The Great Gatsby
Compare and contrast the presentation on the destructive nature of love and desire in The Tempest, The Great Gatsby and Rapture. (Word count 3081)
The complexities of love and desire are repeatedly illustrated in all three texts. Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and Duffy depict the destructive nature of love and desire through the themes of greed, selfishness and obsession. These are conveyed through metaphors, similes and personification. The most prominent technique used by all the writers to demonstrate the power of love and desire as destructive is the use of foreshadowing and imagery; however, the desired effect of these techniques differs across the three texts.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the despair felt by Gatsby when he loses Daisy to Tom through the use of negative imagery. This is demonstrated by Nick when he comments on how Gatsby must have perceived the world in his last moments before he died, the leaves are described as ‘frightening’ and a single rose as ‘grotesque.’ The adjectives symbolise his troubled state of mind and Gatsby’s loss of purpose and disenchantment with beauty once he could not win the love of Daisy, clearly presenting the destructive nature of love and desire. Fitzgerald foreshadows a story of destruction and tragedy told by the narrator, Nick Carraway, about Gatsby. The tragedy is foreshadowed when Nick says in Chapter One, ‘it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams’ evoking images of tortured thoughts. The ‘foul dust’ indicates impurity which predetermines the corruption in the novel, such as the deceit of Daisy meeting up with Gatsby without her husband knowing, the affair between Myrtle and Tom, and Gatsby’s bootlegging, which is how he amassed his fortune. The theme of deceit runs throughout the novella and the hope of fulfilled desires are present in many of the characters. ‘Right through to the end’ Gatsby had desired the love of Daisy, therefore the novel centres on
The complexities of love and desire are repeatedly illustrated in all three texts. Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and Duffy depict the destructive nature of love and desire through the themes of greed, selfishness and obsession. These are conveyed through metaphors, similes and personification. The most prominent technique used by all the writers to demonstrate the power of love and desire as destructive is the use of foreshadowing and imagery; however, the desired effect of these techniques differs across the three texts.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the despair felt by Gatsby when he loses Daisy to Tom through the use of negative imagery. This is demonstrated by Nick when he comments on how Gatsby must have perceived the world in his last moments before he died, the leaves are described as ‘frightening’ and a single rose as ‘grotesque.’ The adjectives symbolise his troubled state of mind and Gatsby’s loss of purpose and disenchantment with beauty once he could not win the love of Daisy, clearly presenting the destructive nature of love and desire. Fitzgerald foreshadows a story of destruction and tragedy told by the narrator, Nick Carraway, about Gatsby. The tragedy is foreshadowed when Nick says in Chapter One, ‘it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams’ evoking images of tortured thoughts. The ‘foul dust’ indicates impurity which predetermines the corruption in the novel, such as the deceit of Daisy meeting up with Gatsby without her husband knowing, the affair between Myrtle and Tom, and Gatsby’s bootlegging, which is how he amassed his fortune. The theme of deceit runs throughout the novella and the hope of fulfilled desires are present in many of the characters. ‘Right through to the end’ Gatsby had desired the love of Daisy, therefore the novel centres on