F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby-Esqueness Of The Natural
Brian Gold
The Natural- The Great Gatsby
English 11/ DiTullio
6/8/08
The Gatsby-esqueness of The Natural
In literature, many texts share similar details and themes that show a deep connection between the two works of art. Many texts that have been written show a Gatsby-esque type of connection. By saying something is Gatsby-esque it means that the form of media demonstrates a connection between itself and the themes or issues present in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of the many works that show this correlation, the film “The Natural,” directed by Barry Levinson, depicts a strong relationship with the novel through its similar themes. Through its relationship with issues concerning reinventing the past and the corrupting power of wealth we can visualize the Gatsby-esque feature …show more content…
of “The Natural.”
Nick Carroway, the narrator, leaves his wealthy midwestern family to learn about life on the island of New York City.
He soon gets a first person view of the lifestyles of the rich through contact with his rich, spoiled cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. During his time with them he visits their friends and gets introduced to new people. He also attends parties hosted by his neighbor to whom he knows nothing about, Jay Gatsby. After finally meeting the man he learns of the connection between him and his cousin, along with his cousin’s true feelings. Also he tries to solve the mystery of Mr. Gatsby himself. After becoming close friends with Gatsby, Nick agrees to establish a planned reunion between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby has been obsessively trying to win back Daisy for as long as they have been separated. His sole purpose of acquiring a fortune was simply to impress Daisy and become of equal status. Gatsby is convinced that he can reinvent their past love and
return things to the way they were before they were separated. After an uncomfortable confrontation between Gatsby and Tom, Daisy dangerously drives Gatsby’s car back to Long Island. During this ride, she runs over and kills Myrtle, Tom's mistress. George, Myrtle's husband, is notified of Myrtles death and becomes overwhelmed with grief. He hunts down Tom in anger and forces him to reveal the owner of the car that killed his wife. Tom explains to him that it was Gatsby’s car but fails to hint that it was not Gatsby’s doing. George, believing that Gatsby murdered his wife rushes to Gatsby’s mansion and shoots him dead. Gatsby fails in his quest to reclaim his true love. He dies alone, deserted even by the hundreds of "friends" that had once flocked to his parties. Nick sickened by the empty, careless, lives of the rich, returns to the Midwest.
The Story of Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” shows similar theme connections to Fitzgerald’s classic novel. As a boy Hobbs goes through a rough upbringing and even loses his father. He fights this adversity to become one of the top, if not the top, future prospect in baseball. It isn’t until he gets shot by a notorious woman who kills or injures star athletes for their skills that Hobbs’ dreams become cloudy again. The shot seriously injured Gatsby and left him unable to play baseball for 16 years. After 16 long years of recovering, Hobbs makes his return to baseball for the New York Knights. It is here where he shows a Gatsby-esque like quality. Hobbs likes Gatsby, reinvents himself. Hobbs returns as an all-star batter instead of as a great pitcher, quite like Gatsby reinvented himself as a wealthy educated businessman once he returned for war. However where Hobbs does it for himself and the love he shares for America’s pastime, Gatsby does it in an attempt to regain his true love. It is through Hobbs’ return to the sport where we learn of another connection between the two works of literature. The partial owner of the Knights and a bookie whom he works with, show a similar characteristic between the rich folk of The Great Gatsby. The greed and power of wealth corrupts them to the point where they almost have no values. Both become so corrupted by money that they lose their morals. Tom and his friends do not show care for other people or their feelings but rather just for their valuables and possessions. The greed of the men in “The Natural” lead them to agree to lose the pennant just so they can obtain money (bribed to fix the game). This shows their total lack of sportsmanship and fair play. Hobbs, however, refuses to be bribed into losing the game.
In the media today, it is not hard to find connections between two works of literature. Many works of art can be seen Gatsby-esque or relating to The Great Gatsby. The movie “The Natural” is no exception. The Story of Roy Hobbs shows a deep connection between the stories of Nick Carroway’s stay in New York City through the powers of wealth and attempts to learn from the past to change the future. Both were phenomenal works of literature.
