Compare The Waste Land And The Great Gatsby

World War One was the major global events in the first half of the twentieth century, and it affect the majority of the population in the United States and to a large extent the world, with major political and social implication as a result. This time period saw a massive number of young people mobilize to support the war effort and move from rural areas to urban areas where individuals were exposed to a new way of life and ideas. The war and the unimaginable death and destruction caused by it compounded the change much of the population was experiencing. A disillusion with traditional ideas began to form. These ideas manifest themselves differently in The Waste land and The Great Gatsby. Both works approach these thoughts somewhat differently

Eliot commentary on civilization and its lack of humanity and common good toward one another, which was a common idea as the full impact of World War One came to light. Death and suffering on such a scale were unheard of. The poem represents his idea that individuals are helpless and confused by the condition of the post-war world, perhaps brought about by society’s loss of compassion. The poem is written in fragments and is confusing to navigate which amplifies this point. Loneliness is a central theme and it is manifested in different ways. The idea that love and compassion are absent from life is delivered through series of conversation between lovers and friends. A couple sits in their home, surrounded by spectacular things, however, their lives seem incomplete and lonely. In the poem one calls out to their partner “Stay with me../ Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak./ What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? '/ I never know what you are thinking. Think.” (Eliot 111-115). They are never answered. A different couple, together on what appears to be a date only go through the motions of intimacy as the date evolves, “Exploring hands encounter no defense;/ His vanity requires no response,/ And makes a welcome of indifference.” (Eliot 240-242) In both these scenes a shallowness exists, even though they are with someone, they are alone. Additionally, The impression of individuals removing themselves or disconnecting from humanity

The theme of post-war society and resistance to traditional ideas is perhaps easier to recognize, in the Great Gatsby; however, the impression and impact of the individual shifts and is distinctly American, the fact that Jay Gatsby is a self-made man, which is a more encouraging and clear message than in the Waste Land. As the Narrator, Nick Carraway, tells the account of how he came to meet Jay Gatsby, a story unfolds of Jay Gatsby falling in love with Daisy just before he goes off to fight in France. His position, at this earlier time, is in stark contrast to Daisy, “However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby he was at present a penniless young man without a past” (Fitzgerald 149). The story continues after Gatsby returns from the war and he makes a fortune in the “drug store” business or some shady variation of that type of business. Although it never made clear of how he made his fortune, it was made clear why he made it, to woo Daisy and recover what he felt was his lost opportunity. As Gatsby spends his fortune lavishly, countless come to participate and enjoy his generosity though few are close to him, which echoes The Waste Land theme of loneliness. The parties make two impression on Nick. First is amazement at the extravagance of it, second guest 's behavior. “People were not invited-they went....and after that they conducted themselves