Jason Bello AP English March 22, 2000 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald are two novels, which address similar themes with completely opposite resolves. The authors use their main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, Gatsby, and Daisy, in their respective works to present these themes. The action in both novels revolves around unfaithfulness, its effects on the characters, and the results of committing adultery, which prove to be antipode from one novel to the other.
These antitheses can be found by a look at the different roles of adultery in the novels. One major theme found in both novels and addressed in different ways is adultery. Unfaithfulness is ever present in The Great Gatsby, while it is a one-time occurrence in The Scarlet Letter. It would appear that this would make adultery a more powerful force in The Great Gatsby. On the contrary, it is seen as insignificant in Fitzgerald’s novel and definitive in The Scarlet Letter. Whether it is Tom and Myrtle, or Gatsby and Daisy, the fact that these people are wed appears irrelevant to them.
Meanwhile, Hester and Dimmesdale have sex as part of a meaningful relationship, but are persecuted for it. These varying reactions are caused partially by the extreme contrast of environment between the two novels. Another factor is the different degrees of conscientiousness and its importance between the novels. Hester and Dimmesdale repent and seek forgiveness for their sins. They use their experience to make them better people, and by the end of the novel, both find themselves free of guilt. On the other hand, the characters in The Great Gatsby show no remorse for their actions and the pain they cause.
The Essay on Scarlet Letter And Moby Dick
Vengeance Can Only Occur Through Providence Man cannot get away with vengeance because vengeance is Gods job (Great Books, MD). Through this quote, one can conclude that man is not one to judge others and exact revenge. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are two anecdotes that teach a lesson in regard to revenge. The Scarlet Letter, telling a tale about the ...
No attention is paid to the feelings of others. Tom and Daisy have a daughter together, but she is hardly mentioned amongst their promiscuity. Hester and Dimmesdale are able to bring joy out of their pains, while Daisy and Gatsby suffer pain from their pursuit of joy. Further paradox can be found in an analysis of purity and sin in the novels. Another contradicting theme is how in The Scarlet Letter purity comes from sin, while in The Great Gatsby sin follows purity. Hester and Dimmesdale sinned by having sex, Hester was married and Dimmesdale was a reverend.
This act of impurity was turned to a positive with the birth of Pearl, their personal spiritual growth, and their maturity. On the contrary, the love that Daisy and Gatsby had before their separation was pure. They were in love for all the right reasons, and stayed in touch while Jay entered the army. However, Daisy then fell in love with money and the man who brought it, Tom. When Gatsby returned, he tried to make their love work again, but his efforts were made through deceit, and illegal activities. These attempts to win Daisy through a false persona and money made Daisy’s love a possession, which could be won or even bought, and subsequently it became impure.
These contradictions and paradox continue through the novel into the endings. The differing attitudes towards unfaithfulness in the novels result in differing conclusions for the characters. Although Hester and Dimmesdale do not consummate their relationship, their tribulations are not for naught. Both become better, more understanding, people because of their experiences. There is also the birth of Pearl to validate their affair.
Daisy and Gatsby never end up together either. However, neither one is the better as a result of them having eloped. Gatsby dies a horrible death, but this is still better than if he was to live with the knowledge that the love Daisy and him once had is impossible to regain. Daisy is resigned to a life an equally miserable life, one which involves returning to an unfaithful husband who will indubitable stray again. Although the novels have different interpretations of the same themes, a similar conclusion is reached. Both Hawthorne and Fitzgerald present worlds in which their main characters must deal with unfaithfulness.
The Essay on American Dream Gatsby Daisy Love
During the 1920 s Jay Gatsby had been living out what Fitzgerald calls the American Dream. Fitzgerald s American Dream through the views of Gatsby was to be very wealthy, have a sense of class, infinite capacity of hope, and wonder. Gatsby had sense of style that made him fit in to the upper class of society which again is part of the American Dream. The novel depicts how this dream has ...
A common theme is reached in that adultery can prove to make people stronger when it is acknowledged and learned from, not ignored.
