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Compare And Contrast Gatsby And Hemingway

Decent Essays

In Hemingway’s novel, the motif of wearing a facade is also present. Santiago is a character who wears a facade, much like Gatsby, to make him seem like a more impressive person than he actually is. He needs to prove himself to others that he is just as capable when it comes to fishing and so he puts on a facade. When Santiago first sets out in his boat he tells himself that he must prove himself to everyone; “The thousand times he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.” (Hemingway, 66). This quote reveals how desperately he wants to prove himself time and time again to everyone else. This is the cause of his obsession of catching the marlin, he wants to show people that just because he is old, does not mean that he can’t fish anymore and so he wears a facade. Both novels use this idea similarly. Gatsby and Santiago both try to prove themselves to people while wearing facades that make them seem more impressive. However these facades have negative impacts on people’s lives. While Santiago is waiting for the fish to jump, he falls asleep. He is woken up by the jumping of the marlin which causes him a great deal of pain; He woke with the jerk of his right fist coming up against his face and the line burning out through his right hand. He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked all he could with his right hand and the line rushed out. Finally his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his …show more content…

Some of the symbols that appear frequently in the novel are symbols of false hope. The most important symbol of false hope is found in the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Gatsby is entranced by the light as it serves as a constant reminder to him of how close he is to being with Daisy. When Nick first sees Gatsby, he witnesses him staring longingly at the green

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