Comparing Babylon Revisited And The Dead

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” and James Joyce’s “The Dead” both portray similar themes. Both depict lovers affectionate with people who cannot reciprocate the same feelings, but nevertheless are motivated to try and change minds. Ultimately, they find that death is more welcoming than those whom they are infatuated with. Major characters in both short stories reflect on and regret decisions made. The themes and characters have more similarities than they do differences. In “The Dead,” Gabriel is aloof from everyone at the party. Every time he tries to ingratiate himself, he comes off as awkward and puts his foot in his mouth. It is not until his toast that he becomes more comfortable with his surroundings and even enjoys himself.
Gabriel lies awake at night trying to figure out how it all went wrong, while Charlie must try and find another way to regain custody his daughter. Both Charlie and Gabriel reflect on their lives, and are disappointed by the mistakes they made. Charlie partied too often and drank far too much, and as a result he lost her love long before she died. Gabriel, on the other hand, wasn’t ever passionate. Gabriel finds that people do not like him as much as he thinks they do, including his wife. The characters are motivated by the existing loved ones they have. Charlie has his daughter, and Gabriel is trying to reconnect with his wife. They wish to salvage the remains of what their blunders destroyed. Similarly, both plots include unfortunate fates for some lovers as Gretta’s admirer and Helen end up dying in the snow, trying to gain or regain affection Fitzgerald and Joyce’s works relate to one part of human social interactions. At least once in most people’s lives, one feels emotions for another that are never returned. Characters stay awake at nights thinking of the mistakes made that have dogged them for years, not unlike how most people are haunted by events they completed but are not proud