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Gatsby And Janie

Decent Essays

In both The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main characters, Gatsby and Janie, respectively, are in search of their soulmates that they believe represent their idea of true love. They both strive to find their soulmates, though the restrictive societies they live in make it difficult for them to find what they are looking for in love. Another similarity between Gatsby and Janie is that they were willing to do almost anything to find true love. But in the end, no matter how hard they try, both characters are unable to hold on to their love. Both Gatsby and Janie try to find fulfillment searching for true love, but are restricted by society and fate, and are unable to keep love …show more content…

Social status is obtained, not by earning wealth, but by being born wealthy. Because Gatsby had to work for his money instead of inheriting his wealth, he is unable to raise his social status to a level that is acceptable to Daisy. Furthermore, Daisy would only marry someone who will raise her status in society because of pressures and values that society holds. Unlike Gatsby, Daisy has never had to worry about anything because she has always had money and been taken care of as is demonstrated by her care-free voice which Gatsby describes as “‘full of money’” (Fitzgerald, 120). Everyone can clearly see that Gatsby is not from the same social class as Daisy. This is proved, when Jordan suggests that Gatsby might have attended the prestigious Oxford university, but in the eyes of Tom Buchanan, Gatsby does not have enough social standing to attend Oxford when Tom says, “‘Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit!’” (Fitzgerald, 129). In the end, even though Gatsby is in love with Daisy, he is unable to be with her because of the way society defines Gatsby’s social status. Social restrictions make it difficult for Janie and Gatsby to find their versions of true love, but the societal restrictions are different in each case. The difference is that Janie was pressured into marrying for financial stability. While, Gatsby lacked the social status needed for a …show more content…

Gatsby was always hoping that Daisy would leave her husband and return to him, but Daisy’s love had always eluded Gatsby because Daisy had different values than Gatsby. Fitzgerald explains how Gatsby dream was fading when he says, “‘[Daisy] was drawing further and further into herself, so [Gatsby] gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away’” (Fitzgerald, 292). At the end of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby was deceived into believing that he had finally won over his true love, Daisy, while in reality, she loved her social status more than she loved Gatsby and was not willing to give her social status

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