The Great Gatsby, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Open Boat share characteristics that are seen through common threads. The pursuit of goals such as social standing cause feelings of helplessness and isolation. Emotions such as love, friendship, and boredom cause the characters to find salvation in something that doesn’t exist. In these stories the pursuit of a fake “salvation” cause them to lose control of their fate.
The main social system that has an impact in these stories is social hierarchy. In Gatsby, discrimination of West Egg by East Egg was emphasized in the relationship between Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle. When at Gatsby’s party, Daisy expresses her disgust of West Egg when Nick observes, “But the rest (West Egg) offended her—and inarguably, …show more content…
As East Eggers, Tom and Daisy are rooted in their elitist nature that they do not even think about why they are disgusted by West Egg, as it is only natural. The class system was also important in The Yellow Wallpaper, where the husband, while having good intent, told the woman she was, “…forbidden to “work” until I (She) was well again” (Gilman 131) which ultimately drives her insane. However, at the beginning of this story, the Woman states, “ Personally I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.” The Woman does not express her ideas and if she did, the husband would pay no attention to it. Power that a man with status has over others without any causes many significant events to happen, such as how both George Wilson’s and the Woman’s descend into insanity. This difference in status is shown again when Tom hits Myrtle. As Tom is from East Egg and Myrtle is from “the valley of ashes” there is a severe difference in both wealth and social status. Tom’s demeanor changes greatly depending on his social situation. During his party at East Egg when Daisy calls him a “big hulking physical specimen” (Fitzgerald …show more content…
Both of the stories use water as a symbol of helplessness. For example, Gatz starts to “drown” after he becomes Gatsby. His lack of social status caused James Gatz to will himself into Jay Gatsby. This change occurred with Dan Cody, who he spent years on the water with, “And when the Tuolomee left for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast Gatsby left too” (100). While Gatz had thought of Gatsby before, it was Dan Cody and the water that truly caused Gatsby to become real. Gatsby’s sole reason for existing was to fulfill his dreams and recreate the past with Daisy. After Gatsby’s dream of Daisy’s love was gone, his sole reason for existing was destroyed, and he returned to the water, where his persona was killed. When Nick reflects on Gatsby, he says, “So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past” (180). When Gatz becomes Gatsby, he becomes a “boat against the current”, as he is unable to move forward, as he had not changed since he was seventeen. The green light across the bay symbolized his love for Daisy, but the water between him and the light also symbolized that the distance between them will never change, and his goal is unobtainable. In The Open Boat, the water represents how humans have no control over nature, and its indifference to us. Its vastness also represents how insignificant humans are in the grand scheme of
The main social system that has an impact in these stories is social hierarchy. In Gatsby, discrimination of West Egg by East Egg was emphasized in the relationship between Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle. When at Gatsby’s party, Daisy expresses her disgust of West Egg when Nick observes, “But the rest (West Egg) offended her—and inarguably, …show more content…
As East Eggers, Tom and Daisy are rooted in their elitist nature that they do not even think about why they are disgusted by West Egg, as it is only natural. The class system was also important in The Yellow Wallpaper, where the husband, while having good intent, told the woman she was, “…forbidden to “work” until I (She) was well again” (Gilman 131) which ultimately drives her insane. However, at the beginning of this story, the Woman states, “ Personally I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.” The Woman does not express her ideas and if she did, the husband would pay no attention to it. Power that a man with status has over others without any causes many significant events to happen, such as how both George Wilson’s and the Woman’s descend into insanity. This difference in status is shown again when Tom hits Myrtle. As Tom is from East Egg and Myrtle is from “the valley of ashes” there is a severe difference in both wealth and social status. Tom’s demeanor changes greatly depending on his social situation. During his party at East Egg when Daisy calls him a “big hulking physical specimen” (Fitzgerald …show more content…
Both of the stories use water as a symbol of helplessness. For example, Gatz starts to “drown” after he becomes Gatsby. His lack of social status caused James Gatz to will himself into Jay Gatsby. This change occurred with Dan Cody, who he spent years on the water with, “And when the Tuolomee left for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast Gatsby left too” (100). While Gatz had thought of Gatsby before, it was Dan Cody and the water that truly caused Gatsby to become real. Gatsby’s sole reason for existing was to fulfill his dreams and recreate the past with Daisy. After Gatsby’s dream of Daisy’s love was gone, his sole reason for existing was destroyed, and he returned to the water, where his persona was killed. When Nick reflects on Gatsby, he says, “So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past” (180). When Gatz becomes Gatsby, he becomes a “boat against the current”, as he is unable to move forward, as he had not changed since he was seventeen. The green light across the bay symbolized his love for Daisy, but the water between him and the light also symbolized that the distance between them will never change, and his goal is unobtainable. In The Open Boat, the water represents how humans have no control over nature, and its indifference to us. Its vastness also represents how insignificant humans are in the grand scheme of