Similarities Between Scarlet Letter And The Great Gatsby

English Protestants created a large group of people in the 16th and 17th centuries called the Puritans. These people advocated strict religious discipline along with a strong beliefs and worshipping. The Scarlet Letter reflected on Puritan Society in several ways, from religion to discipline and punishment. Religion seemed to control everyone, the reverend was the person that everyone looked up to, and the community, as a whole, believed in fate and destiny. Puritan relationships were very restricted, therefore making adultery a terrible sin in the eyes of the community. In the 17th century, Boston was extremely strict and the laws were strongly enforced, making Hester’s sin a great

During times of need, one seeks comfort from the world around them as it rages on inside and out, corrupting everything in sight. War expressed in both the books, The Great Gatsby and Seabiscuit are similar in that they offer two different insights of fighting physical and mental wars; manifesting internally, in their settings, and on the people around them. War takes many shapes and is dealt in more than one way. How you deal with it, is what matters.

Alienation can be defined as a state of being cut off or separate from a person or group of people. There are many factors that cause people to become alienated: race, political views, social status, etc. The texts “The Great Gatsby”, “The Catcher in the Rye”, and the play “Death of a Salesman” all portray characters who are cut off from the rest society. Despite the character's best effort to fit in, they ultimately fail. The authors argue that one's ideology can cause them to be alienated.

The American Dream, the idea that anybody can be successful through hard work and dedication, has been a driving force in the American history. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun express the notion that the Dream itself is defined differently to different people. The American Dream is not the same for everybody, it is instead an idealistic achievement that changes based on who is driving themselves towards the Dream. Success through the Dream, therefore, is defined by the Dreamers themselves. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby achieves materialistic wealth, but that wealth is not enough to fulfill his definition of the Dream. Gatsby’s idea of success is to gain respect from others and to receive love back from the women he loves - Daisy. A Raisin in the Sun’s Walter Younger, on the other hand, desires wealth, and struggles utilizing the Dream’s ideals to attain said wealth. His definition of success revolves around a stable income that would allow him and his family a comfortable lifestyle where money is not as big an issue. Both Gatsby and Walter’s experiences and the polar differences in their Dream’s definitions reveals that the success of one’s Dream is based heavily on the person themselves and not measurable by tangible aspects such as wealth or respect.

While written centuries apart, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald both focus on societal expectations and personal shame. Though Gatsby and Hester both commit adultery and face derision from society as a result, Gatsby, unlike Hester, is not able to accept his position in the community and remains a social pariah of the upper-class he so dearly wishes to join.

Nick and a dog, Uggy, both play same roles in “The Artist” and “The Great Gatsby”. Both of them exist as loyal guards of main heroes; they both have good qualities, such as honesty and loyalty. Beside their virtues, the most importance is that they help main characters in need. In “The Great Gatsby”, Nick is one of guests in Gatsby’s big party, but he is only one to join his funeral. “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (41). This sentence presents the most spectacular settings of Gatsby’s party with lots of guests. It also shows that Gatsby should recognize many upper-class people from his party; these guests join his party that means they get benefits from him,

Theme is a debatable topic among stories, some will agree and most have their own take. Two great novels that debate themes constantly are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald written about a young man who becomes super wealthy and Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn a story of a young women who does not fit into society. The novels The Great Gatsby and Scarlet Letter disagree on the theme that people look to self-improvement to help get what they want, evidenced by plot, tone, and, character.

“Here had been her sin; here, her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence” embodies Hester Prynne throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne 239). Nathaniel Hawthorne opens the story as Hester is being released from prison adorned with a scarlet letter, “A.” The “A” is meant as a secondary punishment following her conviction of adultery a few months prior. However, Hester is not someone defined by one event. By accepting responsibility and punishment for her sin, Hester is able to move forward. She states “let us not look back” as a sign of her eagerness to evolve and rewrite her future (Hawthorne 182). Hester’s ultimately productive life is fueled by her sheer determination and desire. Specifically, Hester was able to

Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses several biblical allusions to emphasize the Puritan society this novel was set in and give the reader a comparison of Hester to biblical figures, both holy and unholy. The Puritan society was one of strict adherence to the Bible and its teachings; consequently, Hester’s sin is not easily forgiven. Through his use of biblical allusions Hawthorne provides the reader with a historical figure that portrays characteristics or aspects similar to that of Hester. Hester’s curious child, Pearl, is both a blessing and a curse. She completely changed the course of Hester’s life, at a great price.