The Natural- The Great Gatsby
English 11/ DiTullio
6/8/08
The Gatsby-esqueness of The Natural
In literature, many texts share similar details and themes that show a deep connection between the two works of art. Many texts that have been written show a Gatsby-esque type of connection. By saying something is Gatsby-esque it means that the form of media demonstrates a connection between itself and the themes or issues present in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of the many works that show this correlation, the film “The Natural,” directed by Barry Levinson, depicts a strong relationship with the novel through its similar themes. Through its relationship with issues concerning reinventing the past and the corrupting power of wealth we can visualize the Gatsby-esque feature …show more content…
of “The Natural.”
Nick Carroway, the narrator, leaves his wealthy midwestern family to learn about life on the island of New York City.
He soon gets a first person view of the lifestyles of the rich through contact with his rich, spoiled cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. During his time with them he visits their friends and gets introduced to new people. He also attends parties hosted by his neighbor to whom he knows nothing about, Jay Gatsby. After finally meeting the man he learns of the connection between him and his cousin, along with his cousin’s true feelings. Also he tries to solve the mystery of Mr. Gatsby himself. After becoming close friends with Gatsby, Nick agrees to establish a planned reunion between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby has been obsessively trying to win back Daisy for as long as they have been separated. His sole purpose of acquiring a fortune was simply to impress Daisy and become of equal status. Gatsby is convinced that he can reinvent their past love and
return things to the way they were before they were separated. After an uncomfortable confrontation between Gatsby and Tom, Daisy dangerously drives Gatsby’s car back to Long Island. During this ride, she runs over and kills Myrtle, Tom's mistress. George, Myrtle's husband, is notified of Myrtles death and becomes overwhelmed with grief. He hunts down Tom in anger and forces him to reveal the owner of the car that killed his wife. Tom explains to him that it was Gatsby’s car but fails to hint that it was not Gatsby’s doing. George, believing that Gatsby murdered his wife rushes to Gatsby’s mansion and shoots him dead. Gatsby fails in his quest to reclaim his true love. He dies alone, deserted even by the hundreds of "friends" that had once flocked to his parties. Nick sickened by the empty, careless, lives of the rich, returns to the Midwest.
The Story of Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” shows similar theme connections to Fitzgerald’s classic novel. As a boy Hobbs goes through a rough upbringing and even loses his father. He fights this adversity to become one of the top, if not the top, future prospect in baseball. It isn’t until he gets shot by a notorious woman who kills or injures star athletes for their skills that Hobbs’ dreams become cloudy again. The shot seriously injured Gatsby and left him unable to play baseball for 16 years. After 16 long years of recovering, Hobbs makes his return to baseball for the New York Knights. It is here where he shows a Gatsby-esque like quality. Hobbs likes Gatsby, reinvents himself. Hobbs returns as an all-star batter instead of as a great pitcher, quite like Gatsby reinvented himself as a wealthy educated businessman once he returned for war. However where Hobbs does it for himself and the love he shares for America’s pastime, Gatsby does it in an attempt to regain his true love. It is through Hobbs’ return to the sport where we learn of another connection between the two works of literature. The partial owner of the Knights and a bookie whom he works with, show a similar characteristic between the rich folk of The Great Gatsby. The greed and power of wealth corrupts them to the point where they almost have no values. Both become so corrupted by money that they lose their morals. Tom and his friends do not show care for other people or their feelings but rather just for their valuables and possessions. The greed of the men in “The Natural” lead them to agree to lose the pennant just so they can obtain money (bribed to fix the game). This shows their total lack of sportsmanship and fair play. Hobbs, however, refuses to be bribed into losing the game.
In the media today, it is not hard to find connections between two works of literature. Many works of art can be seen Gatsby-esque or relating to The Great Gatsby. The movie “The Natural” is no exception. The Story of Roy Hobbs shows a deep connection between the stories of Nick Carroway’s stay in New York City through the powers of wealth and attempts to learn from the past to change the future. Both were phenomenal works of literature.