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Analysis Of ' The Gatsby Chapters Of Reading Lolita Essay

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The main human universal evident in the text of the Gatsby Chapters of Reading Lolita In Tehran is that of the power of dreams and their relationship to reality. Webster defines dreams as “a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person 's mind during sleep.” However, there is a much broader definition of dreams applicable to this novel. In Nafisi’s world, dreams represent more than just a picture show of thoughts we have while we sleep. In Iran, it was the dreams of one man that brought an entire government to its knees. Nafisi discusses the differences in Iran and the United States, saying, “We in ancient countries have our past——we obsess over the past. They, the Americans, have a dream: they feel nostalgia about the promise of the future.”

Nafisi chooses two famous novels to feature in her class. Both novels covered extensively in Nafisi’s classroom share a common theme: dreams. Throughout this section, the audience is introduced to the primary theme that recurs repeatedly, that of dreams and their relationship with reality. The protagonist Humbert Humbert of the novel Lolita and Jay Gatsby of Great Gatsby both fantasize of possessing another human, even succeeding to a certain point. Both characters are able to attain their prey in body, but never in spirit. Both Lolita and Daisy succumb to their hunters physically, but never mentally or of their own free will. There is a strong comparison to be made between the men of these two novels and the

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