American politician Marco Rubio once said,“The American dream is a term that is often misunderstood. It isn’t really about becoming rich or famous. It is about things much simpler and more fundamental than that” (brainyquote.com). This concept is true in the novels The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. In both novels, the protagonists (Holden and Gatsby) are pushed by society to live up to the stereotypical ‘American dream’. Both Holden and Gatsby have high and unrealistic expectations of themselves. They both share fond memories and their different ideas of the American dream; but in the end, they realize their ideas of them are just fantasies. After realising the truth behind the American dream, it leads them to their tragic end. The American dream is not beneficial because it pushes people in society to be something they are not. Both stories are tragic because the pursuit of the dream, and Holden’s individuality.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald are two novels, which address similar themes with completely opposite resolves. The authors use their main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, Gatsby, and Daisy, in their respective works to present these themes. The action in both novels revolves around unfaithfulness, its effects on the characters, and the results of committing adultery, which prove to be antipode from one novel to the other. These antitheses can be found by a look at the different roles of adultery in the novels.

Romance, love, and destiny. Connections are formed like bridges built of various things; love, trust, money, fate. Some bridges are stronger than others and some bridges connect people who perhaps shouldn’t be connected. The movie “The Great Gatsby” better expresses the romantic relationships and connections between characters. Between Tom and Daisy, whose relationship may have more to do with survival than love, with Myrtle and Tom, the bridge between them connecting two souls searching for something more in life. And then there are bridges like the one between Jordan and Nick, filled with lies and a bridge not often travelled, and if you’re lucky you come across a bridge like Gatsby and Daisy's, which is made of love but filled with obstacles. These bridges play a key part in the story and the movie most definitely does a better job at expressing these connections between characters.

Hester Prynne's scarlet letter symbolizes the sin she committed with Dimmesdale, but eventually causes her to overcome its meaning on her soul. At first, the Scarlet Letter had "such potent and disastrous efficacy", that "no human sympathy" (91) could reach Hester as she bore the scarlet letter on her chest. Hawthorne shows us the Puritans fear of sin, so the scarlet letter acts as a “plant the germ of evil” (168) that drives them away. Hester must bear the burden of being disowned from the society due to her sin against God, as well as Puritans. But as "the tendency of her fame and fortunes [...] set her free", Hester's scarlet letter becomes a "passport into regions where other women dar[e] not tread" (190).

There has been a constant dispute over whether people should be governed by determinism or free will. Determinism is the idea that our actions and fate are predetermined and every occurrence can be explained or has a reason for happening; free will, in contrast, is the idea that we have the ability to act independently of external restraints. In the 17th century, Puritan society arose in New England as one that was governed by its religious views, and thus was a deterministic one. Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this in his novel The Scarlet Letter, in which the characters Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Chillingworth are alienated by society. Although

It was not long after Hester’s visit to the governor’s home, that he passes away. Of course the governor was thought to be a holy man and none of the puritans thought of him as a sinner. However, on the night of his death, the old sexton noticed that in the sky, a scarlet “A” appeared. “…a great red letter in the sky, - the letter A, which we interpreted to stand for Angel.” (Hawthorne 144). The sight of this mystical “A” caused a bit of uncertainty for a few reasons. One reason was the meaning of the letter. In Hester’s case, the Scarlet letter was meant to mark her sin but a man of the governors stature was thought to have not ever sinned and thus in theory would have no reason for an “A” to follow him to his grave. This marked an important change in the perception of the sin represented by the scarlet letter. The puritans began to question the idea of sin because how could a mark of sin show up for someone who obviously has not sinned? In Hester’s case, after the incident with governor Winthrop, many of the puritan people began to see Hester’s “badge of shame” as more of “one of good deeds” (Hawthorne 147). This transformation in their way of thinking was done in a way so that Hester was not “unmarked” but at the same time, the deceased governor was not being looked at as a sinner. Toward the end of the novel,