Hamlet and Gatsby Comparison Essay

Words: 1086
Pages: 5

Love is an essential part of life. Every individual wants to be loved, and needs someone to love. It is an element that is fundamental to the well-being of all human kind; it is that magic that can heal wounds. However love also has the capacity to traumatize a person if it is extracted from their life. While we all wish to experience love, many of us tend to find the often inevitable detachment to be quite painful. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby's longing for Daisy Buchanan leads him to his own downfall. Similarly in the novel Hamlet, Hamlet's extreme love for his father and his hatred towards his mother play a major role in his tragedy. In these works, there are a number of motivating factors that contribute to the downfall
Gatsby would try to impress them with his luxurious weekly parties, which he hoped would help him fit in while attracting Daisy. Gatsby shows off his wealth to demonstrate his influence and luxurious lifestyle, while demonstrating that he has plenty of money to spend on Daisy. All the while, he does not see what other truly think of him. For example, Tom once stopped by Gatsby’s house with his friends for some drinks at which Gatsby became nervous and agitated. He tells Tom awkwardly that he knows Daisy, and invites Tom and the Sloan’s to dinner. Rejecting his invitation, they ask insincerely if he would like to join them to which Gatsby unknowingly accepts, not realizing that they have no interest in him at all. Gatsby is so eager to be with them, fixated on his goal to be a part of the “old money” group of East Egg in order to show Daisy that he is worthy of her and able to support her. He is so in love with Daisy that it is blinds his judgement. If Gatsby had focused on being himself instead of trying to be accepted he would have made fewer enemies, and perhaps won over Daisy.

Gatsby was driven by his love for Daisy, and was single-minded about how to get her. He did not realize that loving Daisy is all that he became concerned with and that it consumed him. Gatsby truly believed that if the “old money” of East Egg accepted him he