ended his life. Sometimes producing your best can be the death of you. The captain in Whitman’s poem died from performing his best to get everyone home safely. “The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship …show more content…
Gatsby lived in the West Egg where he had loads of money, threw crazy parties, and wore suits everyday. He was seen as a superior person because he had many objects that many people wish for. As Nick Carraway stated to Gatsby, ‘‘You 're worth the whole damn bunch put together’" (Fitzgerald 154). Gatsby was worth so much money, so that Daisy would run to him. Without Gatsby at the top of the social class, he could have not bragged to Daisy about how marvelous his life was. If Gatsby was not rich, he would have been treated differently because it was not the American dream to be poor and Daisy would have left him in the past. But Gatsby cried out to Nick, “‘Can 't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!’" (Fitzgerald 110). This shows that Gatsby put so much effort to get his Daisy back. Gatsby wanted to be together like they were previously. On the other hand, the oiler was not at the top of the pyramid. He was below his captain and had to follow every single order that he was given. But as for the captain from Whitman’s poem, he controlled the situation and handled it well for the mean part. In The Great Gatsby, the wealthy people were corrupt and mean. For example Myrtle stated, “‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time’...She looked at me and laughed pointlessly” (Fitzgerald 34). Myrtle wanted to act snobby to make herself seem fancy as if she wanted to be like

